Blue Heeler Meets Chickens and Goats Questions

Curious what you think about mixing a new 4 yr. old heeler, goats, and chickens. Specifically, do I get the dog first then bring in the livestock, or reverse, or it really matter which happens first. Thanks.

What's the history of the dog? Has it been used as a livestock dog? Or has it been a pet and just taught basic obedience?

I guess my question would be: what if they don't get along?

Would you skip keeping livestock or skip the dog?

If the livestock is a must, then I would get them first and then see if that dog can get along.

If that dog is a must, then I would get it first and then slowly bring in the livestock and see how the dog handles it.*

My rule is that the first to move in does not get rehomed if things don't work out between animals.

*I wouldn't bring in a whole bunch of chickens and goats at once. I would start with just one. I'd probably bring in a single goat first as that is less likely to be a problem. If the dog and goat do well after several weeks, then I'd add the additional goats. Then I would bring in a single chicken. Then wait several weeks to make sure the dog is OK around it before bringing in more.

I'd also have a secure chicken coop to start with and watch the dog closely with the barrier between it and the chicken before making any decisions about the chickens free ranging it.

My cattle dog got used to chickens walking around free range first while being chained , so the dog can’t get to them and gets used to their presence slowly until its commonplace and normalized .
Then walking her on a lead past them became normal , use with the command ‘ah ah’ if pulling towards them. With an added turn away if needed , calmy leading.

if your supervising you should have a gauge of how much control and trust you have with the dog.

if you can’t trust them unsupervised at any point , you’ll need to keep them separated .

lots of dogs get rehomed here because they chase chickens .

so yes do the right training groundwork where you can . Supervision , and gradually increasing trust .

Actually , sitting alongside the tied up dog while calmly drinking a cup of coffee and eating lamingtons or scones or reading a book under the mango tree, while your passing on to the dog the ‘everythings fine vibe’ is more in line with what i mean ,

as opposed to the tethered dog licking its lips in anticipation of chicken dinner when released kind of thing .