Whivh came first, the happy chicken or the calm dog?

[Chicken Esquire]

Hello awesome chicken owners! I recently purchased 3 laying hens and 7 pullets and they are awesome! The problem is that my dog is really interested in them. They are kept in a very secure coop and run, so he can't get to them. But if he sees them out in the run, he wants to run right over there! Understandably, the girls don't like being charged and will retreat to their coop right away! If I could have them out in the run, I'd be able to.work with him, he is pretty good with "leave it" and just bribe him to ignore them. He needed to do that with our cat, too, and now they are friends. But I don't know if locking one or all chickens out of the coop and having them just in the run, while we train outside would be super traumatic for the chickens? I don't want them to have a heart attack and be kept out of their "safe space" in the coop. I also have a kennel I could put the chicken in, but same problem-- how scary is it for the chicken!? However, I don't know how to train my dog to ignore the chickens without having chickens out there for him to ignore! Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[azygous]

Chickens will get freaked out over anything new that they have never seen before. However, they grow accustomed to it very quickly when they see it intends them no harm.

Over the years, my chickens have freaked out and gotten used to the following because they saw they posed no threat.
-my shop vac
-cows
-deer
-propane truck

My chickens have freaked out and never gotten used to the following because they behaved in a threatening manner and actually killed one of them:
-marauding dogs
-bears
-bobcats

When chickens see that the thing that scared them isn't going to come charging in and eat them, they quickly settle down and ignore it. It takes about five minutes.

 

[Chicken Esquire]

Chickens will get freaked out over anything new that they have never seen before. However, they grow accustomed to it very quickly when they see it intends them no harm.

Over the years, my chickens have freaked out and gotten used to the following because they saw they posed no threat.
-my shop vac
-cows
-deer
-propane truck

My chickens have freaked out and never gotten used to the following because they behaved in a threatening manner and actually killed one of them:
-marauding dogs
-bears
-bobcats

When chickens see that the thing that scared them isn't going to come charging in and eat them, they quickly settle down and ignore it. It takes about five minutes.

Chickens will get freaked out over anything new that they have never seen before. However, they grow accustomed to it very quickly when they see it intends them no harm.

Over the years, my chickens have freaked out and gotten used to the following because they saw they posed no threat.
-my shop vac
-cows
-deer
-propane truck

My chickens have freaked out and never gotten used to the following because they behaved in a threatening manner and actually killed one of them:
-marauding dogs
-bears
-bobcats

When chickens see that the thing that scared them isn't going to come charging in and eat them, they quickly settle down and ignore it. It takes about five minutes.

Thank you! So if I keep the chickens in a run for a little while every day, and close the coop door, you don't think it will be too traumatic for them? (If they're not charged by the dog and behind the fence but can see the dog as I train him)? They've just gone back in the coop when they see the dog before, and I don't want them to be too scared.

 

[azygous]

They will not be scared as long as the dog doesn't come at them in a threatening manner. If they act nervous when they first see the dog, raising their alarm calls, hiding, etc, it's transitory. They will quickly calm down and no one will have a heart attack.

 

[neo71665]

Dogs are predators. The chickens freaking out is normal. If they get "used" to one canine predator they will let their guard down to more canine predators. The next one might not be as friendly. Heck your dog might not be very friendly if you aint around.

Natural instincts are just that. Even my hand raised coons from before their eyes were open will go back every now and then and they both 5 years old.

 

[aart]

Leave the chickens in the run, work with the dog, or maybe kennel the dog instead of the chickens.

 

[Chicken Esquire]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful responses! I think azygous is right-- they learned there was no threat and quickly calmed down. For some reason yesterday the chickens woke up and did not care about the dog. The dog also did not care about the chicken. They are in a fully enclosed run in a part of the yard he doesn't have access to, so I'm not going to trust that they are all buddy buddy of course... But it is a big relief! I feel like my chickens all at once figured things out. They are less afraid of me and the dog, no longer afraid of the chicken coop door, and have figured out the roosting bar all since yesterday!

 

[dennisma1]

Glad it's working out. When I first got chickens a long time ago I was worried about the dogs and kept girls in a run, but they were total dullards. So one day I decided to just let them out. I just taught my dogs to leave them alone. It wasn't that hard. They all got used to each other through the fence first so when they started free ranging the dogs were great.