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

[Susan Dye]

Why for the love do the doge eat the poop? It’s beyond understanding for me...

I'm with you on the poop eating! My little Schnoodle has gotten into the chicken yard and she completely ignores the hens and goes straight for the chicken feed and the poop.. Disgusting, but I love her anyway.

 

[freyja9]

This is my first go around with chicks or any poultry for that matter. Long story short I trusted my dog too much and last night at 1:30am her curiosity got the best of my new and first flock. I received the 13 chicks at 24 hours old, I have spent the last 2 1/2 weeks, learning about raising chicks and learning MY chicks. Two different brooders, on Monday I built an outdoor "playpen", two with pasty butt the first week, needless to say I was very invested. I had a roll of three foot high hardware cloth that I would roll across the brooder at night but I used it for my chick playpen. My dog awoke from my sons room and went into the living room, where I have been keeping the brooder (a 110 gallon trough with all the bells and whistles), and within seconds she jumped in, I heard the commotion and flew out of bed and screamed at her and she jumped out, but in that 30-45 seconds 7 of my chicks died. I only had one Silkie who in the first day I thought was going to die, then she had pasty butt day three and four, but was starting to look strong and healthy, she didn't make it. I also had a red Bielefender, I believed him to be a rooster and he was my favorite of all time, he is gone also. I'm not sure why my first response is to come on here and tell you all my horrible experience. Just needing to vent maybe.
As I write I also have noticed my 5 remaining chicks seem to be sleeping a lot more today than usual. Can they feel the loss? Can this effect them?
I am also wondering if I should try to get some new chicks to replace my loss. Wondering if I should give my five remaining to some friends that have been looking for some and get a whole new set so they are all the same age. I have learned my lesson with my dog and understand she cannot be trusted with poultry. We have goats and she has no problem with them. And she has never had an issue with another dog, or people, or children. I have so many questions and feelings. I have guilt because deep down I know I let my birds down.

I so feel your pain. I have never posted or replied before but I wanted to help you feel better. We had a chicken that was partially blind last year, our first year having chickens. She had to be lifted up on the roost each night and down each morning, as she would try jumping on the shadow on the wall and couldnt see to get down. She would follow us around too, because she trusted us. We started to free range the chickens. A neighbors dog (very small weiner type dog) made it onto our property and tore her up. She couldn't fly up on the perches. She was still alive and was missing her back skin. We nursed her for almost two weeks before she passed. We loved her every bit as much as the house pets.
The best advice I can give is that its a learning curve, it hurts, but now you can be attentive to all your animals instincts and needs. I absolutely love being a Chicken Momma and watching my girls enjoy the yard is worth the changes I had to make in my routine to keep them safe. Now we let them out to free range about 4-6 hours a day and only when we are in the yards with them.

 

[pedrosk]

I also keep ours in an our large mudroom. There is two sets of baby gates separating the house ( the black and tan hound) from my chickens. I call it alcatraz

 

[MimiVC]

you have my sympathy and understanding. One day a neighbor's dog got into the chicken tractor and killed my 5 young hens that I loved. Keeping chickens alive is the hardest task because they are the food of the world. We have 8 young hens now after a sudden rash of predators in our area. I was stunned.

So sad that Chickens are at the bottom of the food change. We have experienced dealing with all kinds of predators from bear (infrequent), Cougars, Bob cats, Fox, coyotes, skunks, down to possums so far in our yard. We just started raising chicks so we’ve yet to deal with them dining on our 5 1/2 week old chicks. We built a very strong coop & run with help from so many shared ideas. Nothing is bear proof I’m told, so hoping we won’t have any this year. The others I think can’t get in but a mistake in the future on our part like not latching doors securely could invite any of the others to the picnic much like you’ve encountered. Trying to be real careful. Feel for your loss .

