Dang Dog

[GlitterKitty]

My dog got out and he killed my flock besides ofr one hen.

Now she is depressed and lonely. This happened two days ago. I feel horrible

Should I get her a few or couple more hens? I know someone is offering a roo to us also, but that could stress her out?

Thanks for any advice. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Daisygirl]

wow i am so sorry for you

dont get the roo, and you can't add to your flock immediately - - when you do get hens put them thru isolation for a month - - - to check for diseases your remaining hen might get off them. I would suggest getting a couple more hens, and start the isolation and also give heaps of attention to your remaining hen so she doesn't get too lonely...and make sure that dog doesnt get ANYWHERE near them again...

 

[Daisygirl]

oh, and

, even tho this may not be the best of times...

 

[chookchick]

So sorry to hear about your tragedy

If I was in your shoes, I would first of all make sure you have an absolutely dog-proof run and coop. No more free-ranging. He will be doing his best to get at your flock now.
Then I would pick up one other hen, get one that is from a really healthy well-raised flock. And try just putting them together. It might just work out from the start. If they don't get along you will need to be prepared to keep them separated, but visible with wire for a couple of weeks (a large dog crate?), and try again later (just having a chicken visible will be a comfort to her). I would skip the quarantine in this instance, as you only have one miserable lonely hen right now. Good luck!

 

[GlitterKitty]

Thank you so much!

Really Im just a teenager so I told my mom that we should wait on the roo.
The hen, Athena, will not come down from roosting and I don't think she has since the past three days which means she's not eating or drinking, adn definatly not laying. She has a bite out of her tail feathers but other than that a her shock/depression/lonlieness

she is fine. I havn't opened the coop door fro her to get out, right now Im just opening the two windows and checking on her at least three times a day. Sometimes more.

Does anyone know if anyone on here is selling a hen? Preferbaly a sweet calm one?

As for the dog, he is aggressive towards other dogs and kills everything. Were afraid he might go after my baby brother someday, so he is being brought back to where he is from. Our other dogs are fine in their kennel. One is by the chickens all the time (seperated by her kennel though) and if she gets out she chases but doesn't kill (thank heaven!) and the other has a bad hip so she count get out of the kennel, unless we let her out.

Thanks once again

 

[Soccer Mom]

I'm glad you are rehoming the dog. Some just have too strong a prey drive to live around smaller creatures.

Here is a link to the "auction" forum. There are folks selling and giving away birds there. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewforum.php?id=35

You can also check craigslist for your area and see if anyone is selling hens in your area.

It sounds like your girl is very traumatized. I would go and gently take her down from the roost and take her to the water and some food. You might make her something nummy and nutritious like scrambled or boiled eggs. Carefully check her over and see if she has any wounds. If she does you can clean them and put on a little neosporin--just make sure it is the kind that doesn't have any painkillers in it.

If she has any worse wounds, let us know. There are folks here who can talk you through the wound care.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[GlitterKitty]

Honestly, we've never touched her before. And I don't want to stress her out by doing it. But at the moment Im not home soo. if I should try, tehn I will as soon as I get home.

 

[The Zoo]

She's in shock. I would bring her inside where it's warm. If you have a large dog crate I'd set it up for her (we set ours up in the breakfast room when we have a hen that needs caring for).
Animals in shock need warmth, quiet and to be kept safe. I would bring her inside, check for wounds, speak soothingly to her. Put her in the crate and offer her water and feed with scrambled eggs, yogurt, etc. Hopefully she will recover in due course. Remember she probably just saw her flock get killed - that can't be good for any animal.

As to adding chickens, give her time to heal and be normal. You can't just throw another chicken in there and expect them to hit it off and be ok. Remember there's a pecking order and if she's traumatized the other hen may just abuse her. Plus you do need to quarantine any new hens brought in for 30 days to make sure they're not ill.