# Dogs and chicks



## ambrlyn243 (Aug 5, 2013)

I recently lost my 3 little loves to a dog attack. The experience was beyond devastating. I'm wondering if anyone has experience in training dogs to respect their flock...or even ideas to reinforce their coop?? I'm desperate to be a chicken mother again, but their safety comes first!


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## teddy (Sep 6, 2012)

I started with puppies and socialized them. I have three dogs and a couple cats. Cats are bad with chicks. I keep the chicks caged until about 3 months old. I brought the pups out with me to feed and clean the roost. My chickens are range free. As the pups got older they new the chickens we're off limits. They help with keeping the chickens safe from the neighbors wondering dogs. Once a dog starts killing though, well that is time to say bye to the dog. Rest in Peace!


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Cat's can be trained on chicks also. One can use the same technique they use on a dog, with supervised exposure and corrections for negative behaviors towards the chicks. 

I've always had young chicks loose around the cats and never had an incident...cats are smarter than dogs even, in that regard, and are quick to respond to training.


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## Blessings4Mommy (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks for the encouragement Bee. We have 7 cats and are getting 4 chicks in 10 or so days. We will be vigilant about keeping an eye on the cats.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

When they show increased interest that looks like stalking behaviors, just correct them much like you would a dog. They get the idea that this is not food to be stalked and killed, when you are all in one place, existing together and you protecting the chicks. 

It's always worked for all our cats and they have shown themselves trustworthy when we are not around to monitor interactions.


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## kaufranc (Oct 3, 2012)

I agree with Bee. We have two cats, we have had about every kind of animal in the house. Baby chicks, ducklings , rabbits, our goat and turtles. We had my 2 year old rooster in the house for about 2 weeks, the cats behaved very well. If you introduce them so they can be familiar with them , then they seem less curious later on.


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## teddy (Sep 6, 2012)

My cats are a problem. They are never in the house. They are hunters. As they grew up eating with the big chickens they don't bother with them. I seen the hens kick they're butts. They stay faraway from the rooster. But when they see day old chicks all the goodness is gone from their eyes. I just don't take any chances with cats.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I don't have house cats either and bird is always on the menu....except the chicks.

I've even had a cat that helped me round up the chickens and put them back in the perimeter fencing when needed. He knew when he was allowed to chase them and when he was not and he would do it on command.

Good ol' Spike...


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## jennifer (May 14, 2013)

My cats eat a lot of birds but for some reason they don't bother the chickens..









Now my dogs really want to eat them.. We have to bring the dogs in when we let the hens out .


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Sounds like a good time for training!


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## Blessings4Mommy (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks for all the great advice and love the pictures!


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

I started the cats off early, or they started themselves off. They loved the babies and still do. 
My big dog is a herder and thinks they are his. 
I don't think Ill ever be able to fully trust the shar pei mix. I'm working on him though.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Love these pics! Especially the one with the kitten and chicks..that's precious!


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## Blessings4Mommy (Aug 2, 2013)

Adorable pictures. We already have guesses on how some of the cats will react. It will be interesting to see the what happens.


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## FarmRookie (Apr 18, 2013)

This works regardless of how many chickens the dogs may have killed.

Punish them when they kill one. Carry on about it for an hour or so.

Catch a chicken and hold it close. Cuddle it in the presence of the dogs. Let the dogs look at it up close, sniff it etc. If they lick their lips scold them. You only need to do this 2 or 3 times. The dogs will figure it out.

The concept that once a dog eats a chicken it can't be corrected is pure bs.


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## teddy (Sep 6, 2012)

FarmRookie said:


> The concept that once a dog eats a chicken it can't be corrected is pure bs.


How many kills until is acceptable before you give up on the Dog and protect the chickens.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I usually have a 3 strike policy on all my criteria...that's for disobedience of any kind. One strike for livestock kills and if they do not respond to normal training on that, they are dead. They are no use to me or anyone else in a farming community and the shelters are already overloaded.


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## ambrlyn243 (Aug 5, 2013)

Thank you all for the support and amazing photos! I'm going to get on my pup training ASAP! It's reassuring to know there is a way to fix this problem.


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## mikemckenzy (Jul 7, 2013)

My dogs were very interested in chicken dinner when I brought the Beeps home. I had to hold the chickens in my arms and let the dogs watch me pet and interact with them. They soon realized the birds were important to me, now they simply ignore them. Sometimes the Terrier still harasses them, but not aggressively.


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## mjs500doo (May 6, 2013)

Completely agree with Bee. New pups are always socialized with the chickens. 

We also practice three strike. Dogs are replaceable. There's way too many out there. No use keeping a creature alive that keeps taking innocent lives of livestock. It is after all their home too.


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## chickadee3 (Apr 14, 2013)

mikemckenzy said:


> My dogs were very interested in chicken dinner when I brought the Beeps home. I had to hold the chickens in my arms and let the dogs watch me pet and interact with them. They soon realized the birds were important to me, now they simply ignore them. Sometimes the Terrier still harasses them, but not aggressively.


I agree. As soon as my dog and cat realised they were part of our pack, they ignored them. My dog will even let the girls take bits of her bone when she's chewing it in the garden!


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## doodlehike (Jul 27, 2013)

FarmRookie said:


> This works regardless of how many chickens the dogs may have killed.
> 
> Punish them when they kill one. Carry on about it for an hour or so.
> 
> ...


