That being said, as much as we love our chickens, we love our dogs too. It was our fault for not being prudent in watching our dogs closely when out in the yard they share with our flock. The dog was just being a dog. I think I saw another post in this thread where somebody said they killed a neighbor's dog for attacking their chickens!!?? OMG, are there really people that extreme? It's the neighbor's fault for not restraining the dog properly, not the dog's fault. It's in their nature.
First and very foremost, I applaud your kindness and cariness to your hen. I am so sorry that she didn't make it. It is a hard thing for children to deal with. They give so much of their love and time to these baby chicks and watch them grow, and then something so bad can happen in a flash. I hope your children are okay and you too for that matter.
No, one the quote above,
I just wanted to say that I still regret killing the neighbors dog, it was not what was meant to happen. First off, we thought it was a stray, it had been ran off away from our chickens several times in the couple of weeks leading to the incident. During this time we lost 17 hens while the dog was roaming through. It had no collar or other identification. My children and myself were also in danger as the dog took off after my 6 and 10 yr old daughters when I tried to shoo him away from all of the dead birds he had killed and the ones trying to get away from him. We fired warning shots 4 to be exact, after we tried to catch and take him into town to the pound. When he took off after my children, he had to be shot to be stopped. We went for an injury shot, but he died anyways. If we would have known where this dog lived for the two weeks my birds were being killed, I would have been glad to speak with the owner about the situation. However, since we live in rural area and have alot of drop offs and overpopulation of strays, and this particular dog having no collar or tags we assumed he was a stray. I am a dog lover, any animal lover for that fact, but dear to dogs. We have 2 a min-pin and a saint bernard who have been and are being trained to not harrass the chickens. And other neighbor hood dogs are also fine. We never had the problem except for the one time. And when the owners of said dog found out why, they completly understood and apologized for not keeping him home. I'm not trying to rant or start a fued, but thought maybe I should explain that we are not evil, and wouldn't have shot the dog to start with had it not charged after my kids. I will lose every bird to a dog if need be; but I will not willingly let my children get injured by an animal. Sorry if this p's anyone off, but just wanted to justify my actions.