Brand new chicken owner here. We have 10 (down from 11
this morning) 3 or 4 week old baby chicks -- just your
basic mutt chickens -- and a new puppy -- an 8 month
old lab mix from the shelter who is absolutely perfect
in every way except for an unhealthy interest in our
feathered friends. The chicks are at the moment puppy
proof in their stall in the barn, but this morning when
I went in to feed them, Miss Puppy pushed her way in,
chased one out, and then killed it. I did NOT allow
her to eat her prize however. For the time being the
chickens are happy as inside-only dwellers but are
growing fast and will soon have to be released into the
barnyard -- which we still have yet to completely
finish securing. The exisiting fence is 4' hogwire
with one strand of electric across the top -- the new
sides will be 4' chicken wire with possibly another
strand of electric across the top. I am sure this
enclosure will be puppy proof. My concern is that the
chickens will fly over the fence and fall prey to my
wayward little girl. Is there anyway to ensure that
the chickens will stay where chickens belong? And more
importantly, is there some way to nip this unhealthy
attitude towards chickens in the bud once and for all?
I am interested in acquiring other forms of farm fowl
-- ducks, guineas, and maybe even a goose -- and I want
to get my puppy issues under control before I invest in
more birds. Any suggestions?

To keep the chickens in their pen you can try to clip their wings-one wing only. As far as the puppy goes, when we first got our ducks (our dog was already here), we took the dog out with us on a leash and any time she tried to go near the ducks we repremanded her. It didn't take too long for her to realize the ducks were ours and to leave them alone. Good luck. Mina

Good luck with the pup problem. We've been there and haven't been able to curb this behavior. Things are fine when we're around but if we turn our backs, forget it. I'd definitely clip the wings and hope that the pup might equate a jolt from the electric fence with messing with the birds!

Susie

Good luck. Labs are sporting dogs, with a strong instinct to "go get it". Some will refrain from demolishing your flock, but the majority find chickens to be just too tempting to bear unless they've got some excellent retriever training under their belt and you are right there with them. Not knowing what the other dog in the mix was, you should probably assume the worst (Heeler, Border Collie, any other high prey drive dog) Your best bet is to...

1. Keep her under control at all times when around the birds. On a leash when she is near them, and never allow her access to the birds while she's unsupervised. If you don't and she wants them badly enough, she'll rip the pen to shreds to get to them. I've raised a lot of field trial Labs, been through this before I finally learned.

2. Get her into obedience training as soon as she is old enough. It won't cure her of her desire to fetch them, but it will help when the time comes that she goes after them. Instead of yelling and chasing, you might be able to call her off before she does any real damage.

As for some of the myths surrounding breaking dogs from chasing chickens, do not...

1. Tie the dead bird around her neck and allow it to rot. This is so lame, I have no idea where it got it's start but have heard lots of old timers pass it on. Most dogs won't be bothered, they'll just want to play with it and will likely wind up managing to get it off and eat it.

2. Beat the dog with the dead bird. Does nothing.

If you catch her after them, don't wait until she comes to you to punish her. It won't do a lick of good then, she'll only think you punished her for coming to you. You will have to go to her and get her in the act. No promises it will work, but it's the only way. If she's already discovered the joys of chasing them, it will be tough.

The only good method I know of is to find a bird that you know will beat the tar out of her, and introduce her to it. I finally resorted to this with a puppy someone dumped off here. He was chasing everything, so I introduced him to El Bastardo. *grin* Big, nasty tempered white Chinese gander who beat that puppy from one end of the farm to the other. That puppy won't even LOOK at a bird now, because El Bastardo is never far away. You'll have to do it when she's small though, because when she's grown she just might win that fight.

Good luck!

I live on the Highway and I dont want my chickens to get out, so instead of clipping their wings, I went to a supermarket, and in the gardening section there was a flexible plastic mesh. It is used to keep birds out of your garden, but i used it to keep birds inside their little run that i built for them. It is cheap, and easy and you dont have to worry about clipping their wings.

