Does anyone know a good breed of dog that won't kill chickens? Our bluehealer is pushing his limit. Nothing seems to work for him. My husband is thanking only one more and he will have to put him down. Our mama lives in the hill country by herself and needs a good watch dog that won't kill her chickens. Thanks Liz

-- Elizabeth G. (scrub@lcc.net), January 14, 2002

Answers

We have four dogs. Only one of them killed chickens when a pup (Great Pyr).

A german shepherd adopted us when he was about a year old. When he first showed up, he made a beeline for a chicken and we said "no!" - he hasn't looked at a chicken since. Some of the roosters have even attacked him and he just walks away.

The other two dogs are mutts - folks can't even guess what's in them.

-- Paul Wheaton (paul@javaranch.com), January 14, 2002.

I don't think chicken killers are breed specific. Our Amish neighbors mostly have healers and they don't kill their chickens. On the other hand, once they do they seldom are broken of it. I had a dalmation that killed them and five that never even looked at them after one cross word when they did. I think you most likely would have the best luck with a pup, exposing him early to the chickens and always under supervision until you were certain he would be obedient and not kill.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 14, 2002.

I don't think it is a breed thing--- more of a training thing. The main thing is to not let them get started. I haven't had much luck with bringing grown dogs in. They all seem to have chicken on the brain but I have been able to keep pups from developing the fever.

Tana Mc

-- Tana Mc (mcfarm@totelcsi.net), January 14, 2002.

Hi Elizabeth,

I have had 7 or 8 dogs with chickens. I got them all as pups and never had trouble, but I did have to correct a couple for mindless chasing. I have heelers, a border collie, many corgis, and one dachsund. I did use the heelers, collie, corgis to herd the chickens, turkeys, geese, cattle. The dachsund was kind of a weenie around livestock...well actually in general but she was a good foot warmer in the winter. Anyway, imagine the scene of 5 corgi dogs stalking the coyote who is stalking their chickens. Warms the heart.

I had a neighbor that had a blue heeler that killed a chicken and he tied the carcass to the dog for a few days. The dog never took down another bird. I have also read about beating the dog with the carcass, but I have never beaten a dog in my life so I can't say for sure whether it works. Repeat offenders may be hard to break. Possibly you could try some of the above before you send the dog to a place with no chickens, or just ship it.

Good luck with this.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), January 14, 2002.

Tying the carcass does work. My dog had the chicken tied to her for a week. Granted she didnt come in the house but it sure did cure her of chicken killing.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), January 14, 2002.

Well don't look to the hunting (bird dog) breeds. When you are looking at dog breeds think about what they were breed for and the habbits and personallities of the critters you want them to leave along or to protect, whichever. A dog that is designed to herd by nipping (bluehealer) isn't going to work with chickens. Actually any herding dog probably won't work well with chickens. These animals are designed to herd and keep things together. Chickens, especially if free range, are particularly chaotic creatures. You will drive a herding dog nuts and out of frustration it may mame or kill. Some dogs will just kill for the fun of it. Instinct tells many breeds to chase anything that runs and chicken are natorious at being flighty. I have a mixed breed dog who is great with the chickens and loves them. Very protective. He has a lot of herding breed in him and it drives his nuts when a hen goes broody and he cannot account for her He has taken other dogs down for going after his chickens but then again when one of my other dogs went after a chicken and killer it he helped to eat it. Go figure. I put my chickens in with my goat and llamas this past year thinking that they would be well protected. Forget it! I sat on my upper deck and watched as a fox ran into the enclosure past the llamas (laying down), past the goat (eating grass). He chased a chicken bit at her tail and I yelled,very loudly, "hey, what do you think you are doing?" everyone in th pen stopped to look up at me, including the fox who had a mouthful og feathers. The chicken go away, so did the fox my dogs slept on on the deck with me and all the other critters went back to doing their thing. Oh Well! Many of my chickens started to roost in the crabapple and cherry trees at night. Each day a few more where missing, I finally figured out that I must have gray foxes, apparently they climb trees. Next time I get chickens I will make them go into the coop at night but it is hard if you get one who is broody out in the pasture.

-- Susan northern MN (nanaboo@paulbunyan.net), January 14, 2002.

I agree its not a breed thing. We had a blue heeler, the chickens would come within a few feet of where he was laying and he'd just look at them. Main thing is teach them early, make the punishment swift and severe if they give the chickens anything more than a curious glance. NEVER, EVER, feed the dog any raw meat, especially chicken, or raw eggs. This will give them the "taste of blood" and its all over one they get that. The only thing I have ever found that will stop a chicken killing dog is lead.

-- Phyllis (tmblweed@wtrt.net), January 14, 2002.

I have 4 border collies and free range chickens and they get along great! I think it is how you raise your dogs. Mine knew the chickens and ducks were off limits from the time they were born. In the evening, when I give the command, the border collies round up the ducks and herd them to the coop. (The ducks are always heading there anyway, but the dogs think they are helping). I purchased a hand held training device from Wal-Mart, when they do something wrong, press the red button and the sound hurts their ears. (Say NO at the same time). I haven't used this device for years. It really trained them quickly. My border collies love everybody and would not make good watch dogs. They do bark when someone pulls up in the drive but they wouldn't hurt a fly! Good luck!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 14, 2002.

We have a German Shorthaired Pointer that is absolutely fantastic with our chickens. She bothered them a little bit at first, but a few stern words taught her to not molest them. Over time, she learned to help us herd them into the coop at night, and now is amazingly helpful when we need to round them up.

I had a duck get away the other day and get down to our pond. The problem with that is that it's almost impossible to get them out once they get in there, but the foxes get them very quickly.

