Dog Attack

[Wattles]

I suffered a loss to a dog attack today and my heart is broken. I lost 3 of my 5 precious young hens - my Light Brahma, my Ameraucana and my Barred Rock. It was a horrible scene to return home to - their bodies all lined up under their favorite tree, their heads tucked beneath their wings. The neighbors' dogs had gone over the 6ft. high fence and done their evil deeds. My Speckled Sussex is the only one to make it through unscathed. My standard cochin seems to be suffering from shock and may be injured. I checked her over for any injuries but couldn't find any. I'm concerned about her. I thought I had done everything right and that they were safe. I'm going to buy a pellet gun and I'm going to fortify my side of that fence with sharp stakes and at the bottom, large stones. If that dog tries to go over the top again, hopefully he'll impale himself. The neighbors had the good grace at least to approach us and apologize. Nothing though can replace my good girl Zelda, my sweet Betty, and my cute little Sadie. My five girls were very special - they had been born on my birthday and were the best birthday present I ever had. They were so special to me and I'll miss them very much. I'll treasure the remaining two.

You can see Betty in this video link, where she's eating a snake she found! Now she's gone, sniff sniff

In this video done by the local newspaper, to highlight our Pet Chicken Meetup Group, you can see me holding Myrtle, the golden-laced cochin who survived the attack, as a wee chick

Please everybody, guard your chickens from dogs - make sure you fortify and check your fences - don't trust that they can't scrabble over or under those fences and get at your vulnerable chickens . . .

*Sigh * it's a sad, sad day for me, I can't stop crying . . .
Tara

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, Tara, I'm so sorry! I'd feel the same way about my beautiful girls! Wow, a 6 ft fence and they still got over. Bless your heart. Each one of my girls is special to me and I know how I'd feel.

 

[justusnak]

Oh Tara, I am so very sorry. The loss of a pet is so hard. And these girls were so very special, being hatched on your B Day. I hope that dog owner offered to pay you for your hens? I know money doesnt help heal...but it helps get more...and may even pay for that pellet gun. Again, I am so very sorry.

 

[Galaxie_Man]

Sorry to hear about that. I lost three pullets several weeks ago to my own dogs, who were accidentally let out while the chickens were free-ranging. I can't blame the dogs, because dogs do what dogs do. It is always a persons fault, whether it is like my situation, yours with your neighbors, or in the case of strays running wild. A human was there at the beginning. I keep my .30-.30 Marlin handy just in case I hear or see anything that doesn't belong in my yard. I'm going away all next week, and hope the person staying at my house does as good a job taking care of my critters.

 

[justusnak]

Tara......as I sat here...thinking of your thread....something came to me..I wanted to share with you...im no poet...but..I do get inspirations..so here goes.

I flew the coop to soon it seems, to all my human friends.
I know your heart is breaking and will take some time to mend.
Our lives are all planned out you see, no matter how we try.
I know the love you have for me, I saw it in your eyes.
My coop is now in Heaven, my pastures green and bright.
The days are always sunny, warm breezes every night.
GOD saw that my work was done, and called me to come home.
When you see a feather in the wind, remember me....your not alone.

Its not perfect, but I hope it helps you heal.

 

[Wattles]

Oh thank you for your support. I had been shy about posting until now but I just had to in my sadness and I'm glad I did - you are the only people who would understand what I'm going through. Yes, I agree that dogs can't help doing what they're designed to do. This is partly my fault for leaving them to free-range in the yard unattended and partly the neighbors' fault for not controlling their aggressive dogs (this has obviously been an issue in the past because there is chicken wire strung over the top of their side of the fence.) I feel so guilty and so awful. I will learn from this though and try to look ahead to better days. I'm so glad at least that they didn't kill all of them or leave just one alone - at least there are two left to keep each other company. I'm so eager to replace them but Ideal Hatchery won't have any Light Brahmas until spring. I wish so much that I hadn't lost that Brahma - she was a favorite . . .

Tara

 

[kstaven]

If the dog goes over a 6 ft fence I would be stringing an electric wire on the top of it.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Since the neighbours are so contrite, hit em with a bill for the birds...

I'm so sorry that you lost your birthday birdies...

Deb, thanks for making me cry...that was beautiful.

What kind of dogs are they?

 

[Wattles]

Deb, I just read your words and I'm having trouble typing because I'm crying so hard. What a lovely poem - it is perfect. I'm going to print it out and put if up on the wall and treasure it. I may cross-stitch it onto a pillow. You'll never know just how much your words have touched me and soothed my anguish. I know my husband will cry when he reads it too - he has been very shaken by this. He rarely cries but he did when we buried our sweet beautiful girls. That scene will haunt me - the two of us weeping in the darkness, our tears dropping down over the bodies of our beloved girls in their grave. It was surreal. This seems like a nightmare - I keep hoping I'll wake up. Everything reminds me of them. I hope this pain will lessen soon - this is awful. I actually have to muster up the will to go outside now and retrieve all the pieces and feathers that litter the yard, and bury them. I dread doing it but I must.

I'm so glad that I have two of my special birthday girls left. My cochin seems to be fine, but still quite shaken - she just stands there and stares into space. Can chickens experience grief? I'm convinced that they can after what I've witnessed. I'm able to look directly into the coop through my living room window (I cut a window into the coop just for this reason) and so I was able to check on them all through the night, which I did hourly. What I saw touched me deeply. Lucille, my speckled sussex, is strong and 'mothered' Myrtle, the cochin, cuddling with her all night, not on the roosts but in the nest box - a spot they had never even been interested in before. At one point, I looked in and saw their heads tucked together. I wept when I saw that and so did my husband.

I'm hesitant to string electric wire on top of the fence for what it would do to the squirrels and birds that we enjoy so much. As to what kind of dogs they are, one of them is a blue heeler and one is a scrappy little terrier mix - I'm sure he is the one because he's the only one I think who can get over that fence. He looks like a little chicken-killer too - very mean-faced and barks constantly. I love dogs but I will kill him without hesitation if I find him in my yard again. I know that sounds terrible and it sounds shocking to hear myself even say it but that's how angry I am. I had caught him in the yard once before, chasing them around. That is why I feel so guilty - this is partially my fault. If I knew that they could get over that fence, I should have fortified it before I ever let my girls free-range.

I'm not sure how to handle things with the neighbor. Being a shy person, I always hesitate to be forceful with anyone. He has promised that he will fortify his side of the fence this weekend. I have told him that I'll do the same on my side. By the time we're done, it should look like the wall of a prisoner-of-war camp! I don't care how it looks - I'm going to erect sharp stakes and razor or barbed wire on my side. At the base, I'm going to bury concrete blocks or stepping stones or something. If the dog gets past that, all bets are off -he's dead meat.

You are all so kind, I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support,
chicken-lovers are the best people I've ever met, this would be so much harder to go through if I didn't have the support of such wonderul people,

Thank you all,
Tara

 

[arlee453]

Oh, I'm so sorry! What a tragic day.

:aww