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Susie

chickens and terriers

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Hello there. I have just rejoined the Omlet forum as I have a problem. I have 2 beautiful chickens, a grey Mendlesham and a Sussex, both laying beautifully. My little Cairn terrier, Louis, has just joined the family and will not leave them alone. They are in a large coup, fully terrier proof and fox proof so I know Louis can't get them but he just chases round and round the coup and gets them into a right state. I am hoping that in time Louis will get used to them and leave them alone but in the meantime I have to tie him up in the garden to stop him from worrying them. Its driving me nuts because he just barks then. Has anybody got any advice on this please. Maybe someone can reassure me that Louis will settle down in time, I have only had him for 4 weeks. Please dont suggest I get rid of my terrier as he is a rescue and I couldn't possibly do that.

 

But I feel that if he doesn't leave them alone it would be kinder to re-home my beautiful chickens as its just not fair on them.

I would be really grateful for any feedback or advice or reassurance. :roll::roll:

 

Susie

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The dog needs to know that hassling the chickens is not ok, a few sharp words, a loud noise (clap or rattle a stone in a tin) or a water pistol should do the trick

 

Can you move the chickens out of the dogs reach? maybe net off the area where their coop is

 

My dog runs in the garden on a long lead (20 foot) but we plan to fence the chook area off and put a gate on it so that he can then run free

 

My terrier knows not to hassle the chickens is 95% of situations and he is fine, the other 5% of the time a chicken will flap and he will get excited - thats to be expected from a terrier its the 95% you are aiming for

 

I wouldnt say get rid of the dog however at the end of the day the chickens were there first so do try to find a compromise - the dog should not somehow be more important than the chickens in my personal opinion

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I have a similar problem with one of my rescue spaniels. She cannot leave them alone! We have had her since last August and every time she goes into the garden she obsesses around the chicken run - pacing round and round, jumping at the run etc. I've tried all sorts of deterrants, but sadly she really is an obsessive dog (she has quite a poor history). I have added an extra barrier around the run - another row of sturdy netting about 2' from the run, old wooden cube roosting bars against the run, sheets of plywood against the run sides, anything to stop her throwing herself at the run. The hens don't even notice her any more - they were quite startled in the first few weeks! The sad thing is that they now have to take turns in the garden. And when the hens are out she paces between the back door and the patio doors :roll: I don't think she will ever change, but at least she doesn't upset them anymore. That's the worse case scenario! Keep on exposing your terrier to them and with a bit of luck he may actually learn to ignore them. We used to have a Westie who would jump and chase anything that flapped, but he did learn to get along with them and they used to free range together! Candy is getting a little better - yesterday I caught her just lying on the patio in the sun, ignoring the chicken run. It's a very small step in the right direction! 8)

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He needs to be desensitised so that he finds the chickens boring. Not easy with a terrier but not impossible. You should not allow him to bark at them at all as he will be finding it great entertainment/sport. I would suggest that you start by putting him on a short lead and then walking him up and down next to the run. Stay relaxed and calm and get him to walk quietly by using treats when he is good and perhaps a tin or bottle filled with stones to shake at him when he gets hyper. You should discpline him if he even looks at the chickens. He needs to learn to walk around the run calmly without looking at the chickens. This will also teach the chickens that they don't have to flap around when he is close by which will feed his chicken worrying fun. I would continue doing this until he can do it without looking at the chickens. Then use a longer lead etc. Getting him to obsess about a toy is a good idea - terriers often enjoy squeaky toys, save a special one to use just for play after chicken training and then after his training sessions have finished have a game with his toy.

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We have only had our chickens since last saturday. We have two ex-racing rescue Greyhounds which both have a very high prey drive. The first couple of days they were obsessed with the hens and a couple of times I had to use the hosepipe on jet with them. Over the week they have calmed down a lot, they no longer lunge at the fencing when the hens are close to it and they seem to be more curious now, they lay by the fence and just watch them quietly. I would never, ever trust them running free near the hens if they were free-ranging in the big garden but I think given time and patience they will get to the stage of ignoring them. The first couple of days the dogs were trembling with anticipation, and I think they imagined them roasted with little chefs hats on their leggys. :(:wink:

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I hope it all works out for you. I have a Cairn Terrier, Skye, she is fantastic, a little too friendly if anything they warn her off :lol: for getting too close. She just wanders around the garden with them and as you can see in the photos she will go in the eglu and the run :roll:

 

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I hope this inspires you to keep persevering and I'm sure it will all work out.

