AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

I read some sad stories from time to time about dogs and chooks and every day I count my blessings.

I have three very active dogs, 2 dobermans and a kelpie/border collie cross. All three dogs roam the property (10 acreas)with me but never wihtout me. I let my chooks free range (bantams, in turn, in the vegie gardens and the light sussex have access to the other) so my dogs and my chooks are often together. In fact when I am mixing my horses feeds in the morning and evening all the dogs and all the light sussex are gathered together outside the feed shed waiting for me to throw them all a hand full of horse feed which I do and they all eat happily together. Now I know this is not usually the case which is why I count my blessings. If Larry (LS Roo) feels the dogs get too close to his girls he gives them a peck and that is the limit of the aggression from any of them.

Yesterday afternoon I had put the sussex away in the pen after putting the horses away and then went back to rug the horses for the night. Nikki (red doberman) and Fred (black&tan doberman) were with me when I had finished but I could not find Gidget, my pound rescued Kelpie/collie cross. She has a tendancy to get herself locked in the stables as she follows me in when I rug the horses and is not fast enough when I hop out and close the door. But she was not in the stables, nor was she in the vegie garden (followed me there when I locked the bantams up for the night). I found her locked in the sussex pen waiting patiently at the door with LArry (LS Roo). How many other dogs can one lock in the chook pen with no adverse affects for either dog or chook.

I am so lucky that my animals live well together without any problems. In fact the only one who is aggressive is my grey horse who chases the dogs if they go in his paddock. But he is a very jealous horse as he would like to chase hubby too.

you must have very well trained dogs county lodge i think we have all had our ups and downs when it comes to our pets.

today my nans cat had a go at my duck, and grabbed it by the wing. Then i herd it quack very loudly so i ran to were it was and i scram at the cat, but thankfully the duck was alright

i would never trust my dog she will kill any poultry

Stuart don't get me wrong I would not trust my dogs on their own with my poultry either. Fowl is the natural food for canines. I was just so happy that nothing happened when I accidentally locked the dog in the chook pen and I wasn't there to supervise. And they as such good dogs when I am there and the chooks are there. I know I am lucky with this situation.

Hi CL, think it also depends on how well fed/attention deficient your dogs are. I have a Rotty (guard dog), plus two mad golden retrievers (one an 8 month old puppy), who are probably a bit too well fed as quite happily allow my bantams to wander amongst them and collect the odd leftover scraps of meat from fresh bones. The best time in my household is early afternoon with a full sun, then all my peacocks, bantams and dogs laze around each other sunbaking. I do yell at my puppy though when the urge to run and create some excitement with flapping chooks becomes too much to overcome and the look of "spoilsport" she gives me for being told off. My cat has given me hysterics on the odd occasion also when surrounded by chooks and not being able to overcome her fear and rushing back indoors. It is a bit like kindergarten though, making sure everyone is fed at the same time, no bickering or bullying etc etc....

i hav a heeler x & i would not trust him a bit. i hav to lock him in a kennel before i let my chooks out

My daughter's four month old kitten is good for a laugh when he and the chickens don't know the other is there and suddenly step around a corner (or simply move).

I don't know who is more "chicken".

I used to have an English Springer Spaniel who couldn't be trusted with birds under any circumstances. We came home from a Christmas party one year to find my son's silkie's cage ripped open and empty. After a bit of searching I found what was left - a leg and a couple of feathers. We didn't need to feed the dog that night

He was also known to catch (and usually eat) birds that dared to come into the back yard ... including a galah and several magpies! Hunting instinct was well intact, but he didn't understand the "soft mouth" business that retriever breeds are supposed to have.

Our two Australian Shepherds used to chase our bantams - not sure if they actually would have killed them, but they did remove a few feathers. One day our young one, Sebastian, really had a go at one of our hens after he'd already been told to stop, so I tied him in the chook house on a very short leash for a while, with chooks moving all around him. It was a different story for him when he couldn't get away from them, and he is now very respectful of the chickens when out amongst them.

I still wouldn't leave them unattended, though, and have tried to make sure no stray chooks make it into our back yard where the dogs roam as I'm pretty sure no amount of training would overcome that chasing urge on their own turf!

Deb

my 2 dogs kill poultry any chance thay get