My Golden Retriever is killing and eating chickens, here on my farm.....got a good cure???

Answer 1

I feel that tying a dead animal around its neck is a bit morbid.. why don't you consult an obedience trainer? how are the chickens kept? do they have a coop? if not then they need a place to take refuge... is the dog getting them at night or just any time? if its anytime then you need to make sure your chickens have a safe enclosure and a coop to go into at night. make a large area for the chicken during the day, like a dog run in sorts but you can make it with chicken wire and posts... you will wnt to bury the wire a bit so if he tries to dig into the coop he cant get in... this will also keep your chickens safe from other predators...good luck smile

here are some links on some coops(even if you just use them as ideas):

http://www.poultrypen.co.uk/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/10.html
http://www.gatewaytovermont.com/thefarm/chickens.htm
http://www.geocities.com/chickenfarmerjoyce/index.html
http://www.henspa.com/
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/index.html

Answer 2

The cure would be to keep them seperated. The dog will forever go after the chickens because it was never taught not too, and now it is ok for it to do. Keep the chickens in the pen, and the dog in the house or tied up when there isn't someone outside watching it. Hopefully you won't have to choose between the two. Ask a dog trainer for possible tips. It could be that another play toy could deter him from the chickens, but I kind of think you might be screwed.

Answer 3

When I was growing up on a farm in NE Oklahoma we had several dogs that chased and killed our chickens. And we "cured" everyone of them.

The trick was to catch them with the dead chicken then beat the ever lovin crap out of them with it. The next step was to find a big rock with a hole in it so it could be secured to their collar and to put a loud bell on the collar as well. The rock has to be heavy enough that it takes a good bit of effort for the dog to drag it around. If they can't run fast enough they can't catch the chicken and if the chicken hears the bell ring they are warned and can get away. Usually making the dog drag the rock around for about a month or two stopped the problem. However if you have a particularly stubborn dog it might take longer.

Good Luck!!

Answer 4

Well a dog loves to chase chickens, birds, cats, etc. Theirs not really a cure I wouldnt think. Maybe put your chickens in a chicken coop, or put your dog on a rope so he cant chase them. I think the best alternative is to put the chickens in a chicken coop though.

Answer 5

Sorry to say, but the dog has a taste for it now. Going to be hard to break it of killing chickens. Maybe an electric fence around the chickens?

Answer 6

You need to either coop up the chickens or tie up the dog. Once he realizes they are food, he will continue to eat them.
One thing you could do is put some hot hot sauce on a sacrificial chicken and put it near him. He chews on the chicken and burns his mouth with the hot sauce. (Have a bowl of water near by) Chickens will not be considered easy food anymore, and if he has any brains, he will be more wary about eating them.

Answer 7

I work on a large poltry farm ads head poultryman, snd we have some gaurd dogs that run around. As cruuel as it may sound, if they kill a bird i take a rope and tie the dead bird to their neck for a month or so, and they dont kill any more. we do it when theyre a puppy and then they decide they dont like 10 pounds of dead weight tied to them stinking for a month

Answer 8

I heard something about tying a dead chicken around his neck to where he cant really get to it. After I while I heard the dog will not even mess with the chickens again.

Answer 9

Put the chickens in a chicken coop and tie up your dog.

Answer 10

http://p072.ezboard.com/fbackyardchickensfrm7.showMessage?topicID=1570.topic
http://p072.ezboard.com/fbackyardchickensfrm7.showMessage?topicID=1718.topic
http://p072.ezboard.com/fbackyardchickensfrm7.showMessage?topicID=1765.topic

This one is about other people's dogs running loose and killing livestock http://p072.ezboard.com/fbackyardchickensfrm15.showMessage?topicID=52.topic

My personal favourite is to tie a chicken's body around his neck. Make sure that he cannot chew it off. Then literally leave it on there so long it rots off. Don't feel sorry for him. If he kills other people's chickens, then the chances are he'll be shot ('lead vitamin'), so it's a much better option. Never had to do this myself luckily, but from what I've heard, the vast majority of dogs never do it again.