Devastated :(

[taykenn7]

Until today I had 14 chicks.

8 ameraucanas that were my pride and joy, 3 australorps and 3 buff orpingtons. While my chicks were enjoyng this hot day in their chicken tractor my neighbors dog came and plowed thier chicken tractor over and tore through the chicken wire. She killed 11 and I found one tucked into the hay hiding. I'm hoping the missing 2 survived and ran into the woods. The one I found has no obvious injuries other than some plucked and broken feathers but emotionally is terrified. Should I get new chicks asap to prevent this one from being lonely or will some time in the quiet house help him to settle? I feel so bad. We are now building a proper enclosure around our coop instead of using a chicken tractor for their outings.



Anyway, any advice on raising a single emotionally damaged chick would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cmtigger]

Have you talked to your neighbors about this- legally they are responsible for damages. And legally, you could have shot the dog when he was attacking your animals in most places.

 

[Erica]

What a terrible thing to happy. I'm so sorry.
I hope the neighbours are neighbourly and do whatever they can to make up for their lousy dog-keeping...

At any rate, raising a lone chick isn't really natural, and it would be better to find at least one friend for her. How old is the chick? Can you ask around to see if anyone has similar age chicks? Putting new days olds in with an older bird (above 2 weeks) is possible but not ideal as the day olds are a little fragile.

Good luck, and I hope you have a better day tomorrow.

Erica

 

[ChicknLittleLexi]

I am so sorry for your loss...I'd DEFINITELY expect compensation of SOME sort from your neighbors seeing as it was their dog. Instinct, accident, or not, those were your chicks that you were clearly attached to, not to mention you'd have to go get MORE. If I were the neighbor with the naughty dog, I'd be running out and purchasing new chicks to replace the ones my dog attacked immediately with a profuse apology.

Hugs, I hope you feel better, and hope that your neighbors do the right thing!

 

[Wildflower_VA]

Do make sure you discuss this with the neighbors. They need to be responsible for their dog. It's not fair to the dog and certainly not fair to you and your animals that this dog is allowed to run at large and kill or terrorize other animals.

It doesn't help, but I am very sorry this happened to your precious peeps. I have coyotes and red foxes around my place and I am always running out to the coop to check if I don't see my girls. I would be devastated to find them dead.

 

[jjthink]

taykenn, please PLEASE use the search tab above and look up topics like "dog attack(s)". Read all you can stand. There are a heratbreaking number of such incidences and there is a lot of good info on how to handle the dog 'owners'. Please please do this - until/unless dog owners learn to behave responsibly, and recognize that Fido is by design a predator, these cruel deaths will not abate.

JJ

 

[ginger c.]

Sorry to hear this.
You've just made me rethink the whole tractor thing.

 

[schellie69]

So sorry this happened I am not sure how old your chicks are but I would go and try and find the other 2, I would also talk to your neighbor right away. They should pay to replace the chicks that their dog killed. I hope you can find the other chicks.

 

[tarragon]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how awful that would feel. Poor little baby hiding in the hay.

I hope your neighbor pays for replacements.

 

[Sassafras]

I am sure the money spent for the chicks is nothing compared to the emotional damage you have suffered never mind the what the chicks suffered. I'm sorry this happened.
I have a neighbor who dispite several warnings will not keep his dog on his property/supervised so don't be suprised if he is loose again.