[Bogof]

Just wondering will my two dogs frighten the chickens enough to stop them from laying. The chickens will be in a run in the garden and I don't want to limit the dogs. What do you think does it depend on the dogs/birds or will they get used to each other??

[dizzylizzie]

I would imagine it would depend on the dogs! If the dogs are pulling, snarling, barking etc at he mesh, then, yes that could cause the chickes to have a fright and stop them laying....but if your dogs were all snarly then the girls not laing woulde the least of your worries as all kinds of illness can be brought on by stress so you really want to avoid it !.however, lots of people have chucks and dogs/cats and everything is hunky dory My dog is an angel, even wth tiny chicks, but he is special

i will also say that one of my girls was killed by a neighbours dog that got into our garden

[TeaPots]

my 2 dogs rounded up my chickens into a corner. The chickens when cornered pecked the dog on the nose...there followed a respectful truce, which has now become quite a friendship. New hens are terrified, but before the first week is out, they are as laid back as the rest.

[ehs284]

It does seem to depend on the dogs and the chooks getting to know them. We have had birds attacked by dogs and they are wary of 'strange' dogs, but our neighbours have friendly dogs which will go into the run with the birds and no problems; unless the dog starts eating their food, whereupon they make a great fuss!. The 'slower' the dog the better the chances of them mixing.

[tamnwill]

I would say it totally depends on how trained your dogs are? I have two labs, one pup and one old girl. They don't chase and actually the rabbits/cats/chickens and dogs can all be loose in the garden together without any trouble what so ever. However, i am looking after my sister in laws lab which is the sister to my 6 month old lab and she is so stressful to have around as she will chase ALL the other smaller animals if in contact with them. She managed to catch two of my sister in laws chickens and killed them both!!! Needless to say she has not been out in the garden with the rest of the managery as she has obviously not been introduced to other animals in the correct way, ie knowing who is the boss, that being YOU! Soooooooooooooooo, you know your dogs................ if they usually chase cats etc I would be concerned about mixing them, chickens are easily spooked and if they get stressed they tend to pop their clogs or get a disease, sounds dramatic but it's true. Good luck

[ajkula77]

If the dogs get a bit fixated on the chicken run, might be worth puuting an electric wire round the bottom. Will stop any foxes too.

[suffolk chucks]

we have a staffie that chases anything with feathers, but she leaves chucks alone...............
depends how well they are trained. ours is a good girl. just sits and licks her lips..............................................................not sure i would trust her completley alonexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[FRUITFULL]

We have a Staffie and id say she was scared of the chickens but trys very hard to put on a brave face!The chickens rule the roost in our garden.

[Henlady]

I have a 'mad' cocker and it has taken about 5 to 6 weeks for her to be calm near the hens and for them to almost ignore her.  For the first 4 weeks she was always on a lead, sometimes attached to my ankle!  I only had her off the lead if I could give her 100% attention and after a good walk.

Over the weekend she has been very good off the lead and will look at them like she wants to play but leaves them alone and is now used to having to sit next to me while I feed them in the afternoon.  The hens wander right up to her and she is very good.

[Sassy]

I agree that it depends on the dog. What has worked so far for me is to put them in with the chickens when they are really young and small. The chickens peck at them and keep them in their place and a mutual respect grows very quickly. If you already have a dog it will be harder.

My dog was obsessed when I hatched chicks last year and watched them at every opportunity and never offered to hurt them, however, I don't think I would have left her alone with them - the temptation may have been too much!

[lukasmum]

I have three border collies, who are quite happy mooching around the chooks when they are let out of their run. They know they are part of our pack! Same goes for our cat.

A pigeon or strange cat is seen off straight away.

It's up to you to correct the dog if any unwanted behaviour towards the chooks occurs. They will soon learn that you are there to protect the chickens aswell as the dog!
Good luck!