 

Jennyhenny

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I hope it all works out for you. I have a Cairn Terrier, Skye, she is fantastic, a little too friendly if anything they warn her off :lol: for getting too close. She just wanders around the garden with them and as you can see in the photos she will go in the eglu and the run :roll:

 

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I hope this inspires you to keep persevering and I'm sure it will all work out.

 

Jennyhenny

 

I have 2 border terriers, the older one takes no notice of my 3 chooks (had them 6 weeks) and the younger one only chases them if someone new comes to the house. They all free range together and as above Ted joins them in the run, I separated them at the beginning but after a fox took 2 of my chickens I integrated them for protection. If Ted gets a little too keen I spray him with a water spray - he soon backs off :lol:

 

I live in St Albans - please feel free to come and see them together - whatever you do don't get rid of your rescue :(

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I've got a border terrier, too. The chickens have got bored of her, but she still thinks they are the most fascinating things around (apart from maybe squirrels). The chickens are now completely unfazed by her barking.

 

Mine are in a large wir, and I just wouldn't trust her with them outside of the run. Maybe I should try, as the chooks would definitely have more free range time then, but, really, it might be all too short lived (literally).

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I have a staffie / lurcher cross called Gina. She chases anything small and furry (And large and furry TBH, she's not shy) A sight hound mixed with a terrier makes her obsess over chasing things! When we first introduced her to the chooks when we rescued her she just wanted to eat my girls I'm sure, the more the girls flapped about in surprise the worse it got. Once the girls got used to the bouncy black barking thing they didn't flap so much, in fact Mabel often tells Gina off through the mesh with a peck if she's too close. Gina soon lost interest when there was nothing to chase but leading up to that point we made it clear that the girls are part of the pack and not to be bothered. If she was calm around them she got a treat, if she was teasing them she'd get a loud 'NO' or a clap of my hands and a glare in her eyes. She understands but would always love a go at them. The WIR is large enough so the girls stay inside when Gina is about the garden. Lately she's mostly jealous of the treats the girls get. She now loves sweetcorn, carrot peelings and cabbage - even dandilion leaves! (Although I'm careful she doesn't get the grapes as they are bad for dogs) and if she manages to get into the run, following me into the shed (The run in is two halves so it's if the dividing door is shut) it's their poo she's after! :vom::silenced: Gross

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Oh I'm so grateful to you all for your replies. I feel much better now and will try the bottle of stones method and water spray method and taking Louis out there every day and try to calm him down. My girls are still laying and dont seem too fazed once he has been put inside but I dont think I will risk them free ranging with him around for a while, if ever - they are such beautiful girls. I am having an invisible fence put in the garden next week to keep him in the garden but wont include an area in front of the coop as he will probably just stand and bark all day at them and get hyped up. Anyway thanks a bunch all of you for your suggestions and I will keep you posted.

Have a lovely weekend

Sue

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Hi

I have two Daschunds one that doesn't look twice at them but the other one was the same as your terrier running round constantly and whining to get at them, i thought it was going to be a nightmare, until one day i decided to see what would happen if i introduced one of the hens to the dog (dog was on lead) well i can tell you not much happened Dog gave her a sniff, Hen pecked dogs head and that was it a mutual repect was achieved.

The dog still goes up to the coop but she no longer is crazy to get in and when i have a chicken out she is mindful to be careful so as not to get pecked on the nose again. :lol:

 

What im getting at it is that it might help to see how your dog would react to actually being physically near the chicken because i can tell you chickens can certainly look after themselves. (though please try it with a lead incase it goes horribly wrong)

 

Regards Grant

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My two terriers mingle quite happily with the chickens when they are out free-ranging, provided i don't pick a chicken up---all hell breaks loose then as the dogs seem to be very jealous!! :lol: The dogs also get very excited if I go into the WIR with the chickens and race around the run barking at the chickens for some reason---feeling excluded and jealous?? If they are all in the garden together thye are fine, although I make sure I am always around!

Here they are, looking very intrigued by lady Jane having a dust-bath!

