dogs and free range hens

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andy and deb

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dogs and free range hens
« on: June 13, 2011, 11:50 »
Hi , we have just started to free range our ladies to help with a couple of new girls in the pen , the question is is it safe to let the dog in the garden with the girls , she seems ok with them when they are in the pen but she is v playful and I don,t think she would bite them its whether the hens would be affected and affect their laying

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joyfull

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2011, 12:40 »
it really depends on your dog, one of mine used to chase them but would never have hurt them whereas another I had would have killed them without a second thought. The two I have at the moment are both giant breeds and perfectly fine with my birds.
Staffies are softer than you think.

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curries

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2011, 13:22 »
Same here, I have a medium size dog and she is fine with them, in fact when my hens are broody they chase the dog!!  It usuallly tends to be smaller, terrier types that you have to be most careful with.
I dog, 1 cat, 1 horse, 1 Light Sussex, 2 Speckledys, 2 Cuckoo Maran:)

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andy and deb

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2011, 14:26 »
well our dog is a dalmation very soft and playful.. I,ll take her out and see how she reacts
Thanks
Andy

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8doubles

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2011, 15:38 »
Dog `play' is a bit rough for hens, big paws and chasing has been the end of many.
Close supervision is best till you are SURE the dog knows how to behave near them.

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bramford

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2011, 17:49 »
our lhasa loves the girls he had to be watched to start with but now he is great with them

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Raven81

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2011, 18:59 »
My rottweiler (and cats) completely ignore the hens. We have introduced all our animals and let them see that the others aren't that interesting so they just accept them.
The glass is neither half empty or half full - it is simply the incorrect size! Find a new glass!

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PhilDotte

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2011, 19:18 »
My Pug just ignors them most of the time (and other times she just stands and barks at them...)  The cats turn a blind eye once they realised the hens give chase if they go anywhere near...lol

4 Ex Batts (Sophia, Dorothy, Blanche & Rose) 1 SLW Bantam  (Lacey) 1 GLW Bantam (Harriet) 2 Chocolate Wyandotte Bantams 2 Silkies & 1 Cream Legbar. 3 Pugs (1 Black & 2 Silver Fawns) I breed and show rabbits of which I have about 80 and judge in the UK and Internationally

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wildy78

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2011, 20:47 »
sorry to put a dampener on it but even the most calm and trustworthy dog can have its moment.  My dog is timid and never really paid any attention to the hens until about 3 months ago.  The inevitable happened he chased our speckeld sussex knocked her to the ground and killed her :( accidents do happen but his play turned a bit too rough.

If your dog is supervised then no problem, if unsupervised then please be aware it can happen.

1 wife, 1 daughter, 2 dogs, 1 horse, 1 Copper black maran, 1 Cherry Maran, 1 Speckled, 1 Sussex, 1 welsummer, 1 dorking, 1 silver laced wyandotte
6 new arrivals - 3 welsummers 3 barnvelder.
5 more new arrivals (pullets) - white star, fenton blue, fenton rose, plymouth rock, silver sussex

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daisy1990

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2011, 21:01 »
I support the last comment.  Our four dogs who are normally very placid and tame went wild when they had the opportunity to get at the hens unsupervised (they got through two five bar gates and through an electric fence- still no idea how)  there was absolute carnage, the hens were all minus lots of feathers but fortunately survived.  I know some keepers let dogs and hens mix and they do so happily, but following my experience I will never trust them together again
3 dogs, 8 chickens, 4 rabbits 2 guinea pigs, 10 quail, 2 fish and a demanding daughter who has gone to uni and left me with 29 animals to care for!!=)

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Raven81

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Re: dogs and free range hens
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2011, 21:57 »
I just realised I didn't put in my post that mine are always supervised - but they are! the hens are always supervised whenever in the garden anyway, whether with the dog or not.



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