Best small breed to be around chickens?

[thecreekhouse]

We are on the hunt for a small breed of dog that’s unlikely to attack or chase chickens. Do any of you have any suggestions?

 

[Gray Farms]

Stay away from terriers or hounds. Maybe a Pug, French Bulldog, etc

 

[WaterGoat]

I'll second pugs. They're sweet and friendly.
Definitely research breeds you're interested in. You'll want one with a low prey drive (of course this varies between individual dogs). Some rescues will also let you "test drive" a pooch to see if they fit in with your household (or try to eat your chickens!)

 

[chickengoggles]

Absolutely no Jack Russells. Pugs and French Bulldogs are good suggestions.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Miniature poodle? Sheltie? Bichon Frise? (my grandparents have one. He's a very nice dog, even around the neighbours' chickens) Corgi?

Mixed-breeds work out well. My brother's beagle/border collie is great around poultry.

My uncle has a jack russell bitch that's well-behaved around his daughter's pets, but she's well-trained to hunt, so that might be part of it.

 

[Redhead Rae]

My uncle has a jack russell bitch that's well-behaved around his daughter's pets, but she's well-trained to hunt, so that might be part of it.

Most people don't have the skill to properly train a JR to harness their prey drive. The only JRs I've met that were good around livestock were ones that were used for hunting, so they had a proper outlet for their prey drive.

 

[MROO]

I'll second pugs. They're sweet and friendly.
Definitely research breeds you're interested in. You'll want one with a low prey drive (of course this varies between individual dogs). Some rescues will also let you "test drive" a pooch to see if they fit in with your household (or try to eat your chickens!)

I second the rescue mixes! We have a Cock-a-poo - Cocker-Poodle mix - or at least, that's what we think he is. He's a rescue, and he's about as mellow as they come. He wanders through and around the chickens without batting an eyelash. Our other rescue is Border Collie and (we think) English setter, probably with a bit of lab in there somewhere. We can't trust her with the chickens at all. They're all different. Definitely do a test run, if you can - and be sure to describe your expectations to the breeder/owner/foster/rescue. They'll know their dogs and breeds better than anyone.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I second the rescue mixes! We have a Cock-a-poo - Cocker-Poodle mix - or at least, that's what we think he is. He's a rescue, and he's about as mellow as they come. He wanders through and around the chickens without batting an eyelash. Our other rescue is Border Collie and (we think) English setter, probably with a bit of lab in there somewhere. We can't trust her with the chickens at all. They're all different. Definitely do a test run, if you can - and be sure to describe your expectations to the breeder/owner/foster/rescue. They'll know their dogs and breeds better than anyone.

My parents have a Cockapoo/Dachshund would love to kill my chickens, if she were big enough. She has respect for half size or bigger chickens, but I do not trust her around chicks. We have used her to chase wayward chickens back into the pen, she loves doing that.

 

[MROO]

My parents have a Cockapoo/Dachshund would love to kill my chickens, if she were big enough. She has respect for half size or bigger chickens, but I do not trust her around chicks. We have used her to chase wayward chickens back into the pen, she loves doing that.

Doxies were bred to go after badgers, staying with them even when they went to ground. They would even fight them in their burrows. I know there are exceptions out there, somewhere, but most Doxies (or Doxie mixes) would definitely not be good choices for chicken or rabbit raising households!

 

[Redhead Rae]

Doxies were bred to go after badgers, staying with them even when they went to ground. They would even fight them in their burrows. I know there are exceptions out there, somewhere, but most Doxies (or Doxie mixes) would definitely not be good choices for chicken or rabbit raising households!

Totally agree. The only reason this dog respects chickens as much as she does is because we allowed her to get flogged by a hormonal broody. She's been wary of any chicken more than half grown since.