When we moved here we inherited chickens and wanted a dog. I grew up with farmers in the family and there never seemed to be a problem with dogs and chickens, although often both dog and chickens were confined to their own yards, so I didn’t think there was a big deal there, but ending up with a dog that likes to kill chickens would be problematic. We had contacted the pound to see whether they had a suitable dog, but they basically said that a mature dog can’t be trusted, or at least they weren’t prepared to vouch for one.
So we got our fox terrier pup and read up about teaching her the ‘leave it!’ command, but she was fine from the beginning, although she did want to play with them, and still does. The chickens are not concerned by her though, and they all hop in together when I throw them some pellets. (The dog thinks layer pellets are the best food ever).
Where I have really been surprised is with her attitude to the chicks. They are coming up to 5 weeks old now, and as you can see she’s not even interested in chasing them. For sure at first I was careful to keep her away, and she was very interested in them, but the novelty seems to have worn off. The hen has to take some credit too, as one afternoon there was a deal of yelping (I was thinking snake) and the dog came sheepishly down from the chick pen; I think she got too close to a chick and got a good pecking. The hen can be pretty ferocious.
So I suppose the most surefire way to have dogs and chickens is to have the chickens first and demonstrate to the dog that they are part of the farm. Does anyone have special tricks or experience with older dogs they want to share?