Devastating - the dog killed another chicken

[kannm]

I am wondering what we can do. One of our dogs has killed many of our chickens (the first set he broke into the coop, after that, we did not know how he was getting them). Now we know that he is pulling them through the fence. We can fix that issue, but he has killed our favorite hen. She was our layer and only layer. We have waited 7 months for eggs and have to wait again as she was our only layer.

I cannot kill our dog. Also, sending him to the humane society would be the same as killing him. But he will be a threat to our chickens as long as he is ours. Rehoming him would be great, but that would be almost impossible as our city is full of dogs waiting to find a home.

What can I do? I don't know how to train him to leave them alone. Also, he is a hunting-type dog. Could he be trained?


Please help if you can. I need to know what to do.

 

[the_eagle69]

first his he a bird hunting type dog if so not a lot you can do.If not you may try a shock collar has worked well for our begale. Once a dog gets a taste of the chicken blood it is very very hard to make thelm stop.

 

[CalicoFarm]

You could try running a strand or two of electric fence around the bottom of the entire pen. This is a little gross, but I have heard it works, tie the dead chicken around the dogs neck and leave it there until it falls off. I have never done it, but I have heard from people that have tried it and they said their dogs never even looked at the chickens again. Good luck in whatever you do.

 

[Gigijenn]

Our dog got along with our four hens peacefully, but then one day just *snapped* and killed one of our hens. We were devastated. Now, when the chickens are free-ranging, the dog stays inside. If the dog needs to be out for a while, we put the hens up in the coop. They all take turns so to speak, but it sounds like your dog still manages to get to the hens in spite of the fence.

We got the dog a muzzle and that works fine. But we have to be careful in warm weather as she can't pant and keep herself cool. I think panting is the only way dogs can regulate their body temp, so we are mindful of that when she wears it. Wearing it also seemed to really take her down a notch...she just sits there, completely defeated. But she hasn't gotten any chickens since.

 

[WalkingWolf]

You can put a invisible fence collar on the dog and set your line around the pen. If he gets close he gets a small sting, the sting gets stronger the closer the dog comes. I wish they made a transmitter that could be put on a chicken so if you let the chicken run the yard the dog would get stung and associate it with the chicken instead of just a location.

 

[Cara]

Your coop obviously needs reinforcing. If the dog can get in, or pull birds through, so can any other predator.

 

[sweet_peeps]

What about a leash connected to you?
Then you could give him a firm tug and a "no" when he lunges at the chickens.

Or putting him down on his back whenever he does it like a mother dog would.

Does he run loose out there?
If so, I would change that real quick.
He has shown he's not to be trusted near the pen.

I would never let a dog I don't trust run loose near my chickens.

 

[texas_chick]

I would rely on better fencing more so than training.

 

[CityClucks]

I'm sorry your dog killed your favorite - and your only layer, too! What a bummer.

Even with training, I would never trust the dog alone with your clucks. I agree with texas_chick that you should reinforce your coop.

 

[fowltemptress]

Sounds like you need hardware cloth.