Border Collie training for chicken herding ?

[Abriana]

All our family dogs have been trained to be gentle with other animals. They are trained to retrieve but never harm. We have found that the best way to train is from a young age with lots and lots of socialisation. My personal method - give everyone a BIG afternoon play so all the excitement factor has been worn out of them. Then after dinner we have quiet "combined family time" where all animals are supervised together. It's a gradual scale of introduction starting with everyone on leads and/or in cages close by and eventually with everyone just being in the common area doing what they want unrestricted. How restrictive and how long this training will be will definitely vary depending on breed of dog and the animals you are socialising with..

I find the labradors and retrievers are excellent for this type of training. They have a gentle nature and tend to "mother" the creatures they come across rather than herd or chase. My rescue retriever was excellent mates with my sebrights - they'd follow her around all day long and during the evenings she'd lie there and periodically swish her tail for them to pounce on.

Aww that’s sweet! Initially I wanted a retreiver but then I read they were trained to carry birds in their mouth and didn’t want to risk it. Sounds like it worked out here!

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

Aww that’s sweet! Initially I wanted a retreiver but then I read they were trained to carry birds in their mouth and didn’t want to risk it. Sounds like it worked out here!

I would highly recommend a retriever actually for that exact reason - even though they are quite likely to put things in their mouth, they are naturally quite gentle. We used rolled up socks as trainers - they're soft and you can fill them with feathers or interesting smells so they get used to carrying interesting smells without chewing. We had a game where every morning dad would be getting ready for work and it was the puppy's "job" to go to the laundry pile and "collect" a pair of socks and take them to dad.

Over the years our dogs have retrieved "everything!" - baby rabbits, baby birds, even frogs! You come in and find them nestled on their blanket licking and "mothering" their find LOL.

 

[Abriana]

I would highly recommend a retriever actually for that exact reason - even though they are quite likely to put things in their mouth, they are naturally quite gentle. We used rolled up socks as trainers - they're soft and you can fill them with feathers or interesting smells so they get used to carrying interesting smells without chewing. We had a game where every morning dad would be getting ready for work and it was the puppy's "job" to go to the laundry pile and "collect" a pair of socks and take them to dad.

Over the years our dogs have retrieved "everything!" - baby rabbits, baby birds, even frogs! You come in and find them nestled on their blanket licking and "mothering" their find LOL.

Oh my gosh that’s sooo sweet!!

 

[centrarchid]

Chickens are not well suited for direction through herding. Water fowl like some geese are. I can get chickens to go places on there own accord by providing treats with training.

I use dogs, including an English Shepherd.

 

[JaeG]

So not true..My Dogs have successfully worked since under a year old.

Border Collies shouldn't even begin formally working/training with stock until 10-12 months old. They require careful direction to produce a trustworthy working dog.

This is a very good read: http://www.lockeyebc.com/puppyfirst.html
This one too: http://www.hobbyfarms.com/how-to-train-young-herding-dogs-3/