What kind of dog will guard my flock?

[Kessel23]

the last thing you want to "protect" your flock is a predator. trust me, out of personal experience, dogs will betray you and kill your flock when your not looking. instead, try enlisting a goose, rooster, or emu to protect your flock. they are usuly large enough and determined enough to scare off anything, and they wont hurt your flock at all

Rooster and geese protecting against a coyote is a joke. I do not have any Emu but considering they are prey animals I can't imagine them doing much at all to stop a coyote.
Also, just because you could not train a dog to protect your flock does not mean others can't.

I have a GSD who lets my doves sleep on her, she is in my room with a open brooder of chicks and one with ducklings unsupervised for several hours a day. She shares her food with the chickens and lays around with them outside.

 

[JaegerDePato]

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.

I see Great Pyrenees guarding sheep free ranging on BLM all of the time. They deal with coyotes and badgers well.

 

[pacorona]

Just got a Springer Spaniel puppy - hoping that, since he is a natural born bird hunter, that we can convince him that our chickens are NOT birds!! Anyone know anything I should know??

 

[genrail1]

Well, I've always had hounds: Treeing Walker Coonhounds. They certainly kept the raccoons away (which to me are the greatest predators for poultry) but once Fred, the rescue hound, chased away a coyote. None of them ever bothered the birds.

 

[SoFluffy!]

My German Shepherd is a super protector of our flock and more than happy to help me round them up to put in the coop. She is another one who was raised since an 8 week old knowing that they are “My Chickens” and therefore not food or toys. She can be trusted with chicks, running bantams, even the occasional, stupid roo that decides to challenge her (I swear, she laughs!).

I would not get a dog to guard livestock unless I was absolutely confident in my ability to train them, and be able to discern the difference between a high prey drive and a high drive to protect and guard.

 

[JaegerDePato]

Just got a Springer Spaniel puppy - hoping that, since he is a natural born bird hunter, that we can convince him that our chickens are NOT birds!! Anyone know anything I should know??

It’s a process, slow introductions and supervised visits

 

[twitterpated]

If you’re set on a dog I would look into a Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherd or possibly a hound (walker, July, plott, etc). I know a lot of hunters around here and up north specifically train their dogs to hunt coyotes. Some even catch and kill them on their own. Might be worth looking for a started/seasoned dog, but it probably won’t be cheap. A gritty hound will cost a pretty penny.

 

[SilkieNation]

How about a guard donkey? They make great protectors.

 

[SoFluffy!]

How about a guard donkey? They make great protectors.

Some donkeys can be good protectors but others are not. Very much an individual thing. Also, you can’t have one by itself- equines need to have a companion. Then there is fencing, shelter, vet expenses, farrier every 8 weeks.... Very costly way to guard chickens! They are a whole lot of fun though, and pretty adorable

 

[deyhar]

I had the following post on a thread regarding "fox problem" and it would apply here as well; If you are up to taking a dog, it's the best solution in guarding a flock in my opinion. You need one of the sheep type dogs, not herding (definitely not hunting), ie. Great Pyreneese, Maremma, Kuvaz, Akbash, etc. I think even a mix of one of these would work. I got a Great Pyreneese from a local shelter almost 3 years ago and haven't lost a bird since (used to loose up to 5 birds a year to foxes and minks - we have coyotes too, but haven't seen any close to the house). I doubt she's a pure bred but I didn't need to train her, I just put her in with the birds and the was off to work. We have chickens, geese and a peacock. My dog stays out with the birds from morning till the birds get locked up in the coop for the night. She sleeps nights inside on our bed, which I don't recommend unless you have a king size bed . But, I'm sure they would be ok outside for the night as well, it's just our choice to bring her in at night. She instinctively guards the yard and everything in it from all critters. And, since I live in Canada, she can easily tolarate even -30deg temperatures, she's ok in heat too except she likes to take an occasional dip into the mud in the summer and you can just imagine how she looks after that . She has a dog house with straw facing the bird yard, but only goes in it if it rains or snows. She's the best investment I ever made. I've seen other's post about Great Pyreneese as well, so I would definitely recommend a GP for your coyote issue. They have basically no prey drive. They guard a yard (not from people though, just strange animals) and she's the best at it!