Devestation, i'm mad, heartbroken and i have given up

[Tre3hugger]

ANY DOG can become aggressive, no matter HOW well trained ! PERIOD! I have worked with dogs in kennels and have owned various breeds...I have been bitten by dogs that people have told me the same thing you have said ,,,they are the sweetest dog, my dog wont do that...ect...ect. I did nothing to provoke such dogs they have come up and bitten me for no reason while I was walking down the street minding my own buisness. These dogs were unleashed and ran OUT OF THIER YARDS, while disobeying owners commands and bit me!!.And not just me it's been other people too.ANd if a dog is killing other peoples flocks in my town it's a $150 fine and 10 day quarentine and if no one claimes said dog they are put down. H ave lost 4 flocks to animals and I will use a gun if needed to protect my flock.

Any animal may react negatively to a certain situation. That doesn't deem it aggressive or not deserving of life.
I was simply stating that pitbulls are not inherently mean or "aggressive beasts." I know this from dealing with hundreds of them.

 

[RUNuts]

@Matejka - I am sorry for your loss and struggles and wish you the best with whatever you decide. Peace be with you.

I see a bunch of responses saying what the OP should do. How many people have offered to care for this unwed mother and her pups? We have 4 strays in our yard from people dumping unwanted "pets". WE paid to spay, neuter, vaccinate, love and feed them. Two of them we helped deliver the puppies and then paid to fix and place the puppies. Who is willing to step up here and provide a solution and not an opinion?

Dogs, like humans, need to be trained in polite society. Breeds, much less colors, don't matter. In most breeding programs, there is a standard to be met. Something no one talks about with the "pure" breeds. What happens when the standards aren't met?

 

[Chicalina]

I agree, that damage seems to be pretty destructive for a dog that is getting fed.

It is possible that another predator ripped open the coop and took some dinner, and then the dog happened along and opportunitistically helped itself to some too. Or there were a pack of dogs working together to rip it open.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Someone can’t keep a shitzu from kills ducks? Are you kidding me? Why are these dogs being around the livestock in the 1st place? We have a pit bull and a lab and have trained both not to attack the chickens. This took time and patience, but I still would never leave them in the yard with the chickens. This sound like bad owners not a bad dog. These comments are ridiculous. Also if my chickens are out roaming and a dog or anything attacks them. That is my fault not the dogs. Fence you yard, fence your chicken area and have a mature conversation with the neighbors. The comments on here make me feel like I’m in a Deliverence movie or something this is 2020.

The shitxu was from a property a few miles away. We have no reason to not freerange our birds because our immediate neighbor's are responsible and keep control over the animals they own. We spoke with the owner after our neighbor's flock was destroyed, they said oops and shut the door. Took weeks to get any type of compensation from then and then it was a hand full of leghorn and Cornish X chicks they had had to get for compensation. Nothing like the vibrancy and connections we had with our animals

 

[catobsessed]

Oh god I’m so sorry... I lost my first chicken to a raccoon, so I know exactly how you feel . Idk if anyone has suggested it, but have you considered building your coops above ground? We got ours a few feet up, and also have padded locks, haven’t lost a hen to a predator since. That dog sounds like a menace ugh...

 

[mowgli]

@Matejka - I am sorry for your loss and struggles and wish you the best with whatever you decide. Peace be with you.

I see a bunch of responses saying what the OP should do. How many people have offered to care for this unwed mother and her pups? We have 4 strays in our yard from people dumping unwanted "pets". WE paid to spay, neuter, vaccinate, love and feed them. Two of them we helped deliver the puppies and then paid to fix and place the puppies. Who is willing to step up here and provide a solution and not an opinion?

Dogs, like humans, need to be trained in polite society. Breeds, much less colors, don't matter. In most breeding programs, there is a standard to be met. Something no one talks about with the "pure" breeds. What happens when the standards aren't met?

The problem here is that they just keep coming from irresponsible owners dumping dogs.I have fed and rehomed all the puppies born under my shed.This was after the mother killed 23 chickens in one day.Not to eat.Just for sport.The mother was feral.With that in mind coops have to be built with the frame of mind that stray dogs will just keep coming.This is not a one off situation.Shooting or poisoning one dog will not solve this issue.

 

[kbslara]

Waste of time to try again. Everythingci care about dies. I can't handle more heartbreak .

