Dog got chickens, snapped at my wife.

[moniquem]

Gosh, that is awful! Hope your flock will have a speedy recovery and kudos to your pregnant wife!

 

[townchicks]

I'm sorry for your losses. That must have been awful for your wife. However, even if the dog "has been dealt with" animal control NEEDS to be notified. If the dog has an owner, that owner needs to know what happened to their dog and why, they need to learn a lesson about not letting their dog(s) run loose. If the dog was feral, (or lost) it may have been causing problems for others, and then animal control will know it is gone. Also, you state that it snapped at your wife. What if this dog actually bit another person, and animal control is looking for it so that person doesn't have to go through rabies treatment. If possible, that dog should be tested.
You should put up a perimeter fence, also, the dog should not have been running loose, but that doesn't keep out foxes, coyotes, etc.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

Thank folks. Yes, the threat was neutralized yesterday evening when I went back out and he was making a bee line for one of my scattered chickens. I thanked my brother for coming over so quickly, too.

We live out in the country. I have a little over 30 acres, and my closest neighbor is over 1/4 mile away. It wasn't their animal, I know what their dogs look like. I do have a fully enclosed run attached to my coop, but when someone is home we free range our birds. Our birds are traumatized, understandably so. They will be locked up in the coop/run for about a week now. I've never seen this dog before, neither has my wife. I took care of some feral dogs 2 years ago right before we got chickens, and hadn't seen another one until now.

As for the wife, I did grumble at her a bit for getting so close. I know these chickens are her pets and she cares about them like they are her children. To me, they are livestock and replaceable. In all, she is safe and that is what matters to me. the livestock is secondary.

 

[Helloworld]

Some of you may want to go back to the beginning and read the OP's post again. I believe "the mutt" has already been dealt with.....harshly. (and appropriately)

And if birds are allowed to range about in the open, such an experience should not be unexpected. It is the nature of dogs. Not all of them, of course, but it only takes one to create such carnage. So it is incumbent upon us to get proactive to protect them. We might wish that were not so, that we should not have to worry about someone else's dog, but the fact is we do. Or as someone once said, stack all your droppings in one hand and your wishes in the other and see which one piles up first.

And as for dogs (and many other predators, but specifically dogs), the best pro-active defense you can have is an electric fence. Mine has whapped so many dogs around here, and sent them packing, I've lost track.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dogs-and-electric-fences.1210854/

Electric fences. On guard 24/7 and always at the ready to mete out a most severe punishment. Not lethal, but to a dog, unforgettable. Not many ever return for a 2nd dose. If you are going to let your chickens roam about, don't try it without an electric fence.

We love electric!

 

[Northern.Ontario]

As a hobby farmer, I think we have every right to dispatch predators that are killing our livestock. Good on ya.