Dogs and Chickens??
- Thread starter sillysally
- Start date
I do. I've had the chickens since April and they free range.
To be honest after Roman killed two of my rabbits I don't totally trust him around small outdoor critters, but so far so good. Right now he is tethered in the yard with them wandering around and he's flopped over, totally ignoring them.
If I try and get him to "help" me catch one he'll get pumped up and he wants to mouth it when we corner it, but he chills out very quickly afterwards. He'll chase them at a trot (if I indicate I want help).
Other than that, sometimes they'll be in the middle of the path to the back and he'll decide that for whatever reason he needs to go past them. However, instead of trotting or loping past, he GALLOPS and will often will go slightly out of his way so he goes right through their midst, creating the classic "BOK BOK!!!!"-flapping chicken effect. Playful passive-aggression lol.
But I would say it's a success.
ETA I forgot about my mom's dog. My mom's dog has never killed anything but he shows more interest in them and will follow them around with ears pricked.
The thing about chickens that I've noticed is that they are bold enough that they don't fully trigger the prey response that something really quick like a rabbit does. A rabbit will go into full flight when chased just a little and when pursued goes even faster. A chicken goes just as fast as it needs to to stay about 1-2 ft from the dog.
To be honest after Roman killed two of my rabbits I don't totally trust him around small outdoor critters, but so far so good. Right now he is tethered in the yard with them wandering around and he's flopped over, totally ignoring them.
If I try and get him to "help" me catch one he'll get pumped up and he wants to mouth it when we corner it, but he chills out very quickly afterwards. He'll chase them at a trot (if I indicate I want help).
Other than that, sometimes they'll be in the middle of the path to the back and he'll decide that for whatever reason he needs to go past them. However, instead of trotting or loping past, he GALLOPS and will often will go slightly out of his way so he goes right through their midst, creating the classic "BOK BOK!!!!"-flapping chicken effect. Playful passive-aggression lol.
But I would say it's a success.
ETA I forgot about my mom's dog. My mom's dog has never killed anything but he shows more interest in them and will follow them around with ears pricked.
The thing about chickens that I've noticed is that they are bold enough that they don't fully trigger the prey response that something really quick like a rabbit does. A rabbit will go into full flight when chased just a little and when pursued goes even faster. A chicken goes just as fast as it needs to to stay about 1-2 ft from the dog.
Yeah, we had them at the same time. I was too young to remember this, but apparently when our past two dogs killed a chicken, my parents tied the dead chicken around their necks, and left it their for a while. And apparently they stopped. Which is gross in my opinion, and I would much rather train the dog or seperate the animals.
With Suzie I only remember telling her No when she chased, and I guess that worked because she didn't really bother them from what I recall
With Suzie I only remember telling her No when she chased, and I guess that worked because she didn't really bother them from what I recall
I've heard of the chicken around the neck thing, but I think Sally (the one I'm worried about going after the chickens) might just nom the dead chicken---lol.
Jack as been to TSC with me when they had baby chicks and I let him check them out (they were in a deep stock tank and I had a hold on his collar in case things when south) and he really seemed to just have a passing interest in them.
Jack as been to TSC with me when they had baby chicks and I let him check them out (they were in a deep stock tank and I had a hold on his collar in case things when south) and he really seemed to just have a passing interest in them.
I can't have chickens where I live. But one of my friends has a ton out on her property. Yoshi is pretty good with them. She has a pretty strong prey drive when it comes to smaller fast moving animals so it does make me kind of nervous but she knows she isn't suppose to mess with them. I always keep a really close eye on her too. It would probably completely depend on the dog.
Yeah we had tham at the same time. Most of the dogs were good with them but Fudge wanted t go after them big time. One time he pulled the leash out of my hand and chased one poor hen all round the garden and I couldn't stop him. My dad came out and as Fudge chased the hen past him he stuck out his boot and Fudge went straight into it and hurt himself. He never did it again. Then once he knew to leave the chickens alone I taught him to herd them into the coop for me 
BTW I don't recomment kicking a dog to teach it to leave chickens alone but that was the oly way we could catch Fudge.
BTW I don't recomment kicking a dog to teach it to leave chickens alone but that was the oly way we could catch Fudge.
I grew up on a small farm. The closest our dogs came to harrassing the chickens was the Toy Poodle- she'd chase them, but they were faster than her. The Elkhound used to help herself to an egg or two, but that was it. By the time my black Lab came along, we ducks and geese instead of chickens. But, due to neighbor's dogs killing them, we ended up penning them up.
Charlie, being a bird dog, wanted to eat them bad. At least that's what he acted like. The few times he got at them he'd chase them while they were running, but as soon as they were cornered he'd stab them with his nose and go into a point. I never trusted him loose with them though.
Surprisingly, the borzois were a lot more reliable with them. Strider chased one once, but dropped like a ton of rocks when I screamed at him to down mid-chase. Kaia took a little more work, but she eventually chilled out with them too. After a while they just learned that the chickens belonged to us, and then they started being protective of the birds. Like when our neighbor's ridgeback came into our yard and started chasing them, and Strider jumped the fence to bodyslam it and barked until it went away.He really wanted to eat them pretty bad at first. The dog zen training helps a ton to teach them this kind of impulse control.
