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bethh

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Hey,

I'm new here and happened upon the site when searching about LGD. We purchased a home and 3 acres in September. Our kids gave me 4 silkies in October for my birthday. We have since added 11 various chickens and had to rehome 3 of the silkies. Out of 4 silkies, guess how many were hens???...0. Yes, all were roosters. We are considering adding a few goats and rabbits but I have lots of homework to do first. We are considering a LGD for our chickens. We lost one to a hawk and saw a raccoon on the other side of the fence the other day, during the day no less. Something has been in the chicken coop because I've found a couple of the ceramic fake eggs, that are in the nesting boxes to show the chickens where to lay if they ever do, out in the yard. I'm talking to a woman that is selling a 4.5 month old Kangal, Anatolian Shepherd and Great Pyrenees mix who has been raised with chickens and goats. I'm a dog person, I've had them my entire life but I've never had a working dog. If I'm not in the right place, I'm sorry but can any of you who have experience help me with this. I've been told they don't need training that its instinctual.
 

Latestarter

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Greetings and welcome to BYH Beth,from NE TX! So glad you joined us. Congrats on your new place and your present and future animals. Ummmm instinct and breeding does have some effect, but at anything less than ~18 months, a LGD is still a puppy. They mature relatively slowly and they DO require training from you so they'll know what is expected of them. You also want them socialized with the family. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of LGD threads as well as others. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
 

bethh

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Greetings and welcome to BYH Beth,from NE TX! So glad you joined us. Congrats on your new place and your present and future animals. Ummmm instinct and breeding does have some effect, but at anything less than ~18 months, a LGD is still a puppy. They mature relatively slowly and they DO require training from you so they'll know what is expected of them. You also want them socialized with the family. There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of LGD threads as well as others. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
I updated my profile. Thanks for responding.
 

Wehner Homestead

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:welcome

First off, I’m not an expert! Southern is the LGD person but I have learned a lot along the way and since she doesn’t have much time to be on (I don’t really either but get a few minutes when putting a little one down for a nap) I’ll give some info I’ve picked up along the way.
 

Wehner Homestead

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I have no idea why that posted already. Lol

Anyway, my LGDs have always protected my chickens readily BUT I don’t free range. They associate them as part of the farm and defend them. This can be easily done by putting the chicken coops within the dog’s area.

Free-range has its own issues because LGDs are a danger to the poultry until they are mature. (Between 18 mos and 2 yrs depending on the individual dog.) Most LGDs will kill a few chickens in some way or another over the course of learning that they are meant to protect them. This can range anywhere from accidental to intentional in variety.

Supervised exposure and positive reinforcement (verbal praise and petting) is key.

Keep in mind that a Pup that young isn’t capable of protecting itself, let alone your poultry. Our latest LGD is just now out and about at just shy of a year of age.

LGDs also work best in pairs, preferably a watcher and a patroller. A male/female pair may be preferred (not for breeding purposes but for personality differences.) We have a single LGD currently but that’s not our preference. We will be adding at least one partner for ours, if not 2-4 depending on the growth of our goat herd.

Please search the LGD threads and glean what you can. Definitely pay attention to anything Southern posts! Ask questions, I’ll help when I can.

@Baymule has some posts that are really good about turning her chicken killing LGD into a chicken protector also.

Finally, the Toli/Pyrs are an awesome mix.

Find out why they are selling the Pup. Also get whatever history of its parents, whelping, upbringing, and any training that you can. Any vet or medical work and even what it’s eating are important.
 

Baymule

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Welcome to the forum. There is a wealth of information here and the most friendly, helpful people on the entire internet. I have 2 Great Pyrenees and I learned SO much from the LGD section of this forum. Yes, they have the instinct, but they are puppies and will act like stupid teenagers at times. They require guidance, patience and love. If you get this puppy, start a thread in the Livestock Guard Dog forum so you can post on the dog's progress and ask questions as the training goes forward.

@Wehner Homestead since you mentioned it, I'll post links.

Paris was a "free" dog. She killed chickens, she got punished terribly for it and was one screwed up dog when we got her. I learned so much from this forum and was able to turn her around. Maybe some of what I did will help you. But please read through the LGD forum. Many other people have posted great threads that will help you with training your puppy.


https://www.backyardherds.com/threa...heep-goats-or-chase-bears-hawk-post-26.23771/


https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/paris-has-begun-lamb-training.33844/
 

Pastor Dave

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Yah, you're in the right place. There's lots of categories, so just explore. Feel free to ask questions and swap info, stories, and pics. If you have questions on starting up rabbit raising, there is several on here to help, and abt my only expertise on here. And, what's better for you, there's others on here with plenty more expertise.

Oh, almost forgot, :welcome from the Hoosier state!
 
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