What kind of dog will guard my flock?

[SwedeinAZ]

We have a problem with coyotes. I lock my flock up at night but occasionally the coyotes come through in a day- and three times I lost my entire flock of chickens! I’m looking at getting a dog that will stay outside with my chickens. I think that any big dog will deter the coyotes from jumping the fence into our property- however, I don’t know what breeds are going to get along with my chickens and not try to eat them. Any advice would be welcomed.

 

[Percheron chick]

Size and training are more important than breed. The more recognize LGD breeds tend to suffer from ADD when they are young and can become incredibly frustrating the first few years. My best dogs have been mixed breeds all with a bit of lab. Puppies born on a farm with working parents have a leg up. They have been put in their place by a goose, horse, mom, the cat... and have an idea of boundaries before the leash training starts.
My ideal farm dog is at least 60#. Big enough to hold off 2 coyotes. A bit of a homebody who is content to just hang out ( I think this is the lab part). Great vision. A big bark and obviously no prey drive towards my birds.
My best dog all time is a 95# GP/lab that came from the pound. He was born on a farm and welped with geese. i have done no chicken training with him and have never lost a bird to him. Nothing makes him happier than chasing coyote or fox off the property. He is getting up there in years and i spent 6 months looking for another dog just like him. Ended up with an Akbash. Never again. She is so focused on her job, she will be a mile from home before she quits.

 

[Folly's place]

Electric fencing, properly set up (see Premier1supplies.com and HowardE here) will work very well, and be effective immediately. Your property configuration defines how it can best be used though.
PC is right on about dog protectors; it takes time (years often!) to train the right dog or dogs, and they will be your most expensive option too.
Mary

 

[DuckyBabies]

We have a golden retriever. She is such a good farm dog! We have coyotes as well, and while she has never had to encounter one, she keeps my ducks safe. She is always quick to alert us if she sees (or even think she sees) something. She will growl and bark if there is a cat, groundhog etc. . I have no doubt she would protect them. She’s also a great family dog! She’s been around my ducks since she was one year old, so they kind of grew up together. I would definitely get either a puppy that you can train, or an experienced farm dog that has been around chickens before. Here’s a picture of Kimber with my duck Bingo. He’s the biggest pain in the butt to her, but she loves him anyway!

 

[llombardo]

I have my chickens in a large run with sn electric fence and the dogs patrol the Perimeter and it works well

 

[Naser]

Google great pyrenees

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I agree that an electric fence can work very well and is immediately effective. I expanded ours last year to keep wandering guinea fowl in. Every guinea is staying in our yard this spring and 95% of the time I open up the fence and let the entire flock free range. We can leave the poultry fence shut if we'll be gone.

We have a Great Pyrenees that we got as a puppy. He spent his first 8 years solely with our sheep. Now he guards all the livestock. He was familiar with the chickens in the fence but I forgot about him when I opened up the netting for them to free range. He never bothered any poultry. He actively guards all the livestock between our two farms, he guards my husband's free-ranging bunnies and he even guards our senior dog (16), Max...lol. (Max is in the yellow doghouse, there are 7 doghouses, a barn and 2 sheds our Pyrenees could go into. But he guards Max.)

He is our first Pyrenees but won't be our last. I chose Great Pyrenees because the breed is not supposed to be human aggressive. Our son was quite young at the time and we wanted a dog that would be safe around other children. He avoids all new people.

Guarding the yard................Mr. Shuster choosing to be with Kujo


Kujo guarding the sheep........Kujo guarding the coop .......Kujo guarding Max

On the other hand, some dogs are not protectors. In the picture below, that coyote is right in our yard. Max was young at the time. He is half border collie/half rough collie. He was a stray, we found his owners and they ended up giving him to us. He was good at helping with the cattle. Now he's good at hogging all the dishes and food from Kujo...lol.

 

[SwedeinAZ]

I agree that an electric fence can work very well and is immediately effective. I expanded ours last year to keep wandering guinea fowl in. Every guinea is staying in our yard this spring and 95% of the time I open up the fence and let the entire flock free range. We can leave the poultry fence shut if we'll be gone.

We have a Great Pyrenees that we got as a puppy. He spent his first 8 years solely with our sheep. Now he guards all the livestock. He was familiar with the chickens in the fence but I forgot about him when I opened up the netting for them to free range. He never bothered any poultry. He actively guards all the livestock between our two farms, he guards my husband's free-ranging bunnies and he even guards our senior dog (16), Max...lol. (Max is in the yellow doghouse, there are 7 doghouses, a barn and 2 sheds our Pyrenees could go into. But he guards Max.)

He is our first Pyrenees but won't be our last. I chose Great Pyrenees because the breed is not supposed to be human aggressive. Our son was quite young at the time and we wanted a dog that would be safe around other children. He avoids all new people.

Guarding the yard................Mr. Shuster choosing to be with Kujo
View attachment 1721797 View attachment 1721814
View attachment 1721834 View attachment 1721838 View attachment 1721823
Kujo guarding the sheep........Kujo guarding the coop .......Kujo guarding Max

On the other hand, some dogs are not protectors. In the picture below, that coyote is right in our yard. Max was young at the time. He is half border collie/half rough collie. He was a stray, we found his owners and they ended up giving him to us. He was good at helping with the cattle. Now he's good at hogging all the dishes and food from Kujo...lol.
View attachment 1721831

 

[SwedeinAZ]

That’s really helpful- thanks for the pics too!

 

[SwedeinAZ]

Size and training are more important than breed. The more recognize LGD breeds tend to suffer from ADD when they are young and can become incredibly frustrating the first few years. My best dogs have been mixed breeds all with a bit of lab. Puppies born on a farm with working parents have a leg up. They have been put in their place by a goose, horse, mom, the cat... and have an idea of boundaries before the leash training starts.
My ideal farm dog is at least 60#. Big enough to hold off 2 coyotes. A bit of a homebody who is content to just hang out ( I think this is the lab part). Great vision. A big bark and obviously no prey drive towards my birds.
My best dog all time is a 95# GP/lab that came from the pound. He was born on a farm and welped with geese. i have done no chicken training with him and have never lost a bird to him. Nothing makes him happier than chasing coyote or fox off the property. He is getting up there in years and i spent 6 months looking for another dog just like him. Ended up with an Akbash. Never again. She is so focused on her job, she will be a mile from home before she quits.