Devastated... Lost 7 of 13 chicks last night.

[rosemarythyme]

So sorry to hear about what happened. The survivors probably do feel stressed from the attack so if you happen to have electrolytes on hand, I'd supplement that for a few days, to help them deal with the stress.

 

[Momma hen quack]

So so sorry for your loss I would give them electrolytes as that is good to give when stressed. My go to is Hydro Hen 3 in 1, but it is usually only available when Tractor and Supply has chicks in the early spring. It's made by MannaPro. Hope the rest of the chicks are okay!

 

[mlh328]

I'm so sorry! I had an accident a few weeks back where my dogs got into my (what i thought was secure) chicken yard. They killed 2 of 6 and it was so heart breaking! My other girls are getting better, it took a while for them to want to go back outside, but it's getting better. You have to live and learn I think, just sucks. Keep your chin up and keep on going. Again, sorry for what happened, very much sucks.

 

[nao57]

I'm sorry this happened to you. No animal except mama hen herself (and even they should be monitored on hatch day) should ever be trusted with baby chickens. Especially dogs. Chicks do sleep a lot though. It is doubtful at this point in their lives they feel the loss of the others. You could probably get new ones and integrate them with your current babies. You can put a piece of scrap fence to divide the brooder for a day or two an let them get familiar with each other, but chicks grow fast so you should move quickly to get more. I keep a screen from an old window on top of my brooder and it is weighted down.

A neighbor of mine growing up had a collie who constantly dug, ripped, forced, her way out of her pen and into the chickens pen. She killed a lot of chickens. It took me a year before I felt safe enough that my doberman only wanted to eat the poop and not the chickens. Don't blame yourself, please. Chicks are both easy and yet hard to raise. Things happen. Now you are better prepared.

I don't understand why people like that didn't have the dog destroyed?

I hear stuff like this a lot. (re: the collie)

Oh, but such and such is a good dog, or a good person despite numerous crimes...

If someone or in this case the dog has a lot of crimes its not a good dog. Sometimes I hear it about people when the person is too emotionally attached to make good decisions.

Sorry just venting. Today also I had to go over with a family member about not trusting a person that had taken advantage of them several times and they still wouldn't get it.

 

[nao57]

So so sorry for your loss I would give them electrolytes as that is good to give when stressed. My go to is Hydro Hen 3 in 1, but it is usually only available when Tractor and Supply has chicks in the early spring. It's made by MannaPro. Hope the rest of the chicks are okay!

I've had a few bad experiences with Tractor Supply. I would NOT depend on them too much.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't understand why people like that didn't have the dog destroyed?

I hear stuff like this a lot. (re: the collie)

I don't think the dog would need to be put down. What it needed was a responsible owner that took steps to make sure the dog couldn't repeatedly break out of the yard and cause havoc.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I don't understand why people like that didn't have the dog destroyed?

I hear stuff like this a lot. (re: the collie)

Oh, but such and such is a good dog, or a good person despite numerous crimes...

If someone or in this case the dog has a lot of crimes its not a good dog. Sometimes I hear it about people when the person is too emotionally attached to make good decisions.

Sorry just venting. Today also I had to go over with a family member about not trusting a person that had taken advantage of them several times and they still wouldn't get it.

The family were big softies. They ended up rehoming the dog. Collies are natural herding/working dogs. It is doubtful it was getting enough stimulation so it wasn't the dog's fault really. I understand where you are coming from though. I am not personally a big dog person because they are risky and take a ton of work, but I'm not sure I would have chosen to put it down.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry for your losses!
Many of use have learned the hard way just how vulnerable chickens are to predation, including from our own pets! The solution is to BUILD BETTER, and longer term, to work with this dog to (maybe) make her safe around the birds. This training may take a year or more, so be ready, and manage better.
My brooder is in the garage, also an old stock tank, with a wood framed lid of hardware cloth. It's more secure than yours, but my dogs also are never in that garage!
More chicks, now or later, would be nice for you too.
Your coop and run need to be secure, probably more secure than you've planned, so pictures and dimensions here would be good to see.
Also, your dog fencing!!!
Mary

 

[cluckmecoop7]

SO SORRY.

 

[happybooker1]

I started keeping chickens about '10 in a surburb where they weren't allowed. Since then, I have these rules: 1) EVERYTHING eats chickens/chicks/eggs. Snakes, possums, owls, hawks, coons, dogs(yours AND others), coyotes, feral anything, sometimes I think rain and storms, too. 2) Pick out a 'favorite' chicken and doom it to be the next to go, 3) out of 10 unsexed chicks, 8 or 9 will be Roos, or at least a majority, 4) you will always have more Roos than Hens, 5) don't name the poultry, or you doom it to a sooner death, 6) get used to the fact that you will loose chickens -- frequently

These are just my rules. Like Gibbs' rules, they're arbitrary and just mine.