I don't know much about chickens yet, but I'm a certified dog trainer with 12 yrs experience as well as a vet tech.

Lip licking as mentioned above is not a sign of the dog being hungry or wanting food. Lip licking is dog body language for being worried, uncomfortable, nervous and is a way of saying, please stop. It is often an appeasement behavior or sign of submission (think of puppies licking the mouth/face of an older dog).

Lip licking is often accompanied by a head turn (away from whatever is making the dog nervous), paw lift, shifting the whole body away, ears down, tail tucked, body arched...

If you punish the dog when it licks its lips, you are not punishing the dog for wanting to eat chicken, you are punishing the dog for giving you body language that means "please stop, I'm really worried about what you are doing".

People who don't recognize this kind of body language are often the same people who tell the vet as they are putting their dog to sleep, "I don't know what happened! He just snapped without warning!" There is always a warning. But sometimes we don't recognize it for what it is or punish the dog when he does it so he stops doing it.


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## doodlehike (Jul 27, 2013)

My dogs are part of my family just as my chickens are. I would never kill my dog because he killed a chicken. But that's just me and I farm for fun, not as a living. 

My dogs and chickens share a yard... Just not at the same time. The chicken coop is in the back yard which is the dog yard. It has a fenced outdoor area so the chickens can be out when the dogs are out. There are two strands of electric fence around the outside of the coop inside the dog yard. The dogs have the yard in the morning until between noon and 3. Then the dogs come in the house or are crated and the chickens have the yard until they roost. Then back out with the dogs. 

Our new puppy has been trained/raised with the chickens, but the other 4 dogs are adults and were not. We love our dogs and love our chickens and are content to manage the situation so that all coexist.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

That co-existence is the important part of my homesteading life and that is why I would never tolerate an animal that kills one of my other animals. I want a dog I can trust, a cat I can trust and that trust is everything, as it is in humans.

If I had a dog I couldn't trust to honor my desires in that symbiotic relationship that is necessary with multiple animals and livestock on the land, that dog has no business being there. The peaceful life is more desirable than one dog. Dogs come and go and there are many good dogs deserving a home that can recognize and honor the leader's wishes for the homestead.

My chickens are animals too and they look to me to provide protection and I take that very seriously. As I did the sheep, who also depended on me to provide safe living that is not stressful and full of dangers.

To me, though the dogs are part of the family, they are also a valuable tool and presence in my husbandry methods...they provide protection when I cannot be on the alert, therefore, _they must not be part of the danger.

_That peace where I live is more important than any one animal, as one animal can threaten the whole system...it becomes less about money and more about accommodating one creature that refuses to conform to the peaceful existence all should enjoy.

I love my dog but any behavior that goes against that system is just not tolerated as I love peace more than I love any one animal. All the other animals are deserving of that peace as well, so any animal that threatens the good living, peaceful existence of the whole is never going to fit into the whole. There are better dogs available that are smart enough to recognize where they fit in the homestead and can and do provide a whole life of faithful service and love without the stress of unruly behavior.


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## mjs500doo (May 6, 2013)

I could not have said it any more beautifully, any more clearly, or more peacefully. 

LOVE this post Bee. 

HUGE THUMBS UP!! 

Why should one animal constantly be harassed chased, nipped at, barked at, and not be able to assume their daily activities. I am leader. I am protector. I am mom. Mom does not allow anyone to mess with her brood. Human, bovine, caprine, poultry alike.


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## Blessings4Mommy (Aug 2, 2013)

Doodlehike, love the pictures. We have 7 cats and are expecting 4 baby chicks in a few days. How does your cat do with them? Thanks.


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## doodlehike (Jul 27, 2013)

Our cat doesn't even acknowledge the existence of the chickens. I don't think he has ever even ventured into their yard. Oddly enough, he's a fantastic mouser and baby bunny catcher, but never catches birds. We had a nest full of phoebes on our porch that he never bothered, either. 

As for the dog situation, my dogs are too valuable to me (I compete in obedience competitions with them, use them to find missing persons on my Search and Rescue team, take them hiking and canoeing, they keep the deer and rabbits out of my garden) and are not replaceable. That is why I choose to keep them separate from my chickens. I don't let the dogs bother the chickens, ever. They are never in the same area at the same time. If you had ducks and chickens and the ducks beat up the chickens, would you keep replacing ducks until you found other ducks that didn't bother the chickens or would you just build a separate pen for the ducks?


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## mjs500doo (May 6, 2013)

Actually likely yes in my opinion. We raise guineas, ducks, and chickens altogether in the same coop (access to both enclosed pen and free range). Everyone must get along well. The ducks stay on their own, the chickens mind their own business...it's the guineas that are the problem. Especially the breeding males. I've been breeding selectively for personality and behavior traits in our guineas. It's gotten a lot better, but a nonstop chasing guinea fills our bellies.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

I agree....the ducks would be a goner. I've kept ducks, turkeys and chickens all together harmoniously and would cull any animal that doesn't fit into that system. I cull for that in my chicken flocks each year and any bird that is excessively disruptive and aggressive towards the other birds is on the cull list. 

Life is too short and peace is too desirable to live with strife and stress in one's own backyard. Everyone gets along or someone gets the boot.


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