Sad day for me and my chickies! :-(

MrsBachbach said:

Exactly. That's why they are more dangerous than some predators. When one is dead, the others are still live and kicking. So the fun starts again for them. I came home one day to almost my whole flock laying dead in the yard. The stray dog or dogs had a field day.

Btw, addressing other posts, I think the breed does matter to some extent. I wouldn't trust a bird dog or hunting dog or a high energy dog that loves to chase. Small dogs, like poms or pekes, etc., I wouldn't worry to much about. Jack Russels I wouldn't trust. With that said, if the owner takes the time to train a dog and make the dog realize you are pack leader and the chickens are part of the pack and the dog is at the bottom of the pack, then just about any breed can live with chickens.

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I'm sorry you had to come home to that type of carnage.

I agree that it's all about the kill for our dog. She never eats what she kills. She has a very strong predatory instinct and has killed many small animals, not with my approval, btw. I didn't want to heap more negativity on the pit bull image because she's the sweetest dog you ever saw to humans, but if she can catch a small animal, it's dead.

I just never dreamed that after ten months of daily contact with our flock she would suddenly do this, she seriously never even looked at them

I'm so sorry for your loss. She won't ever tell you why, but as you realize, she can't be out there with the birds. It MIGHT be possible to retrain her, but I wouldn't count on it. My current dogs love chicken, and will kill any critter that gets in their yard. We have very secure fencing to keep them at home. I have had dogs, hunting breeds that a raised from babyhood, who learned to leave the chickens alone. It's easier with puppies, and breeds more motivated to listen to the trainer. Terriers, etc, are very self-motivated and bred to kill little critters. It's much harder to win with them, especially starting after puppyhood. Mary

Folly's place said:

I'm so sorry for your loss. She won't ever tell you why, but as you realize, she can't be out there with the birds. It MIGHT be possible to retrain her, but I wouldn't count on it. My current dogs love chicken, and will kill any critter that gets in their yard. We have very secure fencing to keep them at home. I have had dogs, hunting breeds that a raised from babyhood, who learned to leave the chickens alone. It's easier with puppies, and breeds more motivated to listen to the trainer. Terriers, etc, are very self-motivated and bred to kill little critters. It's much harder to win with them, especially starting after puppyhood. Mary

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Thank you.

Yes, I'll never trust her again with our chickens, she was about 7 years old when we got them. I really was so amazed that she never gave the chickens a second glance. At first I was watching her all the time when she would be outside with them, but gradually I started to trust her because she just didn't seem interested (I actually thought it was strange because of her history). I really do not place blame on her, it's just her nature, but I have learned a very valuable lesson here and will never take it for granted again that our chickens are safe with a dog that hasn't been trained from a pup to guard them.

So sorry for your situation.

My springer spaniel, bird dog, loves to smell my birds.
They in turn love to peck his nose.
One peck and the dog backs off.

This has been going on for five years now, without an incident.
I still don't trust my dog without strict supervision.

RonP said:

So sorry for your situation.

My springer spaniel, bird dog, loves to smell my birds.
They in turn love to peck his nose.
One peck and the dog backs off.

This has been going on for five years now, without an incident.
I still don't trust my dog without strict supervision.

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Thank you.

It sounds like your chickens have his number! Unfortunately, or chickens totally trusted Bella because she was around them from day one and never even ran at them or gave them any notice at all. They used to mill around her while she laid in the sun without incident.

I've learned a sad and valuable lesson here about not being too trusting as well. You're smart for being cautious.

I think the same thing every time I see these threads.....

Even the nicest, most well trained dog is still a dog, and if you have chickens or other livestock there's a chance it will kill one eventually.

I'm not trying to be rude, just blunt. If you have chickens sooner or later some are going to die in various ways. I really don't understand how you can all that surprised that your dog killed a couple chickens, it was just being a dog. With that said how you handled it will determine weather or not it kills any more. You need to make it understand that's not acceptable and don't be nice about it.




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slingshotandLAR said:

I think the same thing every time I see these threads.....

Even the nicest, most well trained dog is still a dog, and if you have chickens or other livestock there's a chance it will kill one eventually.

I'm not trying to be rude, just blunt. If you have chickens sooner or later some are going to die in various ways. I really don't understand how you can all that surprised that your dog killed a couple chickens, it was just being a dog. With that said how you handled it will determine weather or not it kills any more. You need to make it understand that's not acceptable and don't be nice about it.




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Well, I think the thing that was shocking to me was that she had completely ignored them for ten months, like they weren't even on her radar. During that time, she had killed multiple other animals, like a cat and some squirrels and rabbits, so I know she kills things, she always has.

We were watching her closely for months and there was just nothing to see concerning the chickens, but obviously something changed.

I know chickens die in many ways, we've had one die for some unknown reason, we had two killed by a bobcat and now two killed by our dog. It happens. I know this.

I don't think it's out of bounds to address the issues on this forum when they arise, some of us are new to chicken keeping and must learn our lessons the hard way, just like everyone else, and it's nice to know there are people out there who have gone through it and can give you tips and maybe a little comfort because it's hard to learn lessons at the expense of a life.

This particular dog won't get the chance to kill another chicken, she lives indoors with us and won't be allowed out when they are out from now on. We were very firm on the "this is not acceptable behavior" attitude with her, but I am not willing to trust her around them anymore, period.