Catahoula 6 Turkeys 0 Chickens 1 :(

[Crickett B]

I never hated my dog as much as I did when she killed my Silkie roo, and my Turkeys, George and Fred. Yes, she was chained at the time. Stupid birds walked right into it. Free range) Then she broke her chain and kill my turkey hen, Ethel, right out of her cage, and my beautiful cochin mix Rooster, Joseph. My huge Barred Rock Roo, Damien suffered as well. She must have tried to kill him, but only was able to rip all his tail, and saddle feathers out.

She is now on a rated 250 pound cable tie, with a steel stake buried in the ground until we can build the electricfied dog prison for her (and the golden retriever, who would not hurt a fly)

After this I noticed that the dynamics of my flock have changed greatly. It took days for everyone to settle back into some sort of normal routine. Joseph and Damien were 2nd and 3rd in the ranks, as the frizzled polish roo, Nanner rules the flock. The silkie roo never factored in the main flock as he had his own flock of 5 teenage hens. Two of my other "hens" turned into roosters. ( they both were over 8 months old, never looked like roo's till a few days after the horrible event.) Damien is now being tormented by Nanner so bad that the last two days, he has turned to squeezing himself into a tiny hole of a dog house that I have in the pen for the hens. Before all this, Damien would stand up to Nanner, and Nanner would not mess with him, other than doing what I call the rooster dance (one wing down and stomp feet) I did not remove Damien from the flock as other than his feathers missing, he did not appear to have anything broke, and no blood. But now I worry about him out with Nanner. Seems Nanner is now chasing him into corners and jumping on him. Damien's comb has gone from bright red (before the attack) to a deep dark red with more black spots on it

(Not sure if those are scars from Kadie or not)

How long before my flock goes back to total normal? It's been close to 2 weeks now. Is there something else possibly wrong with Damien, that I may have missed?

I have 11 hens, 5 which are laying now. And 4 roosters now, instead of the 2 I thought I had left. The "new" two are not trying to take control of anything, they are too busy raising hackles at each other. One is almost the size of Damien (height not girth), the other a bantam brahma. ( PICTURES of my ROOSTERS )

Any help would be so greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Crickett

 

[bobbi-j]

Instead of making an electrified "dog prison" (are you going to be taking them out for exercise every day, or would they constantly be penned up?), is there any possible way for you to put a fence between your "chicken area" and your "dog area" to keep the birds from wandering past your tied up dog? What are your plans for your 3 extra roosters? A ratio of 1 rooster to between 8-12 hens is ideal from what I've read here on BYC.

ETA I hope you can get over hating your dog. Unless they're trained to leave the birds alone, most dogs will chase them. That's what they do. Time and training can help.

 

[mulewagon]

A Catahoula's a herding and hunting dog, that requires a lot of exercise and firm training. I'm afraid if you keep her too confined, you may end up with a dangerous dog. Has she had obedience training? Is there anyone nearby who can help you train her to guard the chickens rather than hunt them?

But really, really, if you can't work a dog like that, you'll be safer giving her to someone who can, and getting something that needs less maintenance.

 

[Crickett B]

Quote:
I don't hate her any more, just that day, I did. I have had her too long (almost 4years) and she means too much to me. The dog prison won't be small. We have 5 acres, So the area we plan to use will be rather large, more like a medium sized back yard. Plenty of running and playing room. She is great with us, but not fond of strangers to begin with, which is one of the breed characters. I bought her for that purpose, as were we lived prior to moving up here in the mountains was a very unsafe place to be (Orlando)

I'd like to plan on keeping the roosters as well, grown too attach to them. I'll have to start searching for more hens. I am going to have to purchace adult hens, as all the babies I have bought, I am concerned may turn out to be more roos (Bought 6 chicks, crossing fingers that some are pullets). Those should be semi easy to rehome, as I bought "non normal" looking ones. (top hats and frizzles)

My main concern at the moment is the dynamic of my flock of 15 that are still here. Will they get back to the way they were before? ( Except for the two "new" roosters, who were once thought of as hens.) It took 4 days for the 5 hens that had been laying before the attack, to start laying again, and they all don't lay every day as they did before. I don't understand why Nanner is now picking on Damien, is it due to all his feathers being gone? I was trying to wait till he was back to his normal self before looking for more hens, or should I go ahead and find more now? The 5 months that I have had the chickens, they have always lived together, and they are close to 9 months or older now. Should I perhaps build another pen and seperate to 2 roo's in each pen, with hens each? The only time they are in a pen is at night, and during the day they free range fine.

Crickett

 

[bobbi-j]

It might be a good idea to separate them until the one heals up. I'm glad you still love your dog.

 

[Crickett B]

Quote:
Yes, I agree with the confined concern. Which is why the large yard pen is to be built. I feel part of the issue lies with the fact of being chained, when she once was not. She is fine with other living things, once she feels they belong...just something about the chickens and turkeys drives her nutso.

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
Yes, I agree with the confined concern. Which is why the large yard pen is to be built. I feel part of the issue lies with the fact of being chained, when she once was not. She is fine with other living things, once she feels they belong...just something about the chickens and turkeys drives her nutso.

Think about it - they run, they flap, they make cool noises... What better toys are there? I had a lab once that would catch the chickens and carry them around till they quit flapping and then go for another one (that game didn't last long - it took me once or twice to catch on). So, we put a fence up to keep the birds in. Dog figured out that if you run around the fence, the chickens panic and fly out. That was more fun than playing frisbee! So, we put a cover on the run. I'm just trying to make the point that sometimes dogs look at chickens and really fun play things.

 

[mulewagon]

Oh, good, I'm glad you'll have the dog squared away.

I would separate the bullying rooster for awhile, to let the other recuperate. And be sure that you dominate the bullying rooster - walk at him until he backs up, randomly chase him away from the food or boot him off a hen. That will take him down a peg, and make sure he doesn't move up to attacking you.

Aargh, surprise roosters! I have one just maturing at eight months - I thought it was a fine big hen, but instead it's another dinner.

 

[Lbrad7]

We have a Catahoula and she is one of the most intelligent and loving dogs ever. BUT that being said..she is a handful!!! They are medium to large dogs (mine weighs 55lbs) with the energy level of a Jack Russell Terrier on crack!!! You have to make sure they are getting a lot of exercise and just as important mental stimulation. If you don't they will use your birds to take care of both of those needs to the detriment of your flock.

Catahoulas are extremetly intelligent but they have a very high prey drive. If you are determined and have a great deal of patients, I think you could successfully break her from killing your birds but it would take a LOT of work. I think you would be better off just keeping them apart. If manage to get her trained, you will never find a more dedicated and loving protector of your family and your farm animals.

In case you can't tell by now....I LOVE CATAHOULAS!

Good luck to you! I hope you can work it all out.

 

[Crickett B]

Quote:

You just perfectly described Kadie! She may be smaller than yours at about 45 lbs, but its all spring loaded muscle, with a snap.
Love her to death, but wanted to pop her head off that day.