Which dog breeds in general tend to do well around backyard flocks?

[Silkie Princess]

Any sort of terrier or "bird" dog (Pointer, setter, etc. you know), usually don't work well with chickens.

you're going to specifically want a dog with low prey drive.

Collies

 

[chickentrains]

Collies

Maybe, I feel like A collie would possibly try and herd them, but my friend @Cecisflock 's dogs do really well with the chickens. Knowing Ceci her dogs are probably really well trained and well handled, something average pet people might not be able to control.

Yes, you can train a bird dog to have really good obedience. You can't stop the dog from having prey drive, but if the dog is triggered you can recall it off the trigger... most pet people might not be able to achieve this level of obedience, though.

*most* dogs from the non sporting group might be a good fit for OP

 

[klb25]

I have a German Shepherd who used to be great around them. Then he got chased by a wild turkey and now he's scared of poultry.

My Border Terrier is an awesome ratter and doesn't bother the chickens at all. He scares off opposums and raccoons, mostly because when he alerts, he won't shut up.

My senior pup is a miniature Schnauzer. He is really good with the chickens.

 

[chickentrains]

I have a German Shepherd who used to be great around them. Then he got chased by a wild turkey and now he's scared of poultry.

My Border Terrier is an awesome ratter and doesn't bother the chickens at all. He scares off opposums and raccoons, mostly because when he alerts, he won't shut up.

My senior pup is a miniature Schnauzer. He is really good with the chickens.

My dog got bit on the nose by a chicken and is now scared of them. Lol

 

[Cecisflock]

Maybe, I feel like A collie would possibly try and herd them, but my friend @Cecisflock 's dogs do really well with the chickens. Knowing Ceci her dogs are probably really well trained and well handled, something average pet people might not be able to control.

Well thanks Avary. Training continues forever. They are not as well behaved as they could be.

Collies are perfect dogs for birds and livestock but their brains are slow to develop. You will need to teach them how to behave around birds from day one. They are out of the "puppy" stage by about 3. If you are actually interested in a collie (rough or smooth) @humblehillsfarm , PM me and I can hook you up with a breeder for either of them. Don't hesitate to ask. Steer clear of Romany and Orion Hill collies. They are puppy mills. I digress.

My collies have the perfect temperments for birds (old man who is just happy to be involved and a little lady with the most nurturing and motherly temperment that she will actually lick the birds.) Rory (female) is our designated chicken guardian. She is so willing to lay outside for hours watching them. Auggie (male) is so excited we even have chickens. He would give up his treat in a heartbeat for one of the girls to even come near him. His favorites will always be the ducks though.

 

[Thetinyfarm]

I lucked out with my dobie who loved the chickens for their treat (poop) production. With that said, it took us a year of keeping the chickens in a run before we felt safe to introduce them to the dog, and free ranging. Sadly my dobie passed in February of this year. She would have been 15 in May. My heart is ready to love another dog. My dobie was a very, very, very, very stubborn dog. She was smart enough to pretend to be dumb, which made her challenging to train, and she was aggressive to new people at first. This time around I was hoping to get an easier-going dog without the goal of protection. Unfortunately most dogs not bred for protection were bred for hunting. I know it ultimately comes down to the individual dog, and my dobie was a prime example of breaking the norm, but what breeds have worked well for you all? My end goal, and I'm prepared to take time for introduction, training, and overall caution, is to allow the dog to roam freely among the flock when I am outside. I live on 5 acres but am surrounded by hundreds of acres. Closest neighbor is a good ways away, so I'm not concerned about people here, just chickens. Also cats so we have five of those.

I have two German shepherd sisters. 18 months old. They were here before my flock & absolutely love them. There’s no aggression or attack issues.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Well thanks Avary. Training continues forever. They are not as well behaved as they could be.

Collies are perfect dogs for birds and livestock but their brains are slow to develop. You will need to teach them how to behave around birds from day one. They are out of the "puppy" stage by about 3. If you are actually interested in a collie (rough or smooth) @humblehillsfarm , PM me and I can hook you up with a breeder for either of them. Don't hesitate to ask. Steer clear of Romany and Orion Hill collies. They are puppy mills. I digress.

My collies have the perfect temperments for birds (old man who is just happy to be involved and a little lady with the most nurturing and motherly temperment that she will actually lick the birds.) Rory (female) is our designated chicken guardian. She is so willing to lay outside for hours watching them. Auggie (male) is so excited we even have chickens. He would give up his treat in a heartbeat for one of the girls to even come near him. His favorites will always be the ducks though.

Where are you located? I don’t have a lot of experience with collies except my friend had one growing up, and it was really mean lol

 

[Cecisflock]

Where are you located? I don’t have a lot of experience with collies except my friend had one growing up, and it was really mean lol

I’m in Iowa but I can get you a breeder from almost every state. As long as you are willing to travel I can find you someone.

 

[JaeG]

Our labrador cross (she might have whippet in her because she's super fast) is fantastic with our chickens - ignores them completely but sneaks a poop snack. We didn't get them until she was a couple of years old, but she was well trained by our fierce white kitty who does not like dogs and isn't afraid to put dogs in their place! That dog knows her place is at the bottom of the pecking order.

I can trust our dog around the tiniest finches (I ended up hand rearing a couple and I could have them out in the same room as her, though they now live in an aviary).

Our dog is much happier living outdoors (away from Satan's kitty) now that we have moved to a little farm but she was kicked out of her kennel by a tiny bantam chicken who was raising a lone Muscovy duckling. I'm sure they would have shared, but our dog wasn't too keen on that idea.

She might occasionally bark at our Muscovy ducks if they try and steal a bit of her food, but they bathe in her water bowl and she couldn't care less.

She's an absolutely useless farm dog (far too lazy for that) but she is good with all of our other animals and I'm very grateful for that.

 

[agold23]

Speaking from a breeding standpoint, you’re best to buy from a reputable breeder after you find a breed that suits your lifestyle and budget and make sure you’re taking all the necessary standpoints to ensure this dog will be ok with birds and cats. Some breeds do have a higher prey drive which will make them more inclined to chase if you don’t give them a proper outlet for that drive. It’s important you know exactly what your dogs breed needs but also how to properly train and introduce them so everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Now that being said… my dog is half irish wolfhound, quarter mastiff and quarter lab, AKA she had an pretty high prey drive. In her old home she had very little socialization so she doesn’t have the same self regulation as a dog should. I was only worried about her being around my flock for a couple days before she realized she’ll get treats if she leaves them alone. My grandmas 15lbs border terrier mix didn’t care about her chickens, neither does my friends german shepherd with her flock. Training really does make a huge impact and you have to do it right because it’s harder to train once the dog has a taste for blood. All in all prey drive is innate and something you can’t change but it’s a winning battle to choose a puppy that has a low prey drive and you’re able to train from the get go.