Our birds free range all day everyday. Been that way since they were old enough back in the spring. Well every once in a while the two pit bulls next door get out and venture over to our property. Luckily they hadn't in a while (since before the birds free ranged). Until yesterday...
My wife and I were inside when all of a sudden our dogs (a german and an australian shepherd) started going nuts! Usually that means someone's pulled in the driveway, but when I looked, no one was there. Just then I glanced out the back and saw both pits jumping out of our coop, one with a mouth full of feathers, in hot pursuit of a black australorp... All I had to do was open the sliding glass door a crack and our now enraged german took off in a dead sprint towards them. They immediately turned tail and ran for all they were worth! Cadee chased them all the way past the other neighbors and way back into the woods before eventually coming back and waiting by my side along with our Aussie in case they returned.
I searched for bodies, but couldn't find any, which seamed a good sign. Sure enough, after a few hours all the birds had returned from hiding. Of course it worries me since our dogs aren't always outside during the day. I never minded in the past when random neighborhood dogs would wander through our yard. But now with chickens, I sure would suck to lose the entire flock some day! I guess that's the chance we take free ranging though... Oh well.
My wife and I were inside when all of a sudden our dogs (a german and an australian shepherd) started going nuts! Usually that means someone's pulled in the driveway, but when I looked, no one was there. Just then I glanced out the back and saw both pits jumping out of our coop, one with a mouth full of feathers, in hot pursuit of a black australorp... All I had to do was open the sliding glass door a crack and our now enraged german took off in a dead sprint towards them. They immediately turned tail and ran for all they were worth! Cadee chased them all the way past the other neighbors and way back into the woods before eventually coming back and waiting by my side along with our Aussie in case they returned.
I searched for bodies, but couldn't find any, which seamed a good sign. Sure enough, after a few hours all the birds had returned from hiding. Of course it worries me since our dogs aren't always outside during the day. I never minded in the past when random neighborhood dogs would wander through our yard. But now with chickens, I sure would suck to lose the entire flock some day! I guess that's the chance we take free ranging though... Oh well.
