Livestock Guardian Dog for Chickens

[bethh]

Hey,

I'm new here and happened upon the site when searching about LGD. We purchased a home and 3 acres in September. Our kids gave me 4 silkies in October for my birthday. We have since added 11 various chickens and had to rehome 3 of the silkies. Out of 4 silkies, guess how many were hens???...0. Yes, all were roosters. We are considering adding a few goats and rabbits but I have lots of homework to do first. We are considering a LGD for our chickens. We lost one to a hawk and saw a raccoon on the other side of the fence the other day, during the day no less. Something has been in the chicken coop because I've found a couple of the ceramic fake eggs, that are in the nesting boxes to show the chickens where to lay if they ever do, out in the yard. I'm talking to a woman that is selling a 4.5 month old Kangal, Anatolian Shepherd and Great Pyrenees mix who has been raised with chickens and goats. I'm a dog person, I've had them my entire life but I've never had a working dog. If I'm not in the right place, I'm sorry but can any of you who have experience help me with this. I've been told they don't need training that its instinctual.

 

[babsbag]

Hi and welcome to BYH. Oh how I wish that they didn't need training, that would be a dream come true. They do have instincts to protect from predators and to stay with their livestock but they were never meant to be bird guardians. While it can work it can be challenging getting there. My first two LGDs were about 12 months when they stopped chasing my chickens, and they didn't even start chasing them until they were about 8 months old. My third LGD was 18 months and my last two...I moved the chickens. Not because of the dogs, but it just worked out that way.

LGDs are wonderful animals, I can't imagine not having mine, but most of them do not come hardwired to guard chickens. Some of them will even chase and try to play with the goats and sheep and others never even think about chasing them. When the dogs are young they get bored and want to play just like any other puppy. Granted that a good LGD will not have a high prey drive and that won't "attack" the stock but that doesn't mean that they won't accidentally play a small animal to death. It does happen.

You need to be there to watch the dog and see if there are any problems. Many people say that they aren't safe with livestock until they are two years old. I don't buy into to that line of thinking but you will need to watch the dog, correct the dog if needed, and make sure that they are acting appropriately. Some are easier than others, some are tough, and every dog is different.