Free Range Chickens & Border Collies

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coNative

In the Brooder
May 8, 2020
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Hello Everyone, I just found this group googling for advice on how to deal with a BC killing my hens. I’m not new to chickens as I grew up with them but I am new to owning a BC that needed a home or was going to the shelter. I really love this puppy (he just turned 2) but he has now killed 2 of my young pullets. I’m devastated and don’t know what to do. Been reading a post that came up from Aug 11, 2015. Have never trained using an eCollar so I would need to figure out which eCollar would be good and just how to train with it. I really don’t want to give up the dog but then again I do not want all my hens to be killed by him. So sad and confused please help.
 
I have a spaniel who is still young and loves chasing them she hasn’t eaten one yet but nips and bites at them we have an e collar it’s beeps vibrates and shocks you can either press a button or it will beep or vibrate when she barks there are different modes for the shocking we don’t use this much the brand is dog care and it comes with a charger and works. I’d say that if she starts to chase give her a beep or vibrate if she still does then shock her. Ours has worked good and after she associates chasing with a shock she’ll stop
 
I trained my BC/German shepherd cross by first using a leash and then when the chickens ran up to her I would make her lay down and hold her until she stopped going for them. After a few weeks I would hold her and they would climb on her. If she went for them I would scold her. This training is best at like 1/2 hr a day. Every day. Just say ‘no’ and pull him back down to the ground gently. BCs are very smart and very sensitive to shaming. It can work wonders. These are YOUR chickens and you are the leader. He is below you and can’t have your things.
after about two months of daily training she learned to ignore the chickens entirely. She’s now 9 years old and a wonderful livestock guardian dog in her own right.

The key to training herders is time, patience, and repetition. Also (just my opinion) they’re too smart to learn from spankings. Smacking leads to fearing chickens and fear leads them to be aggressive with them. Like Yoda says.
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
I keep my dogs away from the chickens by confining them behind poultry netting.
I've trained my dogs to eCollars for the purposes of letting them run off leash.
I use Garmin basic trainers.
It will take some work to retrain your dog. You will need to watch him carefully with the chickens completely protected behind a fence that the dog can see them through. As soon as he so much as looks their way, pop him. Don't say a word. He needs to think that the shock came because he looked at the chickens. Continue with the training in this manner until he refused to look at the chickens. When he ignores them, praise lavishly.
Then you can think of letting the chickens out but put a muzzle on him first to ensure he truly understands the chickens are off limits.
 
DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
I keep my dogs away from the chickens by confining them behind poultry netting.
I've trained my dogs to eCollars for the purposes of letting them run off leash.
I use Garmin basic trainers.
It will take some work to retrain your dog. You will need to watch him carefully with the chickens completely protected behind a fence that the dog can see them through. As soon as he so much as looks their way, pop him. Don't say a word. He needs to think that the shock came because he looked at the chickens. Continue with the training in this manner until he refused to look at the chickens. When he ignores them, praise lavishly.
Then you can think of letting the chickens out but put a muzzle on him first to ensure he truly understands the chickens are off limits.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for this advice. I really appreciate it and am going to follow it with training him smart little noggin
 

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