 

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http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31332180&l=abc076cd8b&id=1296583464

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Hi there to everyone who gave me advice about my terrier, Louis and my two girls. Well I have persevered virtually every day with Louis and used a hosepipe on him when he barks at the girls. He hates the hosepipe and eventually runs away into the house, mind you he needs a bit of soaking before he runs inside. However, once he is outside he starts off again and then gets another soaking. Poor chucks they just hide inside their coop and then Louis leaves them for a while. He doesn't seem to be getting it, yet anyway. Its such a shame as he now has to be kept on a long lead just to give us, and the neighbours, and the chickens, a bit of peace. Still onwards and upwards I suppose. I think I must have one stubborn terrier!!! :P

 

Oh by the way thank you to hennypenny who sent in the lovely pics of her Cairn. He looks just like Louis, same colour and cute face - if only Louis were so relaxed around my chickens.

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One thing that might be worth trying is a spray bark collar. Of course that will only help with the barking but it definitely calms my Jack Russell down (he chases everything!). I use the citronella refill spray with mine, which he hates and after one bark he soon stops and runs back in the house!

 

You can get two types of spray collars - the remote control collar and the bark activated collar, I have the latter. They can be quite expensive but I got mine from Amazon for about £30. The best £30 I've spent!

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yes, I can definitely also recommend the spray collar, very effective. In fact I only have to show it to my boy dog, who still gets a bit excited round the chickens soemtimes (he tries to get them to play with him, so funny!) for him to quiet down! :lol:

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Thank you for the suggestions of a spray collar. The only thing is that he already has an electronic collar on because our garden is insecure and we have a hidden radio controlled fence. Mind you that was a waste of money as whilst the girls are on show he's not interested in leaving the garden anyway. I feel that another collar might be a bit much.

Today, amazingly, he is sitting down on the lawn without any collar and completely ignoring the chickens for the first time ever. I cant believe it, such a change - he's being a really good boy and the girls are just carrying on as usual pecking and scratching about quite noisely so maybe he is becoming desensitised and a bit bored with the whole idea or maybe he is just fed up with being hosed. Anyway time will tell. I will let you know what happens next. :?

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This post has been interesting to read as my husband and I are hoping to get a dog/dogs soon. We love the idea of ex-racing greyhounds, but we've been concerned about the chicken/greyhound relationship!

 

Please continue to let us know how your terrier is coping. Good luck XxX

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Keep perserveering it will pay off i have two jack russells the eldest one is 12 and she likes to climb the ladder and steal eggs but she sometimes gets a bit of a shock if Doris (amber star) is broody and sitting minding the eggs !! :lol: and if Doris has it on her and the dogs follow me into the run she will go for them and peck them sooo funny. :lol: If the dogs decide to dig in the walk in run the chickens line up behind them to see if there might be flying worms !!!. Will try and post some pics tomorrow. Please don't give up

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Hello to all

After having said yesterday that Louis seems to be adjusting, we went backwards yesterday and he went manic and barking mad again, so its obviously not sorted yet. I have decided to tie him up from now on in view of the chickens which we and he are quite happy with. If he's tied up he doesn't bother about them- strange little fellow. Whether he will eventually get used to them I really don't know but I don't think either ourselves or the neighbours will tolerate the barking for much longer so its all ongoing. Will keep you all posted anyway. Might be looking for a new home for my girls which would be a shame but might be necessary.

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I spent the first week or so sitting in the garden with my terrier on a short lead while the chooks free ranged around us- she went nuts, but the chooks had the sense not to get too close. I then tied her up in the garden while the chooks free ranged, first with a short lead and gradually lengthening it as the weeks went on. It didn't take her long to realise that if she kept quiet the chooks would come closer, and she might even get to sniff one ! :o - usually got a peck for her trouble, but the chooks mainly stayed just out of reach. It took no more than a couple of months for me to be able to trust her loose in the garden with the chooks. It's now Fizz who gives the chooks a wide berth, having been on the sharp end of a broody Muppets' beak once too often :lol:

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Oh thats a different approach, perhaps I'll try that. It may work better than them being in a caged coop. Its possible that its the cage thats driving her nuts. I just hope that the girls dont get too close because I dont trust Louis not to pounce on them. I will try it though and let you know.

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