I'm moving again though and will be getting another dog. I'm moving to a 2.5 acre property and was going to start a chicken/ rabbit farm. The dog is going to LOVE all of the free range chickens and rabbits I'm going to let it eat.
I'm going to need a dog to protect my animals from predators, while not attacking the animals it needs to protect. At the same time I'd rather it scared strangers to the point to where they don't want to come on the property rather than have it attack them.
I also want something friendly that will keep me company while I'm working. So that probably eliminates flock guardian breeds right?
What kind of setup are you planning for your livestock?
With stock that small, your biggest threat of predation is coming from the air.
Are you raising the chickens for meat or eggs? The commercial meat birds (cornish, cornish X broilers, etc.) do not make good range birds. They lack the ability to forage, so many will actually starve themselves when you turn them out to graze. Also, they put so much of their growth into muscle that they don't feather out as quickly as other breeds. They end up needing protection from the elements otherwise your birds will get heatstroke or chilled. They can't handle rain like other types. Also, commercial meat breeds all come in white which makes them big targets for hawks if they aren't in a covered run.
Egg layer types do much better as range birds. Leghorns can become hawk savvy if they are raised right and given enough cover to hide in, and they also come black and brown which make it easier for them to hide.
The best range birds are old style game fowl, but they are very slow to mature and don't grow as heavy as the commercial meat birds.
If you want your birds to be able to range a bit, a simple flight pen will keep them safe from aerial predators.
Rabbits also need cover or you are going to lose them to hawks. They also need fencing or they will run away.
My point is, smaller stock is going to need some kind of fencing to keep them safe, regardless of whether you've got a livestock protection dog or not. What a dog will do is keep raccoons and possibly coyotes away. Our borzois cleaned out the raccoons. When I had one borzoi that didn't stop the coyotes from dropping by and trying to get into the birds, but when we got our second they managed to kill a coyote and stopped the coyotes from coming back.
Renee's suggestions of a nice rotti, german shepherd, or aussie are really good ones. All three of those breeds will put on a big noisy show if people show up uninvited.
If you want any suggestions on poultry and things, let me know. I used to raise chickens as a hobby farm (had about 300 at any given time).
