Dealing with grief and massive loss.

[chandratownsend]

Monday was the first loss I have ever experianced as a chicken Mama. I literally feel like I'm mourning a family member loss. This is the first time I have ever raised chickens. I fell in love with all 20 of my babies. Monday while I was getting ready for work I went on back to check on my chickens (like I do every morning) to find all of my chickens dead in my back yard. Whatever got to them literally just tortured and killed them. Didn't even finish eating them. I was hysterical and I miss them so much. I understand this is what happens when you live in the country but I'm a sad panda

 

[mothertochicks]

Monday was the first loss I have ever experianced as a chicken Mama. I literally feel like I'm mourning a family member loss. This is the first time I have ever raised chickens. I fell in love with all 20 of my babies. Monday while I was getting ready for work I went on back to check on my chickens (like I do every morning) to find all of my chickens dead in my back yard. Whatever got to them literally just tortured and killed them. Didn't even finish eating them.

I was hysterical and I miss them so much. I understand this is what happens when you live in the country but I'm a sad panda

I am so sorry for your loss. You must be devastated. I understand because I lost my babies chicks 3 weeks old to a hawk and a squirrel. Did you know what happened?

 

[CrazyTalk]

That's horrible.

I don't know where you're located or if you have a gun, but if I were in that situation, I would shoot the dogs. They've already killed YOUR pets and if the owner isn't going to do anything, it's up to you to protect your birds. Have you tried contacting animal control in your area or even a non-emergency police line?

Shooting your neighbor's dog after it has already killed the birds is illegal in almost every state.

You're allowed to kill a dog in most states if livestock is in imminent danger - there's no danger anymore as the birds are dead.

Have the neighbor pay for your flock, and report the inciden- and then fix the security issues you have. If that means lining the bottom of the run with hardware cloth, so be it. Tell the neighbor you can't risk further incident, and the next time the dog gets in your yard, it won't be coming back.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Quote:
Correct. And for many of us who live in cities, it's not legal to discharge a firearm unless WE are under threat. I find it quite disturbing how often I see people here on the forum advise others to illegally shoot dogs rather than follow reasonable legal channels to deal with the situation.

 

[Tapioca]

Lol I didn't mean go find the dogs and shoot them. I was unclear. I meant that if they came back to harass the remaining livestock and the dog owner wasn't taking action, I would shoot them. If I was in the same type of situation.

 

[Oliver Douglas]

I would deal with ANY predator that comes snooping around my chickens as "Burt Gummer", the protagonist from the film "Tremors" would have. After the post attack carnage that I inflicted upon the trespassing varmint was over, I would throw up my hands and yell out loud enough for the "neighbor" to hear it, "Broke into the wrong g****m chicken coop, didn't you, you b*****d?! Then pop a beer.

 

[Oliver Douglas]

And to add to my previous post, I understand that we, as chicken owners, should do our part to keep our flock safe from WILD predators, such as raccoons, hawks, coyotes, weasels, etc. Many of us have done so, at a significant financial cost. We can't hold those critters accountable for the mayhem they may cause, but DOMESTIC animals, such as the neighbor's dog or cat? I left the big city because when your home is burglarized, the response of the local police is to bar your windows, lock the doors, put in a security system...etc, it's YOUR fault you didn't take the appropriate precautions. I didn't want to be a prisoner in my own home! Moved to the mountains, in a small town where crime is minimal. Still lock my doors, but I don't feel like I'm in Alcatraz Island. Domestic animals have owners, and if they are not willing to give my property the same respect as I do theirs, I won't hesitate to give them ONE warning before I take matters into my own hands. As for small claims court when dealing with cats, forget it, at least here in California. There was an episode of the "People's Court" with Judge Wapner presiding back in the day. A neighborhood cat had gotten into a man's garage and totally shredded the new leather seats on his sports car, and was suing for damages. The court ruled that cats, by definition, were wild animals, and he got nothing. In the closing of the show, the plaintiff shrugged his shoulders and said something to the effect that the neighbor who owned the cat was going to miss it...since it was a "wild" animal. And try collecting any judgment from small claims...if the defendants don't have a pot to P*** in aor a window to throw it out off, you'll never collect. Okay, rant finished.

 

[torilovessmiles]

I didn't want to start a new thread, but I needed to vent, so I feel like this is perfect. Yesterday, I went outside to see feathers everywhere. I soon realized that our German Shepherd managed to get out of our fence, and slaughtered two ducks, two chickens, severely injuring two more ducks and a chicken. One of these ducks appears to be partially paralyzed, but began to regain some of her movement, so we're giving her a chance. And I would have lost so many more if it weren't for my sweet RIR rooster. He bravely fought off the dog until all of his girls were hidden before taking shelter under an old barn. Luckily, the only injuries he seems to have are a lot of missing feathers and a few minor scratches. I know he didn't understand me, but I hugged him and thanked him so many times for saving my girls.
This all happened because I decided to free range, thinking they'd be fine if I checked on them often. This all happened in less than 10 minutes. If I had just gone out 10 minutes early, I would still have my two Rouen ducks and my white rock chickens that I just got 3 months ago. I'm so upset about my ducks though, they were just starting to get blue on their wings. I really loved them a lot...
We've decided to rehome the dog that did this. As much as we like her, I've been trying to work with her, she has gotten through every barrier we can create, and I can't deal with such massive losses at a time. This is a pure white registered GSD that is spayed and house broken, so we won't be giving her away for free and we will make sure the home is very good. We will probably use the money from her to replace the ducks and chickens we lost. She's a good dog, but she needs a chicken-free home. Maybe a nice cattle farm.

If you read all that, thanks for tolerating my venting. God Bless

 

[DigMyChicks]

Sorry for your loss...

 

[proud-armywife]

First and foremost, it isn't your fault in any way shape or form. I cannot imagine how you must feel... I'm so sorry for your loss. In my county there are municipal codes about dogs attacking and killing poultry. It comes with a fine. It unfortunately isn't the dogs fault.... It's the owners. I would try to get some charges no matter what pressed against them... It may be the only thing they understand. It is your right to have chickens... It is not her right to let her dogs free... For as much love as you had for them, I'm sure your birds lived a wonderful life... You gave them that. ((((Hugs)))))