Rilla-My-Rilla Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I want to train my Border Collie to round up the poultry for me, but was unsure of how to go about it. Was hoping someone could share any training tips or their experiences of this.... Thank in advance! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsAndTheMob Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I want to train my Border Collie to round up the poultry for me, but was unsure of how to go about it. Was hoping someone could share any training tips or their experiences of this.... Thank in advance! :) My BC has worked both sheep and ducks. The principles of poultry herding are the same as training a BC to herd sheep, but I believe that it is wise to start BCs on sheep before asking them to work poultry (both because the size and movement of poultry may initially trigger predatory instincts rather than herding instincts, and because poultry are more vulnerable to injury). I suggest looking for a herding clinic or classes near you. This book provides a useful overview of instinct and early training. http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Herding_dogs.html?id=xGcCAAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry's Mum Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Dale Formosa of Shaundar Herding teaches dogs to work ducks at his property in Greenbank QLD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rilla-My-Rilla Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Thanks for your replies! Unfortunately there are no herding clinics in my local area and I don't own any sheep! :rolleyes: I thought the turkeys might be easier to train on than the chooks, as they bunch and don't get startled and flap. If they don't like something, they just look at it suspiciously and walk quietly away. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogsAndTheMob Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I see from your other post that you are/will be a new border collie owner. Most puppies are not ready for herding training until at least 9 to 12 months old (and adult dogs are often easier to train). In the interim, you can have lots of fun teaching your puppy tricks and basic obedience, and this will build a bond between you so that (s)he is more likely to respond to you when you start herding training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Generally speaking chooks aren't really able to be "herded" as such. Unlike ducks they don't exactly have a natural tendency to flock together so I imagine would be very frustrating to a breed who likes to keep their stock together when moving them. The dogs instinct would constantly be telling it to get the chook that went the wrong way and in the meantime the rest will have gone off in their own directions too. Would do my head in let alone a BCs :laugh: Not saying that it can't be done because I really don't know enough about poultry herding but I suspect it would not be an easy thing. I have no idea about turkeys- do they stick together or do their own thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I was thinking the same as DeltaCharlie - chooks don't flock. Turkeys apparently do though. I would recommend starting on sheep if you can, even if you can only get to a weekend workshop to help you understand the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rilla-My-Rilla Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Would do my head in let alone a BCs lol, it does my head in some afternoons! :laugh: Turkeys all stick together in a bunch and stay calm, even when they have a taipan surrounded! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rilla-My-Rilla Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) I see from your other post that you are/will be a new border collie owner. Most puppies are not ready for herding training until at least 9 to 12 months old (and adult dogs are often easier to train). In the interim, you can have lots of fun teaching your puppy tricks and basic obedience, and this will build a bond between you so that (s)he is more likely to respond to you when you start herding training. Yeah, I thought I'd have to wait until my pup has passed basic obedience and was more mature, since he/she would have to be able to respond well to my commands and be trusted off leash. I always start researching something new when I start feeling impatient in my wait, so today I thought I'd ask about herding, lol! :) edited for typo :) Edited February 3, 2012 by sjp118 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rilla-My-Rilla Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 DeltaCharlie I just had a look at your website - your dogs are gorgeous! Especially like Ryans Sean and Springloded Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherlot Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 i would never ever start a new dog herding chickens... it will either put the dog off, or cause the dog to get pissed off.. turkeys will be almost as challenging, you need to do some basics with sheep.. if you really can't then you need to have a strong stop command. so if the dog does attack or do something wrong you can stop it. basic obedience training is a must.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) I am just going to concur with what others have said, you really need to start on sheep or goats. However it is not impossible, but chooks are rather difficult. I dont' have chooks at all anymore, but my collies used to put the chooks away of an afternoon... but the chooks already knew the routine... go to the chook house. Ducks would be far better and they don't stress as much as chooks... not sure about turkeys. Like others have said, you need a strong stop or down on your dog... doesn't matter what command you use... I use down, but I used to use "stop" in Australia. In the US they tend to use "down" and if I am training someone elses dog, who already has the basic commands, they usually know the "down' command. You want that command to be solid... and immediate. You also need a good recall. So until your puppy is older, concentrate on basic obedience. I do more obedience with my pups than other trainers do with theirs, but if one of my pups doesn't really cut it as a good working dog, then at least they already have the basic obedience behind them in case someone wants an agility dog etc. Once your dog is older, best to start off in a small round pen with the dog on a long leash. I use a long cane as an extension of my arm... shepherds crook/hook thing whatever they call it :laugh: is also used a lot to guide the dog. You need to establish flank commands whilst in the round pen. Everything should be done in a pen to begin with. If you cannot get any sheep, then I would seriously consider ducks. When I did have chooks my working dogs pretty much ignored them, except one... he would separate one chook from the rest and keep it from joining the rest... usually the naked neck chook or the frizzle or the odd coloured one etc... I think that dog was a little prejudiced I start all my collies in a small round yard/pen and then progress to a larger one before going outside. We start on sheep and I usually don't work ducks until they are working sheep well. Often we are out of novice sheep trials before we start on ducks. Some of our collies are also good on cattle and we trial some. Most of ours are still soft enough or disciplined enough to work ducks, but we have had a couple that get a little too grippy on sheep, so they would be no good on ducks... they tend to be better on cattle. Edited February 22, 2012 by Abilene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laeral Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 A few working kelpie breeders round here start their young ones on ducks before they go to sheep. Is that different with BC's? They also start them as pups, probably 12 weeks old in small pens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 A few working kelpie breeders round here start their young ones on ducks before they go to sheep. Is that different with BC's? They also start them as pups, probably 12 weeks old in small pens. kelpies are generally better on sheep... there really isn't that much difference with BCs or Kelpies, but depending on the lines and the dog you own. We have more cattle herding lines than sheep in our collie lines... because our dogs work every day. I do have sheep now, but our main income is cattle. Occasionally I will get a pup that is softer and I could start on ducks, but generally they are pretty forceful and until the excitement has died down and they start to think more, I generally tend to start most of them on sheep. It will really depend on the dog... some dogs are a little softer, so I start them on dog broke sheep and younger ewes. Some of the grippier pups get the older cranky ewes and rams that will stand their ground a bit more. The softer dogs are usually ok to start on the ducks, but I find it easier to start them on dog broke sheep. Different bloodlines are the biggest difference in all the herding breeds. I have seen some really tough hard biting kelpies over here in the USA that are used on wild cattle. I have seen others that show a lot of eye and "creep" and are more suited to sheep. Same with the BC... we have both sheep and cattle bloodlines but mainly concentrate on cattle bloodlines. I don't want too much eye but I don't like a real lose eyed dog either. The dogs that I really like are the BCs that are allrounders, they are hard biting on cattle and get the job done, they are soft enough and have just enough eye on sheep and ducks. But in theory, most of the time you get one or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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