dog attack

[fishman65]

went to lock up my flock tonight and was devastated to find my coop littered with feathers, shocked birds and dog prints all over the snow. i have 12 birds missing and i guess are dead. My question is this will the dogs be back???? I have a game cam that i can set up to try and figure out which dog did this as i have a lot of big dogs on the mountain. One thing is for sure, whichever dog i get on game cam is "DEAD"!!!! I'm just wondering if the dog will be back?? This is the first time i have had a dog attack my chickens, and it is very strange as the dogs always travel through my property and have never done this before. So do you thunk the game cam is a good idea or am i just wasting my time???

 

[TrystInn]

Yes the cam is a great idea because YES the dog will be back.

So sorry!

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Game cam is great idea. Place it well. My cam says it has 40' range but is really only good for 20.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Its a good idea, but remember just any dog coming onto your property may not be THE dog who did the damage. Since dogs travel through your place another dog may investigate as the scent will remain awhile. So unless you see more direct predatory behavior that indicates the dog knows what happened and right where to go (which should be obvious) then wait to remove the correct dog.
So sorry about the loss of your chickens.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I don't know if I'd bother with it or not. As chickerdoodle said, the next dog who stops to investigate may or may not be your killer. I think I'd put the money into beefing up the coop and adding a few strands of hot wire to keep dogs and everything else out.

 

[fishman65]

i will put up camera and see what happens. I found 6 more chickens this am. they are all in good shape. guess they were the lucky ones. And when i said i had dogs travel on my property i was talking about my fence line. I have almost 30 acres and my coop is in the middle of the property about 150 yds from the road and 100 yds from the back fence !!!
I have never seen a big dog near my chicken pen and this is a big dog going by the paw size. I have a good idea which dog did it but will wait until i have game pics of him before i take care of the problem. Still can't find any sign of the other ones and that bugs me. Not knowing for sure really make my blood boil!!!!!

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
I agree.

 

[fishman65]

coop is predator proof. my chickens are free range and the door was open so chickens could come and go as they please. the attack was in the daytime/dusk time of the day before they get locked up for the night. I would rather spend money on coil spring traps than hot wire. they are guaranteed to END the problem!

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
Would that also catch harmless animals as well such as cats and natural wildlife? I was always depressed when innocent victims where caught in traps and would come to our clinic frightened and injured. Perhaps a Night Guard (a device that uses a red beam of light) would be beneficial? A half hour or so just before dusk and after daylight are called the "killing hours" for a good reason.

Chickens really love to be out and eat bugs and weeds and it is so beneficial and humane. It is really unfortunate that is so risky and they can pay with their lives. Having a good sized flock is very difficult to protect from predators and more folks are getting Livestock Guardians Dogs such as Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherds and the like to keep coyotes and dogs away. Perhaps its worth looking into for your situation?

 

[fishman65]

well nothing on game cam but a couple of rabbits, funny thing is my neighbor has not let her dog outside in the last few days! Guess dog must have brought home dead chicken and she knows that after the last time her dog killed my guineas i will take swift and fatal action. have been very busy the last two days and will no longer accept my livestock being killed as just part of owning livestock. This is my property and i will do whatever it takes to protect my animals.Oh and the sheriff said that pics of dogs on game cam were useless unless it caught dog in act of killing livestock!!! He gave me the same advice that he gives all the people that have had their livestock killed. S S S !!!!!!!!!!