I'm so sorry to hear about your partner. It sounds like you are having a tough time. Caring for someone who is hurt and watching them be in pain has got to be so scary and exhausting. And now adding the death of your chickens sounds like it is more than anyone could bear. Life is so unfair and I would be angry too! I hope things look up for you soon. If you haven't already, take a moment to grieve your chickens and all the other heartbreaks in your life. I hope your partner gets better every day and maybe in time you will be ready to get more chickens. I will be thinking about you.

 

[Matejka]

I understand that it's very upsetting when something happens to your chickens. However, a pregnant or nursing mother dog desperate to feed puppies hardly deserves that sort of treatment. It's not her fault that someone abandoned her and neglected simple kindness of getting her spayed. And she is gamely trying to provide for her family with no human help. Keep in mind, if she hadn't gotten into your Coop, something else would have eventually. a coop made of two by twos is just a disaster waiting to happen in a rural area. I live in a suburb and I hand built my own coop with the help of my sister out of four x fours and two by sixes, and some two-by-fours. there's not a single piece of lumber on that coupe that's less than a 2 by 4, and all of them are anchored to another two by four. Can everyone do this, probably not. But realistically, that was never a very safe coop. I know it's frustrating when you think they're safe and aren't
Also, keep in mind you allowed your rooster to sleep outside on a table on your porch. That's not exactly good chicken keeping!
Neither is doing nothing to secure your remaining hen and then just letting her wander off with a hungry dog on the loose. I understand you're having a hard time right now, but taking out your frustrations on helpless animal like a dog, makes you a pretty pathetic and irredeemable person in my mind. And I think in the minds of pretty much everyone. You need to take a step back and take stock of yourself and your methods.
I also think it's best not to raise more chickens. The Coop you have or had is not equipped for your location.

Is everyone going to like this post? No. Is everyone going to agree with me? No. But I'm not going to sugarcoat it.

Thank you for the reply and your opinion.

 

[ms match]

I agree with what some people have said here, but not with killing the dog.

I'm sorry to hear about your partner and your chickens.

It is a terrible time to say this but your coop/run cannot have been very secure for just a dog to get into it that quick. Focus on fixing it up stronger.

And it isn't the dog's fault she is hungry and had nobody to look after her or her puppies. She has obviously been abandoned by someone and to face death for just getting food for her pups is awful and unnecessary. The pups will be a bigger problem if they lose their mother. Your family should have called animal control sooner.

This is a typical example of human beings letting down the animals in our care. None of it is the chickens or the dogs fault.

Please call animal control and get them to round up the stray and her pups. They stand a good chance of being rehomed that way, and far away from your house and chicken run.

It must be so raw now but do try and not react with violence and weapons. That really isn't the answer.

She said 3x there is no animal control out there.

 

[oldhen2345]

I am sorry to hear of this terrible thing that has happend to you, your partner and your flock.
All because of irresposible dog owners.
I understand your disapointment and grief.
However, IF the dog has a pink collar doesant that mean somebody is responsible for it? If that collar has tags, cant you then get compensation for the damage to your property and livestock?
If your neighbors gave the dog shelter on their porch and allowed it to stay and have its puppies. Then put a collar on it, is that not assuming responsibility?
If a strange dog shows up at my place and i dont want it, i call animal control right away.
I recomend calling the police, get the damage recorded, report the dog and let the animal control try to catch the dog and track the responsible owners.
I must add that for a dog to tear apart that coop like that, i doubt i would ever trust any construction like it, if later you decide to try chickens again.
Sound like you have a lot on your plate right now.
Again, i am so sorry this happened.

If that town is like mine, Animal control only works whenever they want. They don't pick up stray raccoons, possums- even in a cage. I have even had neighbors call the police for barking dogs because a possum was holed up under my push lawn mower on the patio. They just laughed, told me to keep the dogs inside at night and left. MY tax dollars at work. If you don't have any living critters outside that you want to protect, poison is the best option. IF you shoot the dog, someone will complain and try to sue- even if they are in the wrong. I get cats that jump 6 foot privacy fences to get to my chickens. Can't shoot a gun in the city limits, soooo... If I catch them and take them to the pound, I go through a lot of trouble for nothing- they don't stay there. If they have owners, the cat is back over the fence in a few days. IF I take them to the vet to see if they are chipped, usually they are not and then I am stuck with the cat. Neighbors are not like they used to be.