Devastated

[jak2002003]

My dog has just killed my pet silky chicken. I am so shocked and upset. I went outside to see why my hens were making noise and saw my dog chasing them around the garden. I put the dog back in the house and did a head count. 2 missing.

Under a bush I found my hen silky dead. The other japaese bantam hen is missing. I only had 2 silkies and they have been with me for less than 2 weeks.

I am shocked because my dog has never bothered the chickens before. She is great around them and the hens were not frightened of her at all, even following her about and some would peck at my dog.

I can not understand what happened. Now I can't trust my dog at all. She is 2 years old poodle mix and been around my chickens since she was a puppy.

I could not find any bite marks or blood on the dead chicken - but it was really wet. The bush was beside my small pond, so I am thinking the silky jumped in there and the dog got it out.

The sad thing is there is no chance of getting another silky hen because they are very rare in my country. They were the only pair I have seen in 3 years living in Thailand, and they were crazy expensive.

Why is it always the ones you like the most that die? I have lots of roosters and wish it was one of them instead.

I don't know what to do now, as my chickens were always free ranging and I have no run for them. I don't want to keep them locked in the coop all day when I am at work and I don't want to keep my dog shut in the house either. She used to guard the hens when I was out and keep cats out of the garden.

Any advise?

Right not I am so upset I want to re home all my birds and dog and have not pets at all.

 

[dainerra]

train her. Dogs are animals and chickens fly and make noise, making them great fun to chase. Unfortunately, chickens are also delicate so they don't make good toys.

It's likely that she saw the silkies as more of a temptation because they are so different looking than the other chickens.
Start by taking her out on a leash and getting her to focus on you. Reward her for paying attention to YOU instead of the birds. When she looks at them just say "leave it" (or "AHH" or whatever command you want) and then praise and treat her for focusing back on you. It takes a long time to train a dog.
Even though my boy is 8 years old and has never bothered them in his life, I don't trust him to be left alone with the birds. Too much of a risk because, after all, dogs are animals.

 

[jak2002003]

Yes you are quite right. Now my dog has got some kind of fixation on the poor chickens. Every time I let her out the house she is pacing up and down outside the coop and sniffing about the area where she killed the other chicken.

I have been hiding and spraying her with a jet of water every time she goes near the chicken coop. She hates water!

It was just a shock because I leave the dog and the chickens together every day for over 2 years and have never had in incident. They all used to hang around together and rest together.

I think you are right about the silkie chicken being a temptation. It was very different from the other chickens I have and also fluffy like a toy. I think my dog just got curious and went to have a sniff of the silkie, and because that bird was new it was frightened of my dog and made noise and probably ran around - which set my dog off.

Now my dog knows how much fun it is to chase the kill the chickens I will never trust her again with them.

I have already set up a run around the coop, but the chickens fly over it! I don't want to clip the wings as they will not be able to fly away form the dog or other predators. Have to see what happens. It was so lovely watching the chickens roaming around the garden. Things will be different from now on I guess.

 

[dainerra]

when you clip one wing, most birds still have enough lift to escape predators. My birds fly on top of the coop with clipped wings.

 

[jak2002003]

Yes. A few of mine have one or both wings clipped from when I bought them from a friend. They can still get out easy by flapping like mad and climbing up the wire. They can also jump really high as they are bantams and so light. The run is too large to cover over.

Honestly, this situation is no good for me. I am really upset with my dog - I know she only was doing what was natural - but its still hard to accept. Also I feel sorry for that chicken as it was in my care and if I was quicker going outside when I heard the noise she might still be alive. Her mate is now alone and was going crazy looking for her when it was roost time as they sleep together in a separate cage.

I have to give myself time to calm down and then try to decide if I will keep the chickens or not. The dog is not helping me either as she keeps running to the run and coop and trying to get in, frightening the chickens and making me mad.