 

[Judy Todd]

This is my first go around with chicks or any poultry for that matter. Long story short I trusted my dog too much and last night at 1:30am her curiosity got the best of my new and first flock. I received the 13 chicks at 24 hours old, I have spent the last 2 1/2 weeks, learning about raising chicks and learning MY chicks. Two different brooders, on Monday I built an outdoor "playpen", two with pasty butt the first week, needless to say I was very invested. I had a roll of three foot high hardware cloth that I would roll across the brooder at night but I used it for my chick playpen. My dog awoke from my sons room and went into the living room, where I have been keeping the brooder (a 110 gallon trough with all the bells and whistles), and within seconds she jumped in, I heard the commotion and flew out of bed and screamed at her and she jumped out, but in that 30-45 seconds 7 of my chicks died. I only had one Silkie who in the first day I thought was going to die, then she had pasty butt day three and four, but was starting to look strong and healthy, she didn't make it. I also had a red Bielefender, I believed him to be a rooster and he was my favorite of all time, he is gone also. I'm not sure why my first response is to come on here and tell you all my horrible experience. Just needing to vent maybe.
As I write I also have noticed my 5 remaining chicks seem to be sleeping a lot more today than usual. Can they feel the loss? Can this effect them?
I am also wondering if I should try to get some new chicks to replace my loss. Wondering if I should give my five remaining to some friends that have been looking for some and get a whole new set so they are all the same age. I have learned my lesson with my dog and understand she cannot be trusted with poultry. We have goats and she has no problem with them. And she has never had an issue with another dog, or people, or children. I have so many questions and feelings. I have guilt because deep down I know I let my birds down.

Oh my, don't be too hard on yourself. Most of us have had some kind of chick loss and beat ourself up. I am sorry, it is just a learnig curve.
My lab, maybe 3 or 4, was fine wiht the older hens, but one day she attacked some 4 month old, who were free ranging, yup, you guessed, killed at least 5.
Maybe you could put the survivors in one brooder and get some new babies for the other one. It will cheer you up

 

[Softanchor]

I am so sorry for your loss. My labrador grabbed one of my turkey poults. Luckily my child was just as quick and saved the poult. Please give yourself a break and just use this as a learning experience.

 

[Alanzs]

This is my first go around with chicks or any poultry for that matter. Long story short I trusted my dog too much and last night at 1:30am her curiosity got the best of my new and first flock. I received the 13 chicks at 24 hours old, I have spent the last 2 1/2 weeks, learning about raising chicks and learning MY chicks. Two different brooders, on Monday I built an outdoor "playpen", two with pasty butt the first week, needless to say I was very invested. I had a roll of three foot high hardware cloth that I would roll across the brooder at night but I used it for my chick playpen. My dog awoke from my sons room and went into the living room, where I have been keeping the brooder (a 110 gallon trough with all the bells and whistles), and within seconds she jumped in, I heard the commotion and flew out of bed and screamed at her and she jumped out, but in that 30-45 seconds 7 of my chicks died. I only had one Silkie who in the first day I thought was going to die, then she had pasty butt day three and four, but was starting to look strong and healthy, she didn't make it. I also had a red Bielefender, I believed him to be a rooster and he was my favorite of all time, he is gone also. I'm not sure why my first response is to come on here and tell you all my horrible experience. Just needing to vent maybe.
As I write I also have noticed my 5 remaining chicks seem to be sleeping a lot more today than usual. Can they feel the loss? Can this effect them?
I am also wondering if I should try to get some new chicks to replace my loss. Wondering if I should give my five remaining to some friends that have been looking for some and get a whole new set so they are all the same age. I have learned my lesson with my dog and understand she cannot be trusted with poultry. We have goats and she has no problem with them. And she has never had an issue with another dog, or people, or children. I have so many questions and feelings. I have guilt because deep down I know I let my birds down.

Sorry for your loss. As you said, this is your first attempt at raising chicks, so chalk it up to experience.
I raise day old chicks, usually in batches of 100+ or so and usually sell them at 5+weeks. Chicks need a heat source and as they get older, space. They're pretty basic, so don't give up.
Yes, get more chicks, once the others are older, as older chicks and chickens WILL attack younger ones. I don't let the chicks out of their house until they are 5 weeks old. At that age, they start to flock.
I have a border collie who will round up the chickens, but she knows to hold the chicken gently. It's really amazing to see how she knows to get the one chicken at the end of the flock.
Keep up with your chicken experiences.
Also, I recommend that you Google hy line chicken management. They have a pdf file with everything you need to know about chicken raising.

