Dog attack, I need advice/consoling

[OldManDan]

We have an enclosed run, but we let our four chickens out to free range a few hours per day. The backyard is surrounded with a 6 foot privacy fence, so we feel safe during the daylight hours, at night they are in a very secure coop. Someone is usually out with them when they are out during the day.

Today, somehow a small dog got in the backyard and attacked Peggy, one of our easter eggers. We ran out immediately and found the dog with feathers in its mouth and thought the worst. But it looks like the dog just pulled out a lot of her tail feathers, along with some leg and a few wing feathers.

Basically Peggy's butt is super red and bumpy from having most of her tail feathers pulled out. We sprayed some vetericyn on it, but she didn't like that at all and reacted badly.

Two were missing and we finally found them, under a very very low deck, it took us 30 minutes plus to coax them out.We got them into the run, and they all went inside the coop but it wasn't dark yet, I think they were still scared.

One good sign was that I threw some mealworms and scratch into the run and they came out of the coop and pecked on the ground and ate it up. Another good sign was they went into the coop at dark and got on their usual roosting spots, although when Peggy went to jump up on the side of the ramp she didn't make it the first time.

I know chickens can be pretty resilient so I'm hoping this will be no big deal. I guess I'm looking for words of encouragement and if there's anything we can do to help her. Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm sorry this happened! You might treat Peggy - all of them, really - for shock. Mix up some sugar water, 1 tsp sugar per cup of warm water, and let them have that to drink tonight. It's the equivalent of a cup of tea with lots of sugar that the British use in times of stress! Then check her over real good all over, under her wings, between her legs, etc. She may be bruised if he got hold of her. Chickens bruise green. Bruising may not show up till tomorrow. Can you put something in the coop as a step-stool to help her get up on the roost? Maybe a cinder block or some such to give her a boost? And then just keep a close watch on her to make sure she isn't actually injured anywhere. Look carefully under her feathers, especially on her back.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, also maybe grease up her bottom with Vaseline where her feathers have been pulled out and she looks raw.

 

[OldManDan]

Thanks! She was able to get up on the ramp on her second try, and she also was able to get up on her roosting bar which is about 20 inches off the coop floor. It is hard to pick her up normally, but we'll try tomorrow to look her over better.

They are all tucked away in the coop now, so I can't do much until the morning. But thanks again for your advice. I know it could have been worse.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It's easiest to check them over at night after they've gone to roost as they don't see well at night and you don't have to chase them. You probably don't already have one, but I advise getting a little head lamp to leave your hands free, and see if you can get one that has a red light option, as they don't see well in red light. That way you don't disturb all the other chickens while you're checking her over.

To prevent repeat problems, get some 1/2" hardware cloth and reinforce the walls of your pen at least up to about 2' up from the ground. It's also advised to lay hardware cloth on the ground around the pen in an apron extending out to about 18" to prevent predators from digging under the perimeter. Cover this apron with gravel and see that it is securely attached so there are no gaps. Best if it is bent or folded going up the sides if that makes sense. Chicken wire only keeps chickens in, it doesn't keep predators out, you see.

You did get off pretty easy! But that dog will be back, so ... forewarned is forearmed, they say. Fill the moat and pull up the drawbridge!

 

[OldManDan]

It's easiest to check them over at night after they've gone to roost as they don't see well at night and you don't have to chase them. You probably don't already have one, but I advise getting a little head lamp to leave your hands free, and see if you can get one that has a red light option, as they don't see well in red light. That way you don't disturb all the other chickens while you're checking her over.

To prevent repeat problems, get some 1/2" hardware cloth and reinforce the walls of your pen at least up to about 2' up from the ground. It's also advised to lay hardware cloth on the ground around the pen in an apron extending out to about 18" to prevent predators from digging under the perimeter. Cover this apron with gravel and see that it is securely attached so there are no gaps. Best if it is bent or folded going up the sides if that makes sense. Chicken wire only keeps chickens in, it doesn't keep predators out, you see.

You did get off pretty easy! But that dog will be back, so ... forewarned is forearmed, they say. Fill the moat and pull up the drawbridge!

The dog didn't get in their run, they were out free ranging in the back yard. And I've checked the fence, the dog didn't dig under anywhere. There was a possible very small hole that the cat can barely squeeze through, and I boarded up that hole.

Thanks again for the advice!

My run and coop is very secure, all covered with 1/2" hardware cloth no chicken wire anywhere, here's a photo.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Beautiful!

 

[OldManDan]

Thanks! The door on the left leads to an extended run they have access to for most of the day. This is the first injury any of our chickens have suffered and I was just really worried. Thanks for your replies.

 

[coach723]

Sorry this happened. Sadly, for many/most dogs, this is common behavior, it's 'fun' to them. Depending on breed, many small dogs were historically bred for vermin eradication, so have a pretty good prey drive. A warm, feathered thing that runs and squawks is just fun to chase, and kill. If you know where the dog came from, I would have a word with the owners. I have friend with a Jack Russel terrier, her only goal at my place is to get my birds, she is always leashed when they come here. Period. Years ago I had a neighbor that allowed his two small dogs to run loose, they would come and run my fence line and get my birds all worked up. Nothing else got his attention, so ultimately I threatened to shoot his dogs, which I can legally do to protect my livestock. That finally got his attention and the dogs no longer roamed. That's extreme, but just a talk might be enough. Your birds are helpless, so it's up to you to keep them safe. They may be skittish for a while, sometimes the trauma takes a while to wear off. Sometimes they refuse to come out of the coop, may refuse to go to a certain area of the yard, etc. If all goes well and nothing else happens they will gradually return to normal behavior.

 

[OldManDan]

Thanks so much for your reply! The chicken mom sort of cried/cursed out the neighbor, who was apologizing profusely. I do think he felt badly his dog did that and promised it wouldn't happen again. We'll see....

At this point it's up to us now to make the yard more predator proof, so that's my goal today. The chickens are at my friend's house.

I learned today there is a thing chickens can do called a "fright molt", that they can release or eject feathers when a predator is after them. I'm hoping that's what happened and the feathers weren't ripped out.

I am going to go over shortly and check on them and see if they will come out of the run.