Greyhounds and chickens

[OhFensa]

Bit of a specific topic, but has anyone had both? We're moving to a more rural property with a massive garden, and would like to keep chickens. I can envisage carnage while we try to train the dogs, but has anyone managed to do it? We've had to train them to live with cats (and would likely have to train them to live with cats again as I think the move will cause a bit of a reset), but at least the cats are more wily and will stick to the trees etc to get out of the way. I'm guessing keep them separated until they become less interesting to the dogs? I don't want to rescue some battery hens only for them to be terrorised to death.

I have 3 sighthounds.. Perfectly fine with pot dcats. Can't imagine ever thinking a chicken would be left alone..

Hens can die from shock really easily so I'm not sure how successful the training would be?

Hmm yeah, I was hoping someone would say they've managed it. The land is big enough to keep them in a different area, so it's not a deal breaker, and I guess it would be better for my vegetables etc. I grew up on a farm and had a romantic notion of strolling around my property with a chicken tucked under one arm while the dogs trotted along happily around me. I guess that's out!

It's personally not something I would ever risk, sorry!

Not kept chickens but we regularly get mallard in the garden at this time of year. Our old greyhound wasn’t and our current one isn’t bothered with them. Cats are a different matter…..

We have 3 whippets and chickens.
I wouldn't leave them alone together but I used one of those high potched noise things every time the whippets showed any interest in the chickens. They soon learnt it wasn't worth it

Ok good to know, might try that. Ours are definitely trainable, they can be left alone with the cats and they’re often found on the same sofas and beds together. Hmm.

Yes same, we have a cat too.
Ours are very trainable but due to their sighthound genetics, I'm always wary they could forget themselves when instinct kicks in - but so far, so good. If they even looked at the chicken, they were buzzed. We also have rabbits

Cross greyhound mutt here with a high prey drive. She learned to live with a cat for 6 years (tolerate each other, not friends) but the week after the cat died she was back to stalking every cat she sees....

She also had one of the FIL's geese by the back when we missed her shooting off into the field. Fortunately it was absolutely fine, not even a tooth puncture but it shocked us all. She still stalks the geese, ducks and chickens through the fence if she gets the chance which hasn't been for a long time as I keep her on a short lead on the smallholding. She also stalks the donkeys because she's a moron and totally lost her mind at a couple of enormous Clydesdale horses being ridden in the distance a few weeks ago.

Essentially, I'd be keeping any birds secure and protected from the dogs while you assess their training ability. Mine has none... No trips to the moors for her!

Please don't use aversive methods to train your dogs to be "stock safe".

There's no guarantee it will work and you risk your dogs' prey drive being so strong that they will ignore the collar and attack anyway.

If that was aimed at me, we don't used a collar? We used one of those spray cans that make a hissing noise.
Ours genuinely all live fine together BUT I would never trust them alone of course

If that was aimed at me, we don't used a collar? We used one of those spray cans that make a hissing noise.
Ours genuinely all live fine together BUT I would never trust them alone of course

Have had both at same time BUT chickens were always kept behind fence as sighthounds had killed both geese and chickens in previous homes. Took a little time for hounds not to be fixated on chickens even on other side of fence .

I’ve taken on two hounds rehomed because they killed free ranging birds despite “low prey drive “ , because the owners were shocked when it happened .

Sightounds have been bred for thousands of years to chase and kill small furries and feathered creatures . We are expecting too much to be able to train what has been bred in over generations.

I would never let the chickens range freely where dogs could get them as the flapping wings etc just trigger their instincts no matter what and my hounds have relatively low prey drive.

Mine won’t wear collars, no chance of that.

we usually train with treats, it’s the only thing that seems to work. They’re both massively food driven.

yeah one of them is a stalker. She stalks everything. I think the other one just goes along for the ride and joins in but doesn’t know what he’s doing.

whatever we do it will be low risk while we suss things out. We’re both vegetarian so don’t want blood on our hands!

@Nowanextraone it's still an aversive and not a technique I would ever recommend anyone use around their pets.

Hi OP- I have two whippets and hens that free range the garden at times whilst other times in the pen. No issues with them, prey drive seems different with hens as they will kill squirrels no problem. I have always been present at first to deter with a loud ‘No’! if any interest is shown and they understand that they are not to be touched. One dog we had before hens and the other grew up with them as a puppy.
I think large utility hens are best as slow moving, placid birds not flighty which would trigger more instinct. Good luck!

We’ve had a sighthound with chickens and no issues at all- it was as if he didn’t even notice them.

Guinea fowl in a pack ( or flock?) are very protective of each other and will run at large intruders with surprising success.

Jeez no, I wouldn't risk that. Even being chased by a predator can cause chickens huge stress and they can die from it.
Rescue hens are meant to have a peaceful life after their ordeal at the farm, not be faced with dogs that might attack them.

My sister keeps chickens and an ex racing grey. She was a risk to them initially but chickens were well penned. After a few years she ignores them.

I think if you're going to let them out and about where a dog could catch them, they're going to be in danger from foxes anyway. You should probably look at putting them in a secure run. We've had foxes prowling around our run window shopping but they've never been able to get in, a dog wouldn't have a chance.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Great to hear of some success stories. The house we're buying has an acre of land and it's already fenced off into different areas so I think we'd place their coop in one of the areas not accessible to the dogs. Foxes will definitely be an issue (and I grew up on a farm so know this well, but unlike my farmer uncle I wont be shooting them!), so they will have a secure run but I'd like them to have more access during the day. My partners outdoor shed/office would be where we'd put the coop so he could keep an eye on them.

I think we'd try some slow desensitising of the dogs to them, and see where we get. We're fairly experienced greyhound owners now but poultry will be a new thing so will take it slowly for the sake of the birds mental health.

I have lurchers and free ranging chickens, and all is good (though ddog1 is terrified of them). I have always had bolshy pure breed chickens rather than terrified ex battery chickens - I have no idea if this helps though.

One of the greys we rehomed had been with its owners almost a year before it killed a chicken. Following it's natural instincts just once earned it being ejected from its home. I'm not saying you would do this but these were owners who, after a year , were confident about the dog around chickens.

If you value your chickens/poultry you can never trust a sighthound around them. All it takes is a millisecond of instinct overcoming training just the once. It's not fair on the dog , yourselves or the poultry.

@Lollygaggle you say that, but my sighthounds happily live with cats, so surely their instinct would be to kill those, too? I've had quite a few greyhounds now, over the decades, and they've all come from the racing industry each with their own quirks and challenges, and different levels of prey drive. Is it much different with birds? They've never met any but I'd have thought the principles are the same - slowly build bridges, positive rewards, don't push things too hard or fast, increase exposure so the stimulation is a lot lower.

When I first adopted greyhounds, the rescue centres wouldn't touch us with a bargepole because we had cats, so we adopted straight from the trainers. I feel like these blanket rules are unjustified and put some would be adopters off. Plenty of dogs can have their prey drive reduced for certain stimuli if you work at it enough.