 

[Rivendell Chick]

As everyone else has said, I'm so sorry to hear this, and it is my biggest fear as a fellow new poultry keeper. Got through the worry of babies shipping on a cold weekend, traveling through MN on the way to us in Georgia. Pasty butt! Panic when a 4 week old chick appeared injured and attacked by another chick (one was dust bathing in the wood chips and the other was packing at a piece of wood!).

Weather permitting, the coop and run will be done this weekend. Babies are awesome and mostly feathered at 31 days except my suspected Brahma. But the excitement of sharing their new home is tempered with the anxiety of life with the three farm dogs, all rescues. One is a confirmed chicken killer from his first owner. The younger two have a high prey drive despite being half pyr, and go through periods of bringing me prey - large rabbits, skunks, raccons, possums. To my absolute horror recently, a woodchuck and a very large cat (over 20lbs) that we have no idea when it came from. Their job is to guard 150 acres and they are good at it, keeping coyotes, foxes, Bobcats away.

We are building the coop and roofed run like a chicken fort Knox. Hardware cloth all around, 18" out in all directions under 4-6" soil. The coop is elevated 30" and also has hardware cloth securing every opening. It's my own dogs I worry about though. My husband thinks an additional fence beyond the locked run is overkill, but I'm not so sure. I know two of the three will do whatever they can to get in.

Before it's suggested, no, we aren't giving up the dogs. Or fencing them in - patrolling our land is their job. They keep me and mine safe. It will be my job to keep the girls safe from them and anything else that becomes interested. Our cats are indoor only for this reason.

 

[bjslaven]

This is my first go around with chicks or any poultry for that matter. Long story short I trusted my dog too much and last night at 1:30am her curiosity got the best of my new and first flock. I received the 13 chicks at 24 hours old, I have spent the last 2 1/2 weeks, learning about raising chicks and learning MY chicks. Two different brooders, on Monday I built an outdoor "playpen", two with pasty butt the first week, needless to say I was very invested. I had a roll of three foot high hardware cloth that I would roll across the brooder at night but I used it for my chick playpen. My dog awoke from my sons room and went into the living room, where I have been keeping the brooder (a 110 gallon trough with all the bells and whistles), and within seconds she jumped in, I heard the commotion and flew out of bed and screamed at her and she jumped out, but in that 30-45 seconds 7 of my chicks died. I only had one Silkie who in the first day I thought was going to die, then she had pasty butt day three and four, but was starting to look strong and healthy, she didn't make it. I also had a red Bielefender, I believed him to be a rooster and he was my favorite of all time, he is gone also. I'm not sure why my first response is to come on here and tell you all my horrible experience. Just needing to vent maybe.
As I write I also have noticed my 5 remaining chicks seem to be sleeping a lot more today than usual. Can they feel the loss? Can this effect them?
I am also wondering if I should try to get some new chicks to replace my loss. Wondering if I should give my five remaining to some friends that have been looking for some and get a whole new set so they are all the same age. I have learned my lesson with my dog and understand she cannot be trusted with poultry. We have goats and she has no problem with them. And she has never had an issue with another dog, or people, or children. I have so many questions and feelings. I have guilt because deep down I know I let my birds down.

Do not beat yourself up. That is just one of many misfortunes when raising chickens. The wind blew some boxes over and killed two of mine. Hawks will snatch them. Coyotes love them. Several years ago I had 6 hens and one night it was storming and I did not go out to close the hen house. A coyote got them all. I was sick. I heard them squalling about 2 am. I was sick. So this time I’m building a covered chicken run and it will difficult for coyotes and hawks to get at them. Enjoy. They are so pretty.

 

[Killyhawker]

That’s heartbreaking.... you love the dog and your new chicks. Focus on the remaining chicks. Don’t replace the others. If this is your first time with birds, keep your flock small so you don’t get overloaded. I have a very secure pen(almost a shed)—for my two chicks—I have 5 dogs. Be aware of your environment. Move them to the garage if you can. I’m not really a superstitious person, but it sounds like 13 was very unlucky this time. Focus on these remaining ones. They will need your attention. You’re going to get a lot of eggs and when they get old enough to lay eggs, what you are going to steadily do with them. Good luck with your flock! Name one Destiny