I bet a lot of you think that you have the best dog in the world right? Well I suppose that it all depends on how you define “best”. I don’t know if my dog is the best, but she sure is pretty nice!
So what’s all this Chicken and the Beast business you might wonder? You see, my 75lb Black Labrador allows four full grown hens to free-range around her yard. She never barks at them or chases them. Oddly, she actually allows the hens into her personal space. For example, while she’s laying on the patio, she actually allows the hens to perch up on her back. They happily sit on her and peck at her fur. What is this, some kind of poultry massage parlor?
Daisie, our ferocious four legged beast, also allows the hens to peck her food right out of her bowl while she’s eating. Heck, sometimes they even take it out of her mouth as she’s chewing. She never growls and never snaps. Seriously, what is going on around here!
I guess her mild manor towards her friendly, feathered, yard-mates is due to the fact that she was never raised to be mean. She was also right there to see the hens raised from practically the egg up.
I’ll probably never really know why she allows those hens to be so close to her, while at the same time guarding the yard from other critters and intruders. I do think it’s pretty clear though that if I want to go bird hunting I’m probably going to need to get another dog!
Check out this video to get a little glimpse of the Chicken and the Beast in action.
Do you have similar experiences with your farm animals? Leave me a comment and tell me about your funny pet relationships, and I’ll post pictures as soon as I can sneak up on my little three-ring circus.
You’re lucky with Daisie! Unfortunately, this is not the case with our dogs. We have to secure the area where our hens roam.
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Thanks for the comment Sheila. I figured that Daisie’s behavior was a little uncommon. I mean not even a growl out of her, ever! I guess our hens have it way better then they’ll ever know.