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chickens & border collies2007-11-25 2:59:52

moving to the country in a months time and im planning getting chickens and ducks in the spring time.does anyone know how i make the chickens broody without a cockerel?and how do i stop my collie from eating them she has never seen one and i want the poultry to have free range around my land.

advise from any smallholders out there very welcome

Answers:

Hi well I breed Border Collies & have been involved with farm stock over many years also.

Your dog will have to be trained to leave the chickens alone if she shows too much interest in them & that you will have to do with her on a line maybe.

An old gamekeepers trick with dogs & phesants is to have a pocketful of chicken feed/corn & when the dog shows interest in the birds they throw a handful of the feed at the dog who at this point is not looking at you & has no idea where it this stuff that just hit it came from.the idea being that it makes the dog jump without hurting it but at the same time all the birds run towards the dog.this is a little off putting to a dog as they are the ones that go for the attack but now the birds have the upperhand as it would appear they are running at the dog..

By keeping the dog on a long line you have the means to get her bak to you if you think things are going to go wrong & your chicken might get hurt,but at the same time it allow the dog to move freely without knowing it's on a line.

So slack line until you need to pull them in.