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

[Finnie]

I have not seen one person tell you that the wood you used is thin and easily breakable.

That’s because up until that point, people were being compassionate about all the loss and hurt that OP has been suffering. Then people started criticizing and being mean. Like this next quote. Oh wait. That’s you.

Its just evil to kill a pet dog with puppies.

That’s a strong comment to call her evil.

One good thing about these kind of posts. They separate the good people from the bad pretty quickly.

So you automatically label people who do not have the same opinion you do as “bad”? When there is a difference of opinion, I wonder who gets to decide which is the good side and which is the bad? Maybe it’s not “good” people vs “bad” people. Maybe it’s just regular people with different opinions.

 

[BonNuit]

I admit I'm a booger-eating newbie, including to country living, chickens, and to this board, but here is what I think, FWIW:

1) KEEP THAT GUN IN THE CABINET! Violence and weapons never make situations better. They are for dire emergencies, when there's no other choice. The attack is over. Now it's time to use your words and your thoughts. You're upset, and angry (and rightfully so) which is a bad time for weapons of any type. The dire emergency is passed, and is now become a dispute. Good news is you have the high ground in this dispute. You instantly lose that high ground when you pull a trigger.
2) Put out the fire. Get the remaining bird somewhere safe from the dog.
3) Calmly and respectfully confront the other party. Think carefully about what you're going to say. Anticipate their defenses, and prepare responses. Make a list of exactly what you think you are owed to make things right. Think about possible win-win solutions. But be prepared to walk away, and go to court/the authorities if needed. If voices raise, walk away immediately. If you cannot use words, send certified letters, even if they're next door. Your actions are provable and in writing. Think of it as an opportunity to set an example to the young ones in your life on how to settle things well.
4) Don't give up. You obviously loved your birds. I submit that you owe it to yourself to rebuild and carry on. It sounds like you are in the later part of your life, please don't let despair and fear ruin what should be the most rewarding phase of your life.
5) Rebuild. Think carefully and critically about what went wrong with your coop/run design. For my part I was advised to fasten the HC on the outside of the frame (pressure treated 2x4s) so as to force animals to push against the fasteners rather than pull them out. Tractor Supply sells thick-wired hog panels (they're pricey) you could fasten to the outside to augment the HC, believe me nothing is getting through that stuff.

I hope I've helped, and I wish you all the best.

Regards,
--Kerry

This is an excellently thought-out post. I hope it’s read by the OP.

 

[CannedMonster]

A pet dog!?! Really? A pet dog isn’t dumped on someone else’s property pregnant with more mouths to feed.
And as far as the whole “poor starving mother dog” idea...READ the OPs posts!
The neighbors are feeding the dog.
Then it came over to her house and killed her chickens anyway.
That dog is a problem.
We live rural also and the sheriff’s office is animal control. If I told them there was a loose dog coming after my chickens they would say I’m within my rights to shoot it if it’s on my property.

 

[dirkandlorie]

One good thing about these kind of posts. They separate the good people from the bad pretty quickly.

I hope you are not considering yourself one of the good people! After ripping into the OP, telling her it's her fault, she's an irresponsible chicken owner in her time of grief??!!!!!!! Shame on you! Your feelings are your own, you're entitled to them, but you shouldn't feel entitled to hurt someone else in such a way! Find a nicer way to share your sentiments!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Personally I think it's reasonable to shoot a dog that has not only killed birds but came back and done it again. Whether or not she has puppies and whether or not she's a stray. We didn't kill a little shitzu that killed our duck flock because it was obviously a pet, the next day it killed our neighbor's flock in front of her and her 5 yr old. Didn't care that they were screaming at it.

As a owner of livestock, you have the right to protect them from threats.

 

[ShannonR]

I hope you are not considering yourself one of the good people! After ripping into the OP, telling her it's her fault, she's an irresponsible chicken owner in her time of grief??!!!!!!! Shame on you! Your feelings are your own, you're entitled to them, but you shouldn't feel entitled to hurt someone else in such a way! Find a nicer way to share your sentiments!

