I'm sure this question has been on the threads before, but my Aussie Cattle Dog has killed one chicken and went for another yesterday, right in front of me. I need to know methods of breaking her of that! I've heard of tying the dead thing around their necks till they rot, but haven't gotten to do that... yet! I WILL if the opportunity presents itself. Here's the particulars:

She's 2 & I didn't raise her from a pup. Her owner had a stroke & I've had her only 3 months. In every other way she is a wonderful, wonderful dog... gets along great with my other 2, doesn't bother my cats (much), loving, obedient, healthy, well fed. I know it's in her blood, but there has to be a way. My other 2 don't pay any attention to the chickens & they're both half ACD. I'd like to keep her & will probably take her to obedience school SOON if the trainer thinks it will work... needed to do that in the first place, but time & $$. My only other alternatives are to foster her till another good home comes along (w/o chickens!) or have her put to sleep. I'd love to hear humane methods that work. I'm outta town this week, will check in next week. Thanks for any info, guys. debra in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), September 18, 2000

Answers

Debra, I had the same problem earlier this year but with guinea hens. I have 2 Border Collies, 1 God Only Knows and a Border/Shepard/Swirly dog. I taught my dogs that "OFF!!!" means they drop down and DO NOT chase. The problem arose when I wasn't home and they decided to kill two guineas one day. I yelled severely and threw the bird in front of them and grabbed their noses and believe me they KNEW I was displeased.

The next day, they killed two more. Feathers everywhere and my BEST Border Collie lying with a dead bird just as happy as could be. I don't know if this is humane or not, but it worked so I'll tell you what I did....it's a little embarrassing! I took a dead guinea and went inside and got my 30/30, came back out and beat ALL of the dogs in the head with the dead bird screaming 'NO GUINEAS!!!!!'. I went whack with the dead bird, NO!!!! shot the 30/30, whack with dead bird again, NO, and fire another round into the air. They are now afraid of the guineas and I didn't have to kill them or find them birdless homes. I won't hesitate to do it again if necessary.

Best of luck with your dog!

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 18, 2000.

Hi - I did the "hang dead chicken around the dogs neck" trick. Only did it for 2 hours - as my "mix breed farm dog" looked so excruciatingly miserable. Never had another problem. She was under a year old and well behaved in every other area.

-- Debbie (serendip@rocler.qc.ca), September 18, 2000.

"Oh he ain't very purty to look at; he's shaggy and he eats like a hog.

If he don't quit killin mah chickens; that dirty old egg suckin dog.

If he don't stop eatin my eggs up; tho I'm not a real mean guy. I'm gonna get my rifle and send him; to that great chicken house in the sky."

Song by John Cash. Well, part of it anyhow. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 18, 2000.

We raised Cockers and Boxers when we were kids. Never did have any problems with the Boxers and the chickens, but the Cockers were fastinated with them, both as fluffy things to chase, and as sources of eggs to suck (they could carry the eggs in their mouths s gently that the eggs didn't break until the dogs got to a nicy hidey spot. Dad finally had to take one of the dead chickens and wire it around Missy's neck. She was a house dog, but she got tied to a dog house, and left for a week, and only fed and watered...no petting. NASTY. But it broke her of it.

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), September 18, 2000.

Debra, I did the hang the dead chicken around the neck on my Dobie, it was wired uo under her chin so she could not get to it. then she had to stay outside and everone in the family told her what a BAD DOG she was to kill the chicken. It worked on her. It has not worked on other dogs not as smart or eager to please as her. My little Jack Russell got spanked with the dead chicken and yelled at a lot and she leaves them alone now. My mother Jack Russell would not learn and I had to keep her tied up when not in the house. Last week she got loose climbed over a fence and killed every chicken in the pen before I got back from the post office. She is now in doggy heaven. She had killed my replacement Partridge Rock hens I had bought from the hatchery and raised so carefully. I don't know what hurt worse loosing all my precious hens or loosing her. Good luck. karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), September 19, 2000.

One day my wolf/husky went on a killing spree and killed 20 chickens. She was tied up on a very short rope for three days with those carcasses all around her. Today a chicken could stand on her head and she won't touch it.

-- Anne Tower (bbill@wtvl.net), September 19, 2000.

My cat killed an older chick and ate it's head. I hit him with the body a few times. Another time, my young hogs killed a chicken by playing with it. They were also hit with the dead chicken. Neither the cat (who threw up the chicken anyway) nor the hogs (who ended up in the freezer anyway) ever kill a chicken again. But it is really funny to see so many other people beating their animals with dead chickens.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), September 19, 2000.

They say hogs are the smartest of farm animals. When I was a kid on the dairy farm outside Slinger, WI, the hog lot was separated from the chicken yard by hog wire. One hog would go to the feeder, put as much feed in its mouth as possible, dump it next to the fence and lay down pretending to take a nap. Sooner or later a chicken would stick it's head through the wire and lose same. Come feeding time the carcass would be thrown over the fence and guess who would be waiting. Mom insisted the hog in question be killed. Dad gave here the .22 and told her to go shoot the one responsible. Of course, they all looked alike. Eventually they went to market, which solved the problem.

