For those of you with English/Irish/Gordon Setters, have they ever been around chickens, and did the chickens survive? In theory, they should, at most, point the chickens, but, you know . . . just investigating the worst case scenario.
Irish Setter pointed on them for around 30 minutes until she had heat stroke. Gordon Setter thought they were her new best friends until they started chasing her. Neither is welcome at my friends house anymore. I think you are just going to have to try it and see. Each dog is an individual and will react according to their personality, level of training etc.
The Irish was taught to hunt, so she did her job. The Gordon was still in the confo ring and everyone was her friend, even though the hens had another idea about that!
Now if you would like to hear how they react to pigs I may be able to help you there! hahahaha!
Our Irish setter killed our last 2 in no time flat.
We had caught the rest and sold them as “free range” chickens kept digging out from under the pen and roositng/pooping in the barn. I could not catch 2 of them. our new Irish Setter puppy did that in no time flat. (She had no training to listen to No / Drop It or anything at that point yet…)
My current English, and my last Irish, were fine visiting folks with chickens, free range and otherwise.
The Irish puppy I have now?..I’m not so sure I would trust him. I know one of his relatives was a chicken killer too.
So I think it really does depend on the individual dog, training, and living arrangement.
My English is afraid of EVERYTHING. I think chickens would scare the pee out of him.
He was down the kennel with one of our Brittanys and our pygmy goat came out of the barn. Tuff (we gave him that name so he would live up to it!) was stuck between the kennel and the goat for over an hour shaking.
We have an Irish Red and White setter who just turned a year old and although he hasn’t yet met chickens he sets and then chases wild geese, ducks, kildeer, swallows, and even butterflies. He has yet to catch anything but he definitely chases them.
I’ve had Irish setters and chickens with no problems.