Adam

I agree with Adam that you should cover your pen. Besides keeping your birds in, it also keeps other birds out (including hawks who will eat your chickens).

Jade has a good point too. I forgot to mention that our dog has had extensive behavior training and all of our pens are covered. Its not easy to have both birds and dogs, but it can be done. We have 2 chickens that free range the yard, and whether or not we are outside our dog leaves them alone (and she is a black lab/welsh corgi mix) Good luck Mina

My dogs (golden retriever, and a black lab/mix) were both cured 100% of chicken killing. The key is initial SUPERVISION and training. We kept our chickens locked up but a few got killed when they either escaped or the dogs got in (when we weren't around). The last time it happened was when we came home from work and found our lab with a freshly dead chicken in his mouth. He knew from our reaction that what he did was bad. Plus (before and after that kill) we allowed the chickens and dogs to meet while they were on leash, and then off-leash closely supervised. When they did well, they were praised. When they chased them, they were scolded. Also, (maybe this has nothing to do with it, but I'd like to think so), I'd have my dogs help me gather eggs. They seemed to learn that food came from chickens and that they're a good thing to keep around!
Very soon we were able to leave them unsupervised. It's been over 2 years and there have been no more problems. My dogs are around all 15 of my hens all day unsupervised and they're fine.
However, they ARE sporting dogs and someone above mentioned the "go get it" instinct. We had a stray rooster get into our yard (off and on for a few weeks) and my dogs knew from my reactions that I didn't like this rooster and did not want him around. One day, I JOKINGLY said "Get that!" to my dogs and they did! I felt rather bad, but at least I know now to choose my words wisely. At least they are protective of my flock.

I have the same problem with my Border collie. Chases, Kills and Eats chickens. The chickens were here first, but he doesn't get it. Tried everything: Repremanding, Soaking with the hose, rolled-up newspapers. All he does is cower and before you know it, he's back chasing them again. We have confined Him, and let the chickens roam freely. We are in the process of installing an electric fence because he can clear the 4 foot one that's up right now. Good Luck with your dog, I hope he doesn't turn out like mine.

Oatman, Your response tells us that there is no one BREED of dog that is perfect with chickens. My Border Collie is absolutely the kindest dog in the world, would never chase anything she is not told to. Take that back, she will kill mice without being told. She does not guard the chickens, but tells me if anything is awry, by coming to me with a special bark. She turns her head sideways when passing my cat, who will box her on the nose, if she looks at him! I will find it hard to replace her, although I had a Welsh Corgi, that would carefully bring a chicken (by the leg) out from under the coop, if I asked her. She would track and fetch anything, gently without harming. My Border Collie has no sheep or cattle to heel, but her job is to keep the horses from leaning over the fence. They need an important task to do, and then they are happy, and do not get into trouble. She went to Obedience School, but already knew most everything--a naturally obedient girl! CJR

I don't think it's really a breed issue either. Having had many chickens and dogs over the years, our experience has been:

Best with chickens: Rottweiler (would literally let baby chicks walk on her back while she laid there)

Worst with chickens: Doberman (killed many of ours) and currently our Great Dane who can barely resist the urge to pounce, even when we are standing right there scolding him.

Interested but won't kill them: Two lab mixes

Interestingly enough, we've never had a problem with our cats except an occasional stolen egg! Our cats actually act as if they are afraid of the chickens.

Susie

We have no problem with cats and chickens. Even the baby chicks are safe. My dog, on the other hand-- harasses the cats, chases song birds, chases the peacock on top of the barn, chases cars, barks at strangers and my ducks, jumps on people, doesn't listen, ...... He just got neutered, and is in the process of training the laws of the leash. My good chicken friend also has a border collie that is just the opposite, too. His dog will circle his birmingham rollers (or something like that <his pigeons>) and if one doesn't come out of a roll and hits the ground, he will locate it and make sure no hawks get it and wait patiently until my friend comes to rescue it. That's what first inspired me to get a border collie, but mine needs a lot of work and discipline.