I headed down to the pond to find the duck, and couldn't see it. The pointer ran into the tall grass at the shallow end and scared it up. "Get that bird, Ella!" I yelled as I ran that direction with the net. Ella actually caught the bird with her front paws, and held it down without hurting it until I got there with the net. What an amazing dog!

Our Jack Russell Terrier, on the other hand, has been very difficult to train. The first time I caught him with his lips around a rooster's neck, he hadn't yet killed it, just hurt it's feelings a bit. The dog got a stern talking to, and seemed to get the point. A few weeks later, however, I caught him gnawing on one of our hens, who at this point was barely breathing. I put the chicken out of it's misery and followed the advice of an old friend who grew up on a chicken farm, I beat the terrier with the dead chicken. A very unpleasant task, to say the least. That's when the dog earned his name, Bongo. However, he has never so much as glanced at a chicken since. The ducks, on the other hand, have been another lesson to learn altogether.

Freddy, our beagle, takes a more proactive approach to chicken protection. He and a couple of other beagles, friends from the farm "next door" (half-mile away) spend most days chasing foxes throughout the six-thousand acre wood behind our house. Beagle heaven!

-- Chuck (woah@mission4me.com), January 14, 2002.

I've had a lot of different dogs around all kind of livestock, including rabbits and chickens. One of the things that seems to be paricularly noticeable is that the dogs ... both by breed and individuals ... that have very strong "prey drives" will be much more inclined to "chase and kill" ... and particularly any breed that was bred to hunt and kill anything ... rat terriers of any kind, etc. ... are particularly likely to go after small stock.

I had a Rottweiler that was a natural stock dog (heeler) ... they were originally used, in part, when first developed centuries ago, to drive stock ... and she was always bad about cats, rabbits, chickens and everything up to and including Angus bulls and Shire stallions. I also had a miniature bull terrier (all of 30 lbs) who was equally as bad ... would latch onto the Shire stallion's feathering and go for a ride ... literally ... he would walk around with her attached to a leg!

I had another Rottweiler, a male, that would retrieve baby rabbits that fell out of nest boxes/cages ... and proceed to thoroughly wash them ... but they were never injured. But he hadn't a clue about stock, either ... no natural driving/stock working instincts at all.

-- SFM in KY (timberln@hyperaction.net), January 14, 2002.

My sister got a robot puppy for Christmas that does not kill chickens. I think that is the only breed that is totally, 100% safe with chickens from the get go! Beyond that it's a combination of the individual animal and lots of training as mentioned above. (The other benefits of the robot dog are a very low feed bill, no puppy damage to the house, no puddles or piles, no excessive barking or whining, and it gets along great with her other dog!)

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), January 14, 2002.

Don't blame the dog for killing chickens, and for goodness sake don't put him down for it!!!

It is some dogs nature to kill chickens and all types and breeds will kill them on occasion, the ones that DON'T KILL chickens are the exceptions, not the rule!!!

I have four large dogs, two are chicken killers, the critters are separated, chickens needed to be put up in a secure poultry house because we have tons of OTHER predators as well.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 14, 2002.

only sure fire dog,, that wont kill chickens,, (besides robo puppy),, is a dead one,, want one?

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 14, 2002.

Our mutt - looks part wolf and blue heeler was about a year old when we first got chickens, he never touched one of them even when they ran loose and ate his dogfood, even now we come home there will be a couple of turkeys hanging around with him on the front porch. But the dogs we got as pups (Bassets) and have been raised around chickens have killed several birds. But I would say that the younger the dog the better - gives them a chance to grow accustom to birds and how skittish they can be.

-- j willis (jwillis@louish.com), January 14, 2002.

Okay I know some of you have had problems with chicken killing dogs, but lets not say they ALL will if given the chance. We have a Keeshond who, mind you was 8 yrs. old when we got our first pullets. She has never bothered them, she doesn't want to love them either but they live together without a problem. From the time we got the chickens she was made to mind, if she even gave them a second look we would say "Bad dog!" and like I've said she's never so much as nipped at one and they test her all the time, the hens free range in our yard/garden area with her. I do agree some dogs are more inclined to kill chickens and once they start it's hard to stop, but it's not fair to throw all dogs into one lump category. I've hear good and bad result or should I say a lack of result with tying the dead bird around the dogs neck, again I think it's each dog as an individual.

-- Kelle in MT (kvent1729@aol.com), January 15, 2002.

We have raised Great Pyrs for years and never lost a chicken to a dog, and they do a wonderful job chasing off the coyotes. I think the clue might be to get pups raised with chickens, from a neighbor with birds perhaps? The pups we raise go to the barn as soon as they are old enough and share their food bowl with the free range birds (well we don't invite the chickens but they usually find it).

Kim

-- kim (fleece@eritter.net), January 15, 2002.

I will look to somebody around here (EAST Texas) that has some pups around chickens. My mom lives by herself in the middle of nowhere, has not been able to get around for a while except to maintain herself. she won't go anywhere else because she loves it there. Chickens in a pen there will not work. Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts. I am glad I found this board. Liz

-- Elizabeth (scrub@lcc.net), January 15, 2002.

How about offering the dog for free here .Give it's age and some other info.If mom doesn't get around well I think a pup will be to much for her .And may even hurt her by acting like a pup.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

I wouldn't send her a puppy! We would make sure it is trained (if you can really train one)and at least a year old. wWe will just deal with ol Kowboy best we can. maybe find a rooster that can stand up to him lol. Liz

-- Liz (scrub@lcc.net), January 15, 2002.