Which dog breeds co-exist well with chickens?

[Marc33]

We have a doberman and she does very well with all the birds we have had over the last 7 years. She loves to make them all run, but they do like her and will lay with her in the yard. It really is how you train/ love your dogs. They will respect what they know you love and will leave the chickens alone when told to. Good luck!

 

[EboyDog]

I am so glad I found this forum!! I took the plunge into the chickens this last spring and now I'm dealing with "issues" that I never thought of like proper shelter and with living in the middle of no-were, there are coons all around which I never thought THEY might be a issue with chickens and so far they haven't been thanks to my golden retriever who I believe has a negitive effect on their vists BUT to get to my question.....

What is anyone's thoughts of having a chick friendly dog such as my golden retriever and at the same time, having the dog as security guard? I fighting the natural instinct and breeding of my golden retriever who has the desire to chase anything that runs whichs she handles the chickens well until one get's scared or spooked and takes off which prompts her to take on the chase.

My dog, Missy has been raised with when the chicks were young, she just turned a year old and has a lot of puppy in her, the chicks are just about 5 months old. I work with the dog on almost a daily basis of getting her to seek her inner peace with the poulty! She did fine when the chicks were young when they were in the garage in cages, one would get out from time to time when I fed, watered or cleaned the cages so I had my hopes a little too high. She has killed two if them, which only happened has they got out of the coop which I at first thought SHE did the damage tearing the netting but after reading about coons, I now believe coons tried to break in and she intervined and the birds found their way out though the hole and she took it as a game to catch them (she never ate them, just killed them and carried them around, very proud as a matter of fact too!!).

I'm very hopeful that as both the chickens and dog are starting out togather that the dog can be trained and yet keep some of the natural instinct in the dog to act as a guard; This has been frustrating as a very poor example was a few weeks ago I came home to find the dog sleeping in the backyard under the apples trees near the coop and meanwhile three baby coons were eating the dog's food on the front sidewalk!!!

Also I might add, I have 5 turkeys in the mix which when I let the turkey and chickens run free, the dog is tied up; BUT the turkeys are so mild mannered and they come around her and there is no issue but they aren't spooky and they they do get excited they don't run, the chickens when started take off like and that's when I have the most issue with the dog as then she thinks it's a game.

Sorry for the long explantion, I have so many other questions, my co-workers think I'm nuts to have chickens so I dont't get to talk to anyone much at them!!!

 

[Lunachick]

I have a pomeranian, she is 12 but still acts like a puppy. She loves the chickies, they all hang out on the patio together. She is only 6.5 pounds - I think the chickens are bigger than her. Our cats all lay around with the chickens also. I make sure everyone gets the same kind of attention, maybe that helps, no jealousy. The pomeranian walks around with my 2 chickens and sometimes I have to do a double take to make sure I have 2 chickens not 3 (They are all the same color)Working on the picure thing - SOON!

 

[SandraChick]

Eboy dog-

Hope is not lost...not at all!
On page two of this thread, kitsune has successfully trained her dog even after it killed a couple of her chickens! ALso on page two, I have a general post on how to go about doing it.

I did successfully train my black lab to chase off the crows and still leave my chickens and ducks alone--so you're task of yard protector and chicken liking dog is a feasible one.

In an effort not to repost the same thing again...I'm forwarding you to my post on another dog thread that has the basic step by step instructions that has worked for me and many others.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10448&p=2

It sounds like you're willing to take the time and effort to work with your dog. That has to be one of the most important things....along with consistancy.

GOOD LUCK

Sandra

PS---Don't know what to say about your dog sleeping through your coons eating the dog food....well except to say if I was you I'd be trapping them and sending them to coon heaven. I would hate to have those guys grow up to be chicken killers and in my opinion it's just a matter of time.

 

[laurelbrookhens]

I agree border collie/ blue heelers may herd, then catch and then eat a chicken. Our Tibby has learned the cats don't need herding but has gone so far as to catch a chicken. She won't get the opportunity to get to the meal stage. What about little poodles? I heard they were originally guard dogs. Of course everything except couch potato had probably been bred out of them. I'm thinking if the dog is about the size of the hens and encounters one of the hens' "boyfriends" it may be a high learning curve for the dog. Has anyone out there had their dog taught this way? Was the dog actually injured? I don't want to do anything cruel.

 

[anc2908]

We have a pomeranian and rat terrier mix in the yard with our free range chickens. I'm a firm believer that barking dogs help to keep potential predators out of the yard and keep the chickies safe. They do chase the chickens for a few seconds occasionally but have never done any harm, Even when the chickens try to grab a piece of their dog food.

 

[1nana]

I have a older dog, she is a jack
Russell, almost 110 yrs old. But she still has that terrior get up and go attitude. But we brought 28 baby chicks and 4 roosters home. Everything and anything we done she was there, I called them all my Chicky babies lol. Now they are 16 weeks old and she walks proud through them. She knows she is the boss when it comes to keeping them safe. So the chickens walk among our little jack Russell named tinkerbell