|
Train Dog to Herd Chickens
Daisy and I have been raising chickens for several years now. I bought the chickens for Daisy to herd. Daisy is an American Border Collie and is happy when she is busy and has responsibilities. The chickens are her responsibility. She enjoys playing with them and herding them into the coop every night. Let me show you how I practice with my dog to herd chickens.
If you haven’t already seen Daisy Dog herd 4 week old chicks please check out our other video. Daisy helped me to catch each little chick to bring back inside to sleep under a heat lamp at night. While I very much needed her and appreciated the help from my dog, I’m also training my dog to herd these chickens. Animals learn very well from repetition. The more practice Daisy Dog has herding chickens the better she will be at herding chickens.
Our video of the chicks at 3 weeks old, Daisy Dog herds the chicks from the outside of the cage. The chicks can’t be hurt by the dog, or run away into the brush. I’m half way into the cage and trying to catch two chicks at the same time, they feel safer together. Daisy Dog is practicing herding chickens. Everyone is safe and as calm as I can make them. I found this to be a very effective way to train my dog to herd chickens.
Daisy is a Border Collie and has very good intuition and sense of where to be, and how to get the job done. Daisy is also a dog, and sometimes can’t help herself when feathers fly, and chicks peep. Daisy likes to spook the chicks and watch the excitement. While Daisy enjoys the excitement of a chicken round-up, I like collecting fresh eggs every day. I don’t want these chicks to be hurt. I put thought and care into training Daisy Dog to herd chickens.
I’m the referee. I get to say “FOUL!” (Pun intended) and put someone into the penalty box. I stay calm, and the animals will stay calm. When the dog or chicks aren’t responding well, it’s time to quit and try again another day. I also do not allow Daisy Dog to herd chicks more than ten minutes at a time. The chickens will get tired and frightened, and the dog could become tired and frustrated. It’s easy to feel things are going well, and want to keep practicing. These baby chicks are only 6 weeks old. When the chicks were 4 weeks old, the camera clock showed Daisy Dog herded all the chicks to me in less than 3 minutes. That is enough for the baby chicks, and if the weather was nice enough for the chicks to go into their outside cage the next day, we’d have the round up again. The video of the chicks at 6 weeks old, Daisy dog herds one or two different chicks at a time. Chicks are also learning they are safe from the dog’s attention, when they are inside their cage, where they belong.
Prior to training a dog to herd chickens, I recommend that you and your dog are comfortable off leash, and your dog respects your voice saying to “stay” and to “walk”. Use words that work for you. Daisy also knows to go where I point. This has been helpful to clarify what I want her to do. I point and ask her to walk. She gets it.
Your basic off leash voice request needs to be respected by your dog, so practice a few minutes several days a week. Introduce your dog to the chickens for a few minutes, several days a week. Practice and be patient. Quit before you or the animals are tired or frustrated. Teaching your dog to herd chickens may not go well for every human or dog, or group of chickens.
I hope this helps some people to know you can train your dog to herd chickens safely. |
|
|