Surprisingly, the borzois were a lot more reliable with them. Strider chased one once, but dropped like a ton of rocks when I screamed at him to down mid-chase. Kaia took a little more work, but she eventually chilled out with them too. After a while they just learned that the chickens belonged to us, and then they started being protective of the birds. Like when our neighbor's ridgeback came into our yard and started chasing them, and Strider jumped the fence to bodyslam it and barked until it went away.He really wanted to eat them pretty bad at first. The dog zen training helps a ton to teach them this kind of impulse control.
We have several chickens. They are fenced off to about 1/4 of the yard...but they definitely escape fairly often. Gavroche ignores the chickens. Logan stares at them, and if they get close to the fence he herd them away. I doubt any of our dogs would actually hurt a chicken. A few of them got out into the neighbor's yard with their pitbull and...the dog was scared of the chickens :rofl1:
We have have two dogs and chickens. My dad loves chickens. Chico has killed a few baby chicks these last 4 years. He makes a big stink when dad is in the chicken pen. He likes to argue with the rooster and tries to reach in through the fence with his one paw to steal some cabbage. The rooster will fly at him and sometimes try to peck at his paws which has happened. Chico does not care at all. Bruno has never killed any chickens yet but likes to scare them.
I think the safest bet is to have separate living arrangements and lots of training for the dog.
DH wants chickens badly, and I've balked because part of the reason we have Bates is because he was a chicken killer at his last home. They tried all the usual, including beating the living sh*t out of him. He'd grunt, get back up slowly, limp off, and go kill another chicken.
I think we could Bates to leave them alone if they had their own run, but I would NEVER trust him with a loose chicken. I've seen him kill small critters, and he is FAST.
I am NOT tying dead chicken parts to a pet dog who lives in the house with us!
DH wants chickens badly, and I've balked because part of the reason we have Bates is because he was a chicken killer at his last home. They tried all the usual, including beating the living sh*t out of him. He'd grunt, get back up slowly, limp off, and go kill another chicken.
I think we could Bates to leave them alone if they had their own run, but I would NEVER trust him with a loose chicken. I've seen him kill small critters, and he is FAST.
I am NOT tying dead chicken parts to a pet dog who lives in the house with us!
I would predict my most likely to kill chicken JRTs would enjoy a game of being beaten with the carcass. Thinking on it I think that would have been much enjoyed by Kat.
(I have weird dogs)
Why would having it tied to a dog stop the killing? Wouldn't it matter the drive of the dog? (and what if the chicken is bigger than your dog?) I can see a dog like Kaiden could be upset enough by either methods to not kill chickens, but dogs like Dekka and Kat I doubt would care.
(I have weird dogs)
Why would having it tied to a dog stop the killing? Wouldn't it matter the drive of the dog? (and what if the chicken is bigger than your dog?) I can see a dog like Kaiden could be upset enough by either methods to not kill chickens, but dogs like Dekka and Kat I doubt would care.
The association with the dead and rotting carcass seems to make a big impact on the dog's psyche; although that totally depends on the dog's drive.
We used a dead chicken around the neck for my dad's Doberman; he quit hassling the birds; we also used a dead porcupine in a shopping cart; attached to the entrance of the Dobe's dog house, he was fantastically stupid about porky's; got quilled at least 7 times before Mom got sick of him being stupid; the decaying porky in the shopping cart seemed to do the trick; we lived on the farm another 6 years and he never went after another porcupine again.
We used a dead chicken around the neck for my dad's Doberman; he quit hassling the birds; we also used a dead porcupine in a shopping cart; attached to the entrance of the Dobe's dog house, he was fantastically stupid about porky's; got quilled at least 7 times before Mom got sick of him being stupid; the decaying porky in the shopping cart seemed to do the trick; we lived on the farm another 6 years and he never went after another porcupine again.
Well I'll be able to tell you next spring, when I get mine I'll be setting up their coop over the winter.
Plan is to keep the dog separate unless they have proven themselves. I don't really expect them to prove themselves safe tbh but that could be because at this time I don't really have any intention of working on it. Kim and Webster are both proven opportunistic hunters of small game and are fascinated with birds. That said, they are cat chasers too but they don't chase "our" cat so it may just be a matter of repeating that extensive learning program. Mira, if I judge by the baby robin she rescued from Kim and delivered to me, probably wouldn't hurt the birds but they wouldn't know her retrieves are benevolent, and I don't really want constantly stressed birds.
When I was a kid my mom had RIRs for a few years. They were always escaping...not very good pens. Our dog Buddy (Golden Retriever mom, black Shepherd/Collie of some sort dad) would round them up and/or retrieve them...the birds got so used to it that their egg production didn't even blip. It was pretty comical, honestly.
I'll be setting up their coop over the winter. Plan is to keep the dog separate unless they have proven themselves. I don't really expect them to prove themselves safe tbh but that could be because at this time I don't really have any intention of working on it. Kim and Webster are both proven opportunistic hunters of small game and are fascinated with birds. That said, they are cat chasers too but they don't chase "our" cat so it may just be a matter of repeating that extensive learning program. Mira, if I judge by the baby robin she rescued from Kim and delivered to me, probably wouldn't hurt the birds but they wouldn't know her retrieves are benevolent, and I don't really want constantly stressed birds.
When I was a kid my mom had RIRs for a few years. They were always escaping...not very good pens. Our dog Buddy (Golden Retriever mom, black Shepherd/Collie of some sort dad) would round them up and/or retrieve them...the birds got so used to it that their egg production didn't even blip. It was pretty comical, honestly.