We lost two to our dog :(

[Contessa]

The little jerk has been trying to breech the back fence for the last month and finally managed to today. Our two RIR's are dead. The rest of the girls are missing feathers from what I can see, but two of them are under a shed and I can't get a good look at them. How long might they stay there before they feel it's safe to come out? I haven't found any blood so I am hoping that they're just really spooked and I don't want to make it worse by forcing them out. At the same time, they need to be in their coop tonight or something else might try to kill them.

Any suggestions? I feel like such a crappy chicken owner

 

[CMV]

Treats! They will hopefully come out at dusk to go home to roost, but tempting them out with treats may work as well. I'm sorry about your losses. Time to school that dog. Might I recommend the use of an electric fence? They are very effective at deterring predation. My dogs will not go anywhere near our electric fences. Neither has anything else for that matter.

Good luck. I hope they come out soon.

 

[Dogfish]

What type of fencing do you have? Is it chicken wire, or a combination of welded wire and hardware cloth (my choice)? Do you have an electric fence? Our dog hits the electric fence every now and then, and he seldom ventures near the run.

Since he was trying to breach the fence for the last month or so, what actions did you take to improve security?

Sorry for your loss, but you need to focus on why this happened and fix it today, not tomorrow, or in 30 days. Pictures of the run would help, so you could get some pointers from others how to fix it.

Sorry also for the same story played over and over again.

 

[Ozark Chicken]

We like to let our chickens out to free range but our little Red Healer likes to play them to death. She is a smart dog and doesn't just outright attack them. She just likes to slowly heard them up and basically bust the covey and chase the flying ones then eventually she will grab one and it dies. So today... WARNING WARNING some may not like this but I think it may work in the end.
I borrowed a shock collar that was remotely manually operated. We let the dog wear it for about ten days to get used to it. This evening we let the girls out and then let the dog out onto the deck overlooking the yard. We tried to not pay attention to any of the critters and eventually nature took over and Marly ( Red Healer) slinked off. We watched her smoothly stalk and heard up 7 hens, it took her about 5 minutes, she is sly. She then playfully jumped at them and when they busted and flew she isolated one and went to chasing. It was hard but I waited till she made contact with the bird and hit the button hard.
The response was immediate and it was painful for all of us more so for the dog I'm sure. When it was over she just wanted to go in the shop. We never spoke to her or let her know we had anything to do with it. We will wait a few days and give it another test. I want her to think chickens are the wrath of Thor in feathers.

 

[ranchhand]

Dogs and chickens do not mix. I know some people are able to train dogs to leave chickens alone. That's the exception, not the rule. If the dog finally made it in, other preds should be able to as well.

The remaining hens probably won't come out until tomorrow morning, if they can. If they won't, drag them out gently. Examine each one VERY carefully, under the wings, around the neck and belly, basically all over. Treat every wound with Neosporin without Lidocaine. Watch carefully for infection. At the slightest sign of it, start Pen-G injections.

Sorry for the problem, better luck in the future. Don't feel crappy. It's part of the learing curve. Not a pretty part. Even people who claim their dog is trained and will never again touch a chicken find out that nature and instinct will eventually trump training. Mother Nature usually wins.

 

[Contessa]

Quote:
It wasn't a run. We let them free range in the backyard. Part of it was fenced off for their safety. We were placing patio pavers along the fence line to prevent this, but this dog was able to find a spot that was large enough to be dug out and because he's a smaller dog (mini schnauzer) he could fit through sideways. The entire fenceline is now covered in concrete. We don't ever want this to happen again. Our animals place their trust in us to keep them safe and today we failed. We take that very seriously.

 

[Contessa]

Quote:
I was considering a shock collar too. I would never trust any of my dogs alone with our chickens. Ever. All of them were bred to kill or assist in the killing of other animals. It's not their fault that they want to. This one in particular is unruly and will not respond to commands once he fixates. I don't want to hurt my dog, but I do want him to think twice about pulling this crap again.

 

[Contessa]

Quote:
Everyone (who survived) looks OK save that they're missing feathers. There were no wounds thank God. I am concerned about my BR girl - I think she may have a broken toe. Her legs felt fine but she won't stand for any length of time. I guess I need to post in the injuries forum and see what can be done if that's the case.

This sucks. I really wish we'd kept them in the run. They would have had some protection if they weren't out in the open.

 

[mdbokc]

I'd nail her when she even just starts to play her game. Why wait until the end of the game. Address it when it first manifests itself so she learns to not even think about it. Otherwise, you are only addressing the end of the game and thought process instead of all aspects. jhmo

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Been there, felt that, too. My little bastid dog has managed to kill 4 chickens from January to last week. The first three were adolescents, over 3 month ago, and he is very leery of the others now that they have grown up. The fourth was a bantam.... The first killing was a total surprise to me. The last three were totally my fault at not being as vigilant as I should have been. He had stopped trying to dig into the run.... and was not chasing the chickens any more. But I forgot that bantam chickens are pretty darned small, and they're newer to the flock so they startle more easily. Zorro's prey drive is triggered by running & flapping small chickens.

I keep him inside when the chickens free range, and I am EXTREMELY careful in locking the run gate and coop door. NOW. My other dachshund wants to have NOTHING to do with the chickens, won't even stay outside when they are free ranging. HE doesn't care that Zorro is the one at which I'm yelling "NO!" and "BAD DOG!"

I had the dogs first - Zorro is 11, and Dooley is 4. I've not only been a crappy chicken owner, but a bad dog owner, too. *sigh*