A lot depends on the individual dog, yes, but certain breeds are genetically predisposed towards wanting to chase things. This doesn't mean that all Border Collies will harass chickens while Pomeranians will ignore them, but it does mean that if you have a dog who has been bred for generations to herd or retrieve, then you would be wise to take extra care with that dog until you are positive it will not become a threat to your birds.

With a dog you know nothing about, such as a humane society dog or a "free to good home" dog, it's best to assume that he/she will have inherited the instincts natural to the breeds believed to be in the mix. I don't mean assume he/she will be a bad dog because it's part lab or aussie, etc, but assume that the puppy may be much more inclined to chase after something that flaps and squawks and runs about than say, a Pyrenese or a Basset. Good obedience training, however, will often work miracles even with dogs who have been written off as hopeless stock killers. CJR's comment that they need a task to keep them happy is absolutely correct. This is doubly so for high energy working dogs. Often it's all that's needed to take an extremely sensitive dog like a Border or a Golden from a chicken chaser into a chicken protecter.

On the can't judge a dog by the breed note though, the absolute worst dog I ever had was an Akbash/Anatolian Shepard cross. Supposed to be a livestock GUARDIAN dog, right? One night she left her job guarding my goats and went out on the town. She tore the sides off the chick coop and killed and ate 25 four week old chicks, scaled a 5 ft chain link fence to devour five Blue Swedish ducks, killed two full grown African geese, and then proceeded to a neighbor a mile away to rip apart his chicken coop and kill 50 Black Austrolop hens and three roosters.

Jade! What a nightmare. Just last week we lost 17 chicks, 7-9 weeks old, and 1 duckling (I managed to save the other 9) to someone else's wandering dogs. Aarrghh .... tore right thru the wire which covers the *large moveable coops my dh built. Our Sheltie/Retriever had torn into it just 2 weeks before and killed 2 of our hand-raised chicks. I'm currently trying to find him a new home!! (Our purebred Sheltie has had in-yard training and seems fine w/ the poultry.)

Thanks for the other training ideas. I really appreciate this site!

OK,

We have a great barnyard with 4 foot high chicken wire and gates, a virtual chicken paradise - but one keeps hopping out! (Over the 8 foot high coop wall!)

How do you clip wings!? We have 8, 4 Buff orpingtons, 2 barred rock and 2 araucanas. It is one of the araucanas who enjoys her solitary wanders through out yard!

Thanks,

Zagirls, you will want to clip only one wing, as that will throw the bird off balance enough to keep it from flying out of the pen. Clip only the primary flight feathers, about even with the row of smaller feathers below. I always leave 1 or 2 of the smaller feathers at the tip of the wing also. It doesn't detract from the birds appearance as much that way.

KATY- To solve the dog chasing chicken thing;
1. Enroll the puppy in an obedience class. This should be mandatory for all dog owners.
2. Purchase or borrow an electronic remote training collar that you can administer a shock to the dog when it goes for a chicken. These collars are very effective and soon the pup will asscociate the shock to the chicken and will quit bothering them.
3. Kennel the dog full time and only bring it out on a leash (I personally hate this choice!)
or
4. Get rid of the dog.
I have a 2 year old neutered male lab/golden retriever mix who loves to chase anything that runs. I can call him off chickens, cats or rabbits because of the obedience training he recieved as a pup. By the way, I've had him his whole life and only got chickens this spring. And believe it or not, he has not killed a single bird! Good Luck with the new pup!!!

Try a Maremma (might not be spelled right) sheepdog. I have heard of many chicken owners who keep them to guard there chickens and they always worked very well. they never hurt or eat the chickens and they keep loose dogs from getting into them
Nathan Malone