My most likely bet is that she smelled the other smells on them from the other farm. Did they have a dog? Did their dog interact with the kittens or mom cat? Even if the people petted the dog and then petted the kittens, the doggie smell would be on them. She may have been reacting to that.
Handle the kittens ALOT so that they get your scent on them. Does your dog have a blankie that she lays on? If so, give it to the kittens for a few days, so HER scent gets on the kittens. Also, let the kittens lay on a towel for awhile, then give that to the dog, so THEIR scent gets on the dog and she gets used to it. Sounds confusing, I know. Dogs sense of smell is absolutely incredible. The kittens are going to smell like all kinds of things that she isn't used to because they are not from around your home/farm area.
Be very, very careful when you re-introduce them. Keeping the kittens in a cage where the dog can smell them and they her, is a good idea and keeps the babies safe. Once the dog gets used to them, she probably will be ok with them. Also, it may sound "cruel" to keep them caged, but if it is a large cage, and they are only baby kittens, then it's not near as bad as you think. Lots of animals live in cages for a long, long, long time (think humane societies, shelters, some foster situations, etc). Another thing, the cage will keep them safe from "most" predators, such as hawks, owls, etc. But, Coons can and will try and pull them through the cage, so make sure they are in the house or locked up tight in a barn somewhere that the coons cannot get to them at night, ok? Kittens grow pretty fast, so in a few weeks or so, they will be plenty big enough to fight back agianst your dog, as she is a small dog, or at least stay out of her way. I believe that your kind of dog was bred for hunting, though, weren't they? For small animals? If so, I would never totally trust a dog to accept the kittens and not hurt them. Even though she has done it in the past, I would be so very careful.
I have a German Shepherd and I absolutely cannot trust him not to hurt my cats or my ducks. I have to supervise him when he is around them. Sometimes, he wants to "herd" them and uses his mouth to grab at them. He might not intentionally hurt them, but he is 100 lbs and might do it by accident. I have seen him grab my cat by the head (her head in his mouth) and pull her away from the food dish. Not agressively, just grabs her and moves her out of the way (this is HER food dish, too). Of course, I correct his behaviour, but still!
Good luck with your kitties. Post some pics of them. I would love to see them.
kathy
