Dog hurt my chicken

[ChickenLegs13]

After viewing the pictures it doesn't look that bad and I think your little hen will heal up just fine. Now that the crisis is over you need to deal with your pen and the neighbor's dog or it *WILL* happen again.

 

[trtle]

Something similar just happened to my big hen but she was biten by a husky mix. 2 deep bite wounds and her back was defeathered. lucky for her she played dead, the dog kept going for her each time she moved.

I did the same cut feathers cleaned her up and put her in a snug box with a loose wrap and some straw bedding. after about an hour i let the other 2 hens in but they only started tearing at her more so they are now seperated.

shes alert but refuses water. and leans to her right when laying down. hope she doesnt have something broken dog had her pretty good.

 

[Chickery Chick]

I found two forums on possible causes of tilting head or on side from attacks.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/338300/urgent-dog-attack-chicken-seriously-injured-nerve-damage

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/801742/dog-attack

 

[cgoodloe]

After viewing the pictures it doesn't look that bad and I think your little hen will heal up just fine. Now that the crisis is over you need to deal with your pen and the neighbor's dog or it *WILL* happen again.

 

[MamaShell]

Hello, it looks like you have a Yorkie. I was just wondering how your dog is with your flock and what have you done to help them get along, if they do.

 

[cgoodloe]

We have a yorkie and a shorkie (shihtzu/yorkie) and both chase chickens. So we keep the pups in a potty pen when outside and the chicks in a fenced roaming area but I let the birdies out to eat bugs around the whole 1/2 acre of the backyard. I don't know what it is about these dog breeds but they do not get along with birds even if raised with baby ones. The yorkie tried to eat baby birds and no amount of "no" helped. The shorkie actually caught a bantam by the leg but didn't hurt it. When I had a rooster since one of my 4 standard size girls was a boy, it tried to attack the pups so it was imperative to keep them separate. No more rooster but one of the females runs at the pups and tries to get at them through the fence. So we just don't try to tame the pups to like the birds for the pups safety.

Update on the hurt bird: She is doing well and laying light brown eggs as if nothing ever happened to her. No sign of the hole in her back. Feathers grew back where the skin was removed and a hole left. She's broody right now so can't get her off the nest.

Carla

 

[MamaShell]

Thanks, Carla, for your response. I have 3 dogs - a chocolate lab and 2 Yorkie/Bichon mixes. I am getting 23 chicks on Tuesday and I am really nervous about the reaction of my dogs. I was trying to figure out if I should introduce them early or wait until the chicks are older and have a better chance of getting away. It sounds like introducing them might not help no matter when it is done. Our chickens will have a large enclosed run that we will try to predator proof as much as possible so, I guess, they will have very limited time outside the run, if any, to keep them safe from our dogs as well as wild animals.

Glad your hen is doing well! Just curious, why did you choose all bantams? How does the egg size compare to a large egg from the market?

 

[cgoodloe]

The lab would probably do ok but you can't know how any of them will react until you put them all out in the yard together. I know a lady with 3 birds and 2 dogs and they all run around the yard together. She has small dogs too but my dogs just aren't the type to be nice I guess. Yours may be different. I wouldn't let them near babies though. I'd wait until the birds are adult size to introduce them. I'm not sure the best way to do that though.

As for the bantams...their eggs are medium size because I have RIR and Easter Eggers. Other bantams have small to tiny eggs. But I chose them because I thought they'd be quieter than standards because I'm in city limits. But alas, they are just as noisy and my standards are actually quiet. I have 1 RIR standard, 2 EEer standard, 3 RIR bantams, and 5 EEer bantams. Finding a home for 4 of the EEer bantams (sisters) soon because my husband is threatening to kill them because at 6am they start hollering for snacks and trying to lay early morning. Driving him crazy because he can hear through the earplugs. I imagine one of the other birds will take over the racket making but I like having fresh eggs. But my kids have stopped eating eggs so my fridge is full of cartons.

 

[MamaShell]

Thank you, again, for your response. I guess you are right. I really won't know how the dogs will react to the chickens until they meet. I will keep them separate until after the hens are settled in the coop and maybe introduce the dogs one at a time. Hopefully, they won't want to hurt them. My lab will be 10 in June. He has mellowed quite a bit and probably won't be a problem. But, one of my Yorkie/bichons is becoming more aggressive and is the one I'd be worried about. The younger one is likely to follow his lead - good or bad. Time will tell.

That's funny about the bantams being louder than the standards. I would have thought the same thing. Smaller vocal chords, smaller voices. Maybe they have a Napoleon complex and feel the need to overcompensate?! It's too bad you have to rehome some but if your husband is bothered by them, your neighbors probably are too!

I am going to have 23 chicks and, when they start laying, we will have way too many eggs for my family. My son plans on selling some and I have a few families that I will give some to. Is there a shelter or food pantry to which you can donate the extra eggs? It would be a shame to have any go to waste?

 

[cgoodloe]

I give away eggs to people who are having rough times plus I give some to the neighbors. Most of our neighbors aren't bothered by the girls anyway but I like to be nice to them all. Even gave eggs to the neighbor who's dog killed 1 of my birds and hurt the one that healed up. They put up electric fencing to keep their dog corralled.