Well said

 

[Pfalzgraf4]

We have chickens and dogs and neighborhood dogs that roam. We have secure coops and a secure 6 foot fence around our chicken area inside of our fenced yard. I would be frustrated if a dog killed my chickens, that is understandable. However dogs will chase and kill chickens. If I just had my secure coop in the yard with no outer fences, etc. and didn’t watch, my dogs would dig under eventually. Saying that a dog that needs to be killed for that is ridiculous. Dogs do that. Talk to your neighbors and animal control. Fence your yards. Be proactive not reactive against an animal for negligence by humans. Stray dogs having puppies? Why is a pregnant dog a stray? Help take care of that. Posting on here about killing dogs is not the point of this page. It is disgusting to be that so many people are saying to kill the dog. In our state you would get in trouble for that. Talk to your neighbors and fence your yards!

 

[Pfalzgraf4]

Personally I think it's reasonable to shoot a dog that has not only killed birds but came back and done it again. Whether or not she has puppies and whether or not she's a stray. We didn't kill a little shitzu that killed our duck flock because it was obviously a pet, the next day it killed our neighbor's flock in front of her and her 5 yr old. Didn't care that they were screaming at it.

As a owner of livestock, you have the right to protect them from threats.

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.

 

[nao57]

The thing is that the dog is a stray who had puppies right? She is probably starving and just trying to find anything she can to eat which makes her desperate and half crazy. She is going to get into anything from the coop to trash to inside houses next unless she is gotten help. The pound needs to pick her and the puppies up. Killing her is not going to help anything if she has a litter of helpless puppies around. Then we have those left on our hands somewhere. That’s another load to bear for someone. With no mama then they have to be bottle fed and all that. It’s just a mess.

The victim is the original poster though, not the dog.

 

[nao57]

So the thing is...

Are you sure there was only 1 dog?

I ask this because once they get a taste for robbing dogs will rinse and repeat. And the momentum of pack mentality would be enough to get dogs to be persistent enough to get through the hardware cloth.

If the dog has a pink collar its not (originally) a stray also.

I've seen this kind of thing also where when my brother's dog was in trouble for something, and when we'd confront him about it, he'd say it wasn't his dog but the other brother's dog (who just happened to be out of town). And yet again later, the other brother pulled the same trick to avoid responsibility also, by saying it was the other brother's dog.

This way no one took responsibility.

So...

Right now I think the best thing for you would be to help you get out of this hole.

Fact; the government is having serious problems. I wouldn't be too dependent on Social Security to save you.

Given this fact, I would restart your chicken operation.

Maybe you can get some help from some church or other service volunteers to help fix the coop.

You could set up a go fund me account online for the rest of us to all donate like $2 to $4 dollars to get you enough funds to order a box of replacement chicks to raise. ($2 x 20 people from here, in no time, you'd have enough to have this recovered, and it wouldn't have to be a heavy donation if it was spread around.) You would have to report back with a go fund me link etc for us to find it.

Then get yourself also set up with extra feed, etc over the winter because a lot of things are having problems and you want to have some food storage, for the chicks, who are YOUR food storage.

A few weeks ago, I'd also remarked on another post that when there's a huge economic slump people dump their dogs. And this happens.

So I'm not surprised that this is happening. And I think it will be happening to others. I've seen it my whole life with animals. When you have to pick between feeding your kids and the dog then the dog gets taken to the railroad tracks. LOTS of towns are going to have stray dogs roaming around right now.

This could be any of us next.

Added after the fact: Forgot to mention, its urgent you step on the recovery operation ASAP! This is because a lot of hatcheries will be starting to get ready for winter soon. So you don't have a lot of time left to get replacements soon to start your recovery. The window is narrowing on this.