Hens and dogs

mcwhirter

Recently got 3 hens in the garden in their own coop, but red setter is very very interested in them. I would like to let them out in the garden for a few hours a day but at the moment have to put dog into the kennel.

Would he kill them if let free?. He is a very good natured dog and is non-aggressive towards all dog breeds but likes to chase the seagulls at the beach.

Would he just chase them or worse??

Uberbeamerman

I have two setters (an Irish and an English setter pup) and 4 hens also. The two dogs were curious when the hens were brought home for the first time but have calmed down since. The english setter can be a bit mischievous at times (chasing the hens) but its harmless fun more than chasing with intent. Everything gets on fine now.

Setters aren't really killing dogs (it wouldn't be in their nature) so I suppose you needn't worry about that. They are setting dogs as opposed to outright hunting dogs (like beagles) I'd say the setter is just curious about the new arrivals thats all. Give it time and they should calm down. Let the hens out in the garden and see how they all get along together. Speaking from experience after about a month or two usually its the hens that gang up on the setter and not vice versa! Hope this helps and the best of luck!

Zapperzy

Best to keep him on a lead and supervised at all times when the hens are out. Most dogs will chase small moving furries especially if the hens get flustered and start running away.

Start off with him on a lead at a distance he's not passing any heed of them and reward him when he's focused on you and calm, close the distance gradually over a number of weeks. But even still I would never leave him unsupervised with them. If you do a search up the top for hens and dogs there's been a fair few threads from people looking for advice when their dog has killed a hen.

HarrietD

My Basset Hound who isn't aggressive and is laid back killed several hens when she got the opportunity yet the retriever used to play with them so you can't tell until they are put together.

kylith

You can never be sure. What breed of dog is he? A medium or large dog would easily kill a hen, even without meaning to.

I guess the best thing would be to keep your dog on lead around the hens until you're happy that he's trained to ignore them.

alison_q

my dog was very curious of our hens until he annoyed them by sniffing them too much and they pecked him. now he wont go out the back if theyre out there without having someone to hide behind! although sayin that, he is a cavalier X who is afraid of his own shadow and has zero prey drive. sometimes he'll try play with them but if he annoys them too much he'll be put firmly back in his place.
we were also minding a 10month springer spaniel pup for a few days and he pretty much left them alone after getting a peck off them for sniffing too much (i think we must have particularly grumpy hens)
id say introduce them while he is on a lead and never leave them unsupervised

CardBordWindow

My grandad had chickens and dogs for years, and only ever had hassle with one dog.
The dog would be tied up, and the chickens knew to keep away from him, after he'd killed one or two. But the smart fecker would dig a hole for himself next to his food bowl. Then he wouldn't eat his food, sit in his hole, and wait for the chickens to eat his food, and then kill them.

So it all depends on the dog really.

mcwhirter

Thanks for replies. I have noticed that when I put the red setter into his kennel and let the hens into the garden he starts yelping and scratching to get out when I go near the hens to put them back into their coop. Otherwise he just keeps quiet staring at them from the gap above the kennel door.
He has been known to steal lots of the kids furry toys, usually rabbit or small dog shapes and take them into his kennel or hides them behind the trees. They are never ripped apart however, he just gently removes them from the house!!

Also, a neighbours kitten was in the garden a few times and he would stay completely still and just stare at the kitten, I suppose he was setting. He would only run after the kitten when I was trying to chase it out of the garden. Similar to the experience with the hens.
I'll give it a few more weeks as he doesn't seem as anxious as when we first got them.