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

[VinDeb]

My first batch of chickens, which we purchased from Tractor Supply. As they grew it became more apparent 3 of the 5 were a little older than the smaller 2. Maybe only by a week or so, but they get along, I'm sure if you got a new batch they would be okay with what's left of your current flock. Yeah, I wouldn't trust my Westies around my chickens at all. As I am acclimating my chicks to the outside at first the Westies have been uncomfortably curious around them. They aren't as interested now, however, when moving them back into the tote to bring them back inside one afternoon, one got away from me and Westie 1, was right on it, but I was able to catch the chicken before any harm came. So that was my warning to not trust the dogs with my chicks. Keep going, live and learn, there will always be something to learn.

 

[angela0408]

I agree, chicks and chickens are lost for so many reasons, seems to be the “nature of the beast”. It’s hard when you lose any animal...I have sheep and goats as well. You beat yourself up, feel bad, but you learn from each loss and do your best and move on.

 

[tballard]

I hate to sound unduly harsh, but it's based on experience losing a lot of chickens over the years to dogs. Dogs and chickens do not mix. I'm not even sure I would totally trust a well-trained LGD around chickens. As others have pointed out, dogs don't kill the chickens to eat them, it is more for sport. If I come out and see a pile of feathers where a chicken used to be, it's probably a fox, but if I come out and have 10 dead, gnawed up chickens scattered around, that is a dog, guaranteed. We go through cycles out here where we get stray dogs and that is a big problem. Early on, I would chase them off the property but found out the hard way that they would just keep coming back repeatedly until they got to the chickens. I ended up being a whole lot less sympathetic after the number of dead chickens piled up and now unless I specifically recognize the dog, I usually end up shooting it if it is on our property threatening the livestock. I hate to do it, but I have found there is really no other effective way to deal with the situation. As I say, you become a whole lot less sympathetic when you lose 10-12 chickens at a time, or, even worse, when you have a chicken that is so gnawed up that you have to kill it to put it out of its misery. For the record, I don't think I have ever lost a chick to a dog, though - it is always full-grown chickens. When it is your own dog, it may actually be tougher, but you just need to keep the chickens locked down really well and don't trust the dog around the chickens no matter what.

 

[Apaul9602]

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 recently as well had the same situation. 4 weeks ago I purchased week hold chicks. My kids and I immediately were attached. Was keeping them "safe" in a guest house next door to mine. Well my daughters bird dog found an opening and in a split second bit one and injured 2 badly. One died and one recovered with a broken wing pretty quick. The third it appears dislocated her leg and I don't have the heart to euthanize her. She is so sweet and has learned how to wobble around. She gets special treatment as the others are now outside in their pen but she only goes ot through the day but I bring her in at night. She will wobble up to me for me to pick her up every night. The others were skittish immediately following but were fine within a couple of days. Don't give up. I love my"baby girls". Have enjoyed watching them. Good luck!

 

[VirginiaLowe]

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.

YOu poor thing - how horrible for you, especially as you'd spent some time and effort nursing them. But don't assume your dog will be a problem with the poultry all the time. We have had a grandson living with us for about 8 years (he's 24 now - moving out next week). Anyay he has two dogs - a staffordshire pit bull terrier and a medium sized dachshund. The staffy is very benign and has never come near them or chased the (we have 7 chooks at the moment). But we got from a local school the two chicks grade 1 had reared in the classroom. We kept them in a canary cage for a while, but eventually i was scared they would't be able to get out the door, so i put the cage into the chook run. Because both dogs had always taken no notice of the chooks, i just left it - unwisely. it wasn't the staffy, but the dachshund - the minute my back was turned she was in the run (i didn't even know she could get in there) and had the chick in her mouth - dead of course. i growled at her. but the other chick was too small to be held in by the fence and she got out, and Cocoa grabbed her too. But she's fine with the full grown hens, though i'd never trust her with chicks again. The full grown ones would be too big to tackle, but they're not big next to the staff and she takes no notice. When they're free ranging in the back yard they both try to herd them sometimes. But no aggression, only 'helping' us. So keep dog away from chicks, but don't worry about it being difficult with full grown ones eventually. Also it's quite handy to have a flock of different ages. Different ages go broody at different times.