Dad was something else. At that time it was all hand-milking. One heifer new to the line on dad's side either would put her foot in the bucket, kick it over or swat with her tail. Dad took as much as he could stand, went to the tool room, brought back a sledge hammer and killed her right in her stall. He calmly went on and finished milking before she was dragged out and butchered.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 20, 2000.

My Old Dog was an Australian Shepard/ Labrador mix, very confused dog. She killed a duck when she was young and I wacked her with that dead duck until she wouldn't even look at it anymore.

She turned out to be a pretty good herd dog, and a fair bird hunting dog, too. She would flush, point, and show you where it dropped, but she would NOT touch that bird.

My cockatiel would walk all over that dog, sit on her paws and pick at her toenails and that dog would not even look at the bird.

I would say beating chicken killers with the evidence has a pretty good chance of curing the problem.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), September 21, 2000.

Well...I have a BUCNH of chicken killers. I breed AMerican Staffordshire Terriers and, being terriers, they love to chase and kill. Great for keeping raccoons and coyotes away for sure. I am thinking about penning the chickens. I have tried the dead bird around the neck deal, hitting them with the chickens (these guys think its petting)... The only thing that was even a temporary fix is a shock collar (used CORRECTLY!). The ones that were raised here are preety good, but my city dogs are just murderers, bitches being worse. I have one dog that will (and has unfortunately) kill goats, I have to be very careful with him at all times and their pen is very secure for many reasons. You might say get rid of the dogs, but they make me the money I need to raise the chickens, goats, ducks etc. BTW I have found that the guineas are too fast and wild for the dogs to catch them. I used to let my Great Dane run until the day she released ALL my bunnies and I found her in the front seat of my pickup munching on my buck! Now I do have an AmStaff bitch that sleeps in the barn with the baby goats and sees that they come to no harm. She even lets them try to nurse on her, very funny sight. Good Luck

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hotmail.com), September 21, 2000.

I had a Chow - Black Lab mix a few years ago that was a chicken and guinea killer. I fastened a dead chicken around her neck with duct tape and left it there until it rotted off. Not long after I finally removed the duck tape and what was left of the carcass she killed another chicken. I even tried the shock collar bit, but that didn't work either. Had to give her away, to folks with NO chickens.

-- Les (lvaughn@suntransformer.com), September 22, 2000.

Y'all come on over to our farmdog list- we could use your common sense there, and you will find lots more of us like yourselves always right there at the computer to help with farmdog problems!

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/5755/list.html

Elaine

-- Elaine Reynolds (horses@newmex.com), September 22, 2000.

Doreen is correct. Beat the dogs with the dead bird and they will not do it again. I know this from experience

-- Judy (allsmile@ctnet.net), September 23, 2000.

Tying a dead chicken around the neck of the dog has worked for us, most of the time. Our dogs absolutely hate being tied up and the dead chicken makes it even worse.

But, we had a Mountain Feist dog once that was just the cutest little thing, about half the size of a Jack Russell Terrier. That dog killed five large tom turkeys before we gave her away. Couldn't break her of the habit. She would only do it when we left the farm for a trip into town which didn't happen often. She bided her time until the coast was clear.

-- Mary (barnwood@preferred.com), September 24, 2000.

I had a Blue Heeler that thought the dead chicken hanging from her neck was great. New cologne or something. She finally stopped chasing/killing as she grew up and figured out it made me mad. Beating her with the thing didn't help either, just a little maturity. My other dogs were easier.

-- Teresa (otgonz@bellsouth.net), September 24, 2000.

Howdy, all. I'm back in town, & thanks for the input! Here's an update on Kate, the chicken killin' dawg... I think I made an impression on her after she went for my hen, because when I feed the chickens now, she goes over to the goat pens and sits, and that is her own idea, not mine. What I did was call her to me and then (the cardinal sin) I then grabbed her by both cheeks and drew her up to my face and screamed bloody murder at her. It was so terrifying that my OTHER two dogs were gone for half an hour! Well, at any rate, I'd heard of the rotting chicken-around-the-neck-thing and beating them with it... all things I'm willing to do if the opportunity presents itself again. Someone suggested that I put her to sleep, but that really isn't an option. So, Chris and I both realized that we're not going to be able to let our chickens roam free for any long length of time anyway once we move since there are so many coyotes and ferrel dogs around at the new place. So, we're just going to have to deal with it. I now let the hens out late in the afternoon & Kate is either with me in the house, or tied up until they go in their coop for the night.

Karen, I also had a Dobie that I found with a dead chicken... don't know if he actually killed it or picked it up after falling from the chicken truck. But, I tied it to his collar and left him in a horse stall and went to lunch. I came back about an hour later and snuck up to spy on him in the stall... he was sitting in the exact same position that I left him, staring at the door, terrified of that thing I had around his neck. He never had anything to do with chickens or birds of any kind after that.

Ken, loved the hog story! You guys are a hoot. Thanks so much for your input... this is what the C'side forum is all about & I'm so glad I found it. Ya'll are great; I'll be checking back. debra in nm

-- debra in nm (dhaden@nmtr.unm.edu), September 25, 2000.