Dog and chicken

[Austinms]

Buff Orpington - Normal weight, 5 months

I have a fenced in backyard and free roaming chickens. I looked outside and, from a distance, saw my dog had a chicken in his mouth. I immediately ran outside and commanded him to drop it. He did. I secured the dog and went out to the chicken.

I immediately brought her inside and inspected her from injuries. There is no blood, loss of feathers, or I have found none. She was a bit stunned when I brought her inside. After inspecting her, I brought her back out. She began eating, drinking, scratching around. She is moving normally.

My dog is an ACD mix. He has collected wild bunnies before. By collected I mean he found their nest and brought them into the house one by one, uninjured. He has been with them since day one and has always been their guardian. He has never shown interest in them before except to protect them. On my dog's end, nothing remotely like this has ever happened and I will be sure it never happens again.

Should I do anything for my chicken? Do you think she will be okay?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

Yes, I think the bird will likely be okay.. it sounds like she's already forgotten about the incident!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

You could give her some electrolytes and sugar in her water just in case but it sounds like you lucked out! Your pooch has a soft mouth naturally although I would obviously work on training him not to put chickens in it lol. My border collie mix likes to chase the chickens. She hasn't actually attacked one yet but they will submit to her so I wouldnt out it past her to try it sometime. Whenever she messes with them I send her inside because she likes being with me so its punishment for her and has helped her curb her bad habits although I still don't leave her unsupervised with them.

 

[Austinms]

Welcome to BYC!

Yes, I think the bird will likely be okay.. it sounds like she's already forgotten about the incident!

Thank you. I am a new chicken owner (raised these ladies from day one about five months ago) and I haven't encountered anything like this yet!

 

[Austinms]

You could give her some electrolytes and sugar in her water just in case but it sounds like you lucked out! Your pooch has a soft mouth naturally although I would obviously work on training him not to put chickens in it lol. My border collie mix likes to chase the chickens. She hasn't actually attacked one yet but they will submit to her so I wouldnt out it past her to try it sometime. Whenever she messes with them I send her inside because she likes being with me so its punishment for her and has helped her curb her bad habits although I still don't leave her unsupervised with them.

Thank you! He has been so good with them since day one that I've become complacent. He's been going through a mood these last couple of days... I think I need to take him to the vet honestly. After the incident when we went inside he kept barking at me. This is a dog that has never barked in his life. I have heard him bark maybe three times ever. He was repeatedly barking and it was just so strange. I took him outside, leashed and he wanted to go back to the spot where it happened. Very strange. My hens submit to him too, so I am suppose unsurprised he picked one up. I should have been more careful. I didn't exactly see what happened. They were in a brushy area and far from where I was.

He has fended off dogs, cats, hawks, and (unfortunately) people from the chickens. I am wondering what bee he has had in his bonnet these last few days. Thank you so much for your reply!