 

[VirginiaLowe]

YOu poor thing - how horrible for you, especially as you'd spent some time and effort nursing them. But don't assume your dog will be a problem with the poultry all the time. We have had a grandson living with us for about 8 years (he's 24 now - moving out next week). Anyay he has two dogs - a staffordshire pit bull terrier and a medium sized dachshund. The staffy is very benign and has never come near them or chased the (we have 7 chooks at the moment). But we got from a local school the two chicks grade 1 had reared in the classroom. We kept them in a canary cage for a while, but eventually i was scared they would't be able to get out the door, so i put the cage into the chook run. Because both dogs had always taken no notice of the chooks, i just left it - unwisely. it wasn't the staffy, but the dachshund - the minute my back was turned she was in the run (i didn't even know she could get in there) and had the chick in her mouth - dead of course. i growled at her. but the other chick was too small to be held in by the fence and she got out, and Cocoa grabbed her too. But she's fine with the full grown hens, though i'd never trust her with chicks again. The full grown ones would be too big to tackle, but they're not big next to the staff and she takes no notice. When they're free ranging in the back yard they both try to herd them sometimes. But no aggression, only 'helping' us. So keep dog away from chicks, but don't worry about it being difficult with full grown ones eventually. Also it's quite handy to have a flock of different ages. Different ages go broody at different times.

Oh, and i forget to say our daughter is a permaculture farmer. She has wall to wall chooks on her property, and usually 3 or 4 dogs. She takes the two of her sons' dogs from our place sometiemes, and always has a couple more. She's never had any of them attack the poultry - she's got ducks too. Originally she had a lovely dog, part rottweiler. Lovely dog, very intelligent, Never looked at the poultry. I don't know how you teach them, but don't lose heart! i think you'll be okay.

 

[Owain1]

So sorry for your loss. I lost 3 of my chicks to my dog, too. The moment I wasn't watching he'd go for them. I now assume that they are not safe around him and make sure he never has access to them.

 

[Foxinthehenhouse]

What a horrible thing for you and the chicks. My dogs ate several of my chicks one time and I was crushed! You just have to move on. I would definitely give the surviving chicks some probiotics in their water. That will help with the stress that they are experiencing.
Good luck and enjoy the ride, bumps and all! You’ll soon learn about chicken math!

 

[Chick-la-la]

So very sorry for the trauma of all of that, DONT be too hard on yourself, these things happen. My dog killed my favorite hen out of the blue, she had always been good with the chickens. I felt terrible too!!!
If you want to add to your little flock, do it! I had two separate little flocks 3 weeks apart and the littles caught up quickly, they are all one happy family now. I kept them separate for about 3 weeks and when they all got together, there was only minimal chasing. Mine were all bantams (silkies and Cochins) this time with one Polish (super sweet and bigger than the others but at the bottom of the pecking order so she wasn’t a problem). I am now trying to get the Banties and my Easter Eggers accalmated to each other- it takes time but it works! even if you only ended up with 6, that’s a good number to bond with.

 

[wildwoman8]

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.

Please don't blame the dog or feel they can never be trusted around the birds. I have four pitbulls that I've trained not to bother my birds. My Male however is driven nearly mad by the sounds of chicks! I have a large steel cattle waterer I use for a brooder. I too use hardware cloth as a topper however, my husband actually built a simple wooden frame around it. This strengthened it immensely and the dog cannot leap into the brooder. I can also place something heavy on top at night so he cannot move the topper aside either.
Consistent and firm commands will have your dog understanding that you will not tolerate it messing with the tiny babies. Even though mine are trained, I still keep a close eye on the dogs when they are out with the free ranging birds.

Also, replenish your flock if you'd like! One cannot have too many chickens if you have the room!