All my sweet birds are gone. What to do?

[Conan]

Yeah when when built their coop we made a list of predators so we looked at it from every angle. I even included snakes. A pack of domestic dogs didn't really cross my mind. Plus the coop is literally against my house inside of our backyard fencing. I'm thankful my little border collie wasn't outside. He would have been no match and he loved those little birds from the time I brought them home. I bawled this morning when we went outside and he ran to the coop because he has always been my feeding buddy and knows we always let them out first thing.

We will start over. Lord I've been praying over these little eggs The coop is so torn up we are just going to put it on the burn pile. We are worried about how to reinforce the doors because the hinges were completely torn from the wood. It seems the weak spots for dogs are doors. There were 2 latches top & bottom with two extra boards that came down over the doors after they were latched and it didn't hold.

It breaks my heart. Our rooster was a tiny Cochin bantam that was just too sweet. My mind wanders to how scared he must have been and how tiny. He could not have put up a fight.

Fingers crossed for those eggs to hatch! You'll have to update us on how many pop out!

Heavy, large hinges and highly reinforced hardware cloth, and lots of it! I'm thinking hardware cloth over the hinges. The really tiny 1/4 inch stuff. Maybe it will help if the beasts can't get at the wood at all.

It's really unfair that you even have to do this at all. Jerk dogs destroying your buildings on your own property. People and their crappy dogs really steam me... like broccoli.

 

[MountainWoman73]

So sorry! I had a husky push through our fence and kill 7 hens in under 10 minutes last year. She also tried to bite my husband. Once removed from the prey she was totally friendly with people and my dog. When I contacted that owner I stated my price upfront ( charged him 25 dollars per hen). I showed him the box of dead chickens and told him his dog was lucky that I'm not one of the people around here who would shoot someone else's dog. There are neighbors who would. I suggested some ways of training the dog, and offered him a dead chicken to use for aversion training, but he didn't seem interested. I'm pretty sure he just locked that dog back in the same chain link kennel it came from. Made me sad for the dog. Huskies get insane if they're penned up most of the time.

 

[yickenscarf23]

I just lost a super tame silkie this way earlier this week (accidentally left the gate loose and she slipped through trying to forage some grass and my dogs got her). It breaks my heart too. Was my smallest, most gentle bantam, and I know she would have been terrified. I was crushed when I first found her dead on the back porch, then horrified because I thought the other birds had been killed too, but luckily they were smarter and ran up into the coop where the dogs couldn't reach them.

I was angry at my dogs because they're usually so smart and gentle, but more angry at myself for allowing it to happen and putting the temptation in front of them. Mine was a costly and stupid mistake. You, on the other hand, did nothing wrong - just caught a slap of bad luck. And the birds are always blameless.

You poor thing! Some dogs just can't be trusted. The flapping and fluttering stirs up their prey deive

Fingers crossed for those eggs to hatch! You'll have to update us on how many pop out!

Heavy, large hinges and highly reinforced hardware cloth, and lots of it! I'm thinking hardware cloth over the hinges. The really tiny 1/4 inch stuff. Maybe it will help if the beasts can't get at the wood at all.

It's really unfair that you even have to do this at all. Jerk dogs destroying your buildings on your own property. People and their crappy dogs really steam me... like broccoli.

We will probably put an electric fence around the new coop as added deterrent. I found some cheap fence as rural King that I think will work. The annoying thing will be turning it on and off constantly to be able to get through there

 

[WthrLady]

You can get walk through gates for electric netting, but honestly dogs on the prowl under manic prey drive are in a frenzy and it won't even slow them down.

 

[yickenscarf23]

You can get walk through gates for electric netting, but honestly dogs on the prowl under manic prey drive are in a frenzy and it won't even slow them down.

That's what I'm worried about. We're talking about buying a shed to convert to a coop and pouring a concrete floor underneath so no digging.

 

[aart]

The coop is so torn up we are just going to put it on the burn pile. We are worried about how to reinforce the doors because the hinges were completely torn from the wood.

Don't burn it yet, it may be evidence.

 

[Willowspirit]

I think you should look up who in the local cop shop is related to those young men because it is rare that cops wouldn't want to visit some young men and find what else they have lying around besides loose dogs.

 

[Willowspirit]

You can get walk through gates for electric netting, but honestly dogs on the prowl under manic prey drive are in a frenzy and it won't even slow them down.

Unfortunately this may be true unless you have cattle level electricity. I knew of a dog with an "electric" fence that would freak out whe her owners left and run through the " fence" regardless. Then the only way she could get back in her yard was to dig under the fence through the neighbor's garden. Needless to say this was not ideal and she was rehomed elsewhere.

 

[yickenscarf23]

I think you should look up who in the local cop shop is related to those young men because it is rare that cops wouldn't want to visit some young men and find what else they have lying around besides loose dogs.

They told me they did go to their house but all they could do is ask them to put the dogs up. At a local bar tonight I got to talking to an old man that lives about half a mile up the road from me and I learned that he had a whole flock of Rhode Island Reds that were killed recently as well.

So far we have three people together that have had successful or attempted attacks. Going to speak with animal control in person tomorrow.

 

[microchick]

Agee on the strength of the electric fencing. I have it is livestock grade and as we have dogs, every one of ours has at one time or another made contact with the hot wire..and never returned. I have on occasion had a chicken get out and hit the fence. Warning. It will singe feathers. No burns and no, the birds don't like it but I make regular checks to make sure nobody has escaped the run. The hens are the ones who usually panic and want to get back into the run. The roosters don't. And the strangest thing is that the hens will poke their heads through the chain link fencing to grab a tasty morsel on the outside of the fence but they know just how far they can go out to avoid the hot wire.

We have a Parmak 12 open voltage of 3+ joules of power and it will handle 17 miles of fencing.

I also have to add. That when you rebuild. I highly suggest to metal clad the building. That is what I have done using recycled corrugated siding. NOTHING short of a Grizzly bear is going to get through those walls.

If all else fails you might want to calling your local states attorney's office and as suggested, the local news feeds/papers.

Here in Missouri, things like this are unfortunately considered 'Farmer's Business' and we are expected to deal with the problem ourselves. A good .223 usually will solve the problem. With wildlife, it is completely acceptable to shoot marauding foxes, coyotes and racoons when they invade and kill livestock and yes, chickens are considered live stock.

I sure hope you get this mess settled for the good of your neighborhood as well as yourselves.