Great Pyrenees Chicken And Livestock Guard Dogs

[freemotion]

I have a two acre pasture that is long....it is kinda like a long triangle stuck on a smaller square. Sometimes the hens head out to the far end to dig in the richest dirt and that is where the hawks kill them most of the time. Usually, this happens when the rest of the flock stays behind with the goats, near the barn.

We were just talking about a LGD and wondering if one would solve this problem, or if it would stay with the bulk of the flock/herd.

Also, our herd queen Mya has a "death to all dogs" policy and is good with her horns. So it makes me wonder how a dog would do in a herd of goats.....specifically, MY herd of goats!

 

[BuckeyeDave]

We were just talking about a LGD and wondering if one would solve this problem, or if it would stay with the bulk of the flock/herd.

Couldn't Hurt!!

 

[BuckeyeDave]

Here are some pics!!

 

[BuckeyeDave]

We are down to the last 3, one male and 2 females. They are going quick.

 

[Roll farms]

Free, I've seen 2 of our LGD go up in the air after chicken hawks.
They kill possums, coons, and (pee-ewww!) one skunk.
NOBODY comes in their pasture, it doesn't matter where the goats are, one dog stays w/ the goats, the other runs "at" the "threat"...even if it's a squirrel.

 

[freemotion]

We've just had our ninth anniversary on this property and have not had any predator problems....until lately. The redtails that used to leave our hens alone are attacking them, as well as bald eagles, particularly a juvenile.

We had a really bad drought year last year and I wonder if the wild rodent population was down, driving these birds of prey to our free-ranging flock. I watered my veg and flower gardens, and many of the leaves were eating to the main veins by a variety of small, hungry bugs. Never saw anything quite like it....but in a "desert" of drought we had the food, the poultry and the only green plants around in our gardens. We were the oasis.

DH and I watched two bald eagles mating over our pasture this week.....I should have been thrilled to witness such a grand site. Instead I was cussing them out! :/

 

[BuckeyeDave]

We've just had our ninth anniversary on this property and have not had any predator problems....until lately. The redtails that used to leave our hens alone are attacking them, as well as bald eagles, particularly a juvenile.

We had a really bad drought year last year and I wonder if the wild rodent population was down, driving these birds of prey to our free-ranging flock. I watered my veg and flower gardens, and many of the leaves were eating to the main veins by a variety of small, hungry bugs. Never saw anything quite like it....but in a "desert" of drought we had the food, the poultry and the only green plants around in our gardens. We were the oasis.

DH and I watched two bald eagles mating over our pasture this week.....I should have been thrilled to witness such a grand site. Instead I was cussing them out! :/

Enjoy the grand view and have piece of mind that the hawks/eagles may attack once but will be chased off by one very large and very white Great Pyrenees.

A big white dog roving in a field of green/brown does wonders for deterring hawks. Now that being said, I did have a hawk kill this past summer. My son told me that a chicken was tore up. I went out to the chicken area and saw a very unusual sight, a chicken missing its head, it was just laying about a foot away from the body, some feathers and fluff everywhere but that was it, no consumption, nothing more than some puncture marks. The best we can figure a hawk hit and killed the chicken but before it could dine one of our GPs chased it away. The greatest part of the whole thing is that the bloody carcass was not even touched by our GP!!! We never had another hawk issue.

Find 1 or 2 a GP/LGDs or those hawks and eagles will pick your flock apart one bird at a time. I don't know of any other "legal" method of stopping flying carnivores, except a lot of fencing and labor.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

Free, I've seen 2 of our LGD go up in the air after chicken hawks.
They kill possums, coons, and (pee-ewww!) one skunk.
NOBODY comes in their pasture, it doesn't matter where the goats are, one dog stays w/ the goats, the other runs "at" the "threat"...even if it's a squirrel.

It is definitely cool to watch LGDs work, we have 4 with and around our chickens. They almost work like a hockey team, some are aggressors but some hang back to defend, it is enjoyable to watch them work.

 

[BuckeyeDave]

I just added some videos of the puppies being socialized with the kids last night. Good times... good times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN3Qlu5w3i8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FU-lZlAfkQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO7L6kZ8hFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiWcyY1jOAU