Dog Attack - Possible Shock - Need Advice

[WindingRoad]

I’m so sorry. I agree with others that finding her a friend or two would be good. I would think she is scared and confused as to what just happened. Cleaning up the coop to get past this tragedy would be helpful. I would bring her inside if possible. Some treats and calm attention will bring her around. Please remember there is nothing you could have done. Internal injury is likely with dog attacks especially on a small silkie.
If you can I would beef up coop security. I can see hardware cloth which is great. It should be secured with screws and washers. If you have concerns about protection post pictures and we will all give suggestions.
I also would contact the neighbors. They should pay for repairs and new chickens. A notice to animal control may be in order as well.

Again— so sorry.

(What on earth do they have for dogs!?!)

My next door neighbors have a huge Great Dane. Taller than I am at the shoulder. And 2 Bull Mastiffs. She has 0 ZERO control of them. The first day I saw her out with them she was yelling at them to no avail. One of the BM's walked right into my house and licked my egg sandwich. Slobbering all over the place. She didn't even apologize. She laughed and said come on pup. The dog left; I threw out the sandwich and said, "I'm getting chickens and putting up an electric fence". The next day her "husband/SO or whatever" was putting up a fence around their property. I've not had any problems with those dogs since except for their barking on occasion. If you have dogs take care of them and know where and what they are doing. Just makes sense or don't have them. This is a travesty.

 

[Trock925]

I’m so sorry. I agree with others that finding her a friend or two would be good. I would think she is scared and confused as to what just happened. Cleaning up the coop to get past this tragedy would be helpful. I would bring her inside if possible. Some treats and calm attention will bring her around. Please remember there is nothing you could have done. Internal injury is likely with dog attacks especially on a small silkie.
If you can I would beef up coop security. I can see hardware cloth which is great. It should be secured with screws and washers. If you have concerns about protection post pictures and we will all give suggestions.
I also would contact the neighbors. They should pay for repairs and new chickens. A notice to animal control may be in order as well.

Again— so sorry.

(What on earth do they have for dogs!?!)

One looks like a labradoodle and the other might be a malamute mix, not sure. We've spoken with the owner and he's agreed to pay for us to repair the coop and all the fees to replace the chickens. What's worrisome is they use an electric fense and I've heard these dogs have a history of escaping their yard (we moved to this house 6 months ago, and a big decision for choosing this location is because we can have chickens). I've asked animal control to come out and speak with the owners about what could happen if we decided to put an order against the dogs. I'm upset about the situation but not angry with the dogs. I feel the owners are not being responsible with their animals and possibly neglecting them. At the very least there is a lack of training. However, these people better hope their dogs are never on our property again because I will not give a second chance.

 

[Trock925]

I hope you know or can find out who owned the dogs that killed your birds. They should reimburse you for your loss. I would also report it because they can be fined for having an animal at large. I agree with @SniperGoose on that.
As far as making the coop more secure, what kind of fencing do you have around the coop? If your using chicken wire, its not going to keep out predators. I use 2 x 4 inch woven wire with a foot of it bent down on the outside and tacked down with old wire hangers. If you cut off the hook part that you use to "hang" clothes with, then snip one end of the hanger, it makes a nice spike to push into the ground. Ive not had to put up hotwire, but that may be an option for you.
It looks like the dogs used the handles on the doors to pull them open. Im sorry this happened to you.

We have 1/4 inch hardwire cloth which is stapled down with inch long staples. I will be adding screws and washers to secure it further. We have cinder blocks buried in the ground to prevent digging. It's hard to see in the pictures but the dogs dug all around the coop before breaking the egg box door. We took a lot of measures to secure the coop but this incident has shown us the weakness of the hen boxes. We will be redesigning that area so the top will lift up. Suggestions for making that secure would be appreciated as well.

 

[Trock925]

I am so sorry!
Give her some electrolytes to counteract the shock, and set up a mirror for her until you can find her some friends. A friend could even lend you one or two until you can purchase some. So sorry for your losses!

Thanks for the suggestion of the mirror. I think this is a great idea!

 

[blackandtan]

I’m so sorry that’s so terrible! My neighbors shepherd did the same thing to my coop, he savaged it trying to get in, lucky I was here and could grab him and she just laughed when I told her.

They moved soon after...yay!!

Sounds like the silky had a back injury, probably internal too. Don’t lose heart, get yourself some more chickies to love for you and the lonely one

 

[TropicalBabies]

I have a loaded pellet gun next to my door and no qualms or apologies if I use it. We have a new neighbor with hunting dogs who get out and chase, attack the wild chickens. Actually, we have lots of irresponsible neighbors with hunting dogs who get out... our saving grace is our dogs (and good perimeter fencing) who notify us of intruders. Cats, dogs, people. So far we have been lucky. My coop is not prepared for a full on attack and certainly not like the one yours went through. I should have mentioned how impressed I am with how well built and beautiful your coop is and I am shocked that they got through that door. Bad, bad persistent dogs.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

An electric fence does not comply with leash laws in most areas. As sad as it is you may be within your legal rights to shoot the dogs in defense of your livestock. As you said it’s not the dogs fault.

Hopefully their owner will take more responsibility.

 

[WindingRoad]

An electric fence does not comply with leash laws in most areas. As sad as it is you may be within your legal rights to shoot the dogs in defense of your livestock. As you said it’s not the dogs fault.

Hopefully their owner will take more responsibility.

Are you saying to keep dogs on their own property or protecting chickens. Confused here?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Are you saying to keep dogs on their own property or protecting chickens. Confused here?

A buried fence where the dog wears a collar to attempt to keep them contained. A lot of places don’t consider that legal containment as the dogs can cross that barrier easily.

There is the option of electric fencing/netting around the coop as well. But I was referring to what the dog owners could and should legally be liable for. Especially because they are known to wander.

 

[WindingRoad]

A buried fence where the dog wears a collar to attempt to keep them contained. A lot of places don’t consider that legal containment as the dogs can cross that barrier easily.

There is the option of electric fencing/netting around the coop as well. But I was referring to what the dog owners could and should legally be liable for. Especially because they are known to wander.

The other issue with the shock collar buried fence is it doesn't keep out dogs that don't have a collar. And some dogs get "used" to the shock and go right through.