Dog killed two of my cutest/sweetest chickens :(

[RaquelsChickens]

So I was inside and I had opened the door to my chicken coop to let my chickens free range for a couple of hours. I had brought my own dog inside the house as I don't fully trust him with my chickens. Well we live out in the country and I didn't expect a neighbour dog to come over. One of our neighbours was walking their dog and long story short the dog must have seen them from the nearby trail and came over and killed two of my chickens. One was a bantam road island red and one was a marraduna basque chicken. My question is will this dog keep coming back to my house? I probably won't be letting my chickens free range without supervision again but if I make a good run what type of lengths will this dog go through to get my chickens?

 

[wyandottegirl]

I'm so, so sorry to hear about your loss. The same thing happened to me. My two award winning Polish were killed by a dog. Someone must have been walking their dog along the path behind our coup and the dog saw some fun fun play toys.

The dog never came back. We secured their run and the hole the dog had gotten though. If you keep letting your chickens free range then I'm sure the dog will come back but if you keep them in a safe, secure run then I'm sure they will be fine.

 

[fried green eggs]

Sorry for your loss. You will need to build a run with a good fence that is tall enough that a dog can't jump it or climb over. A apron around the bottom would also be a deterrent so, nothing can dig under the fence. Any chance the neighbors dog gets, it may now come over to get more of your birds.

 

[WYNot]

Talk to the neighbor. If he is reasonable, willing to pay for damages, and willing to do more to keep his dog on his property then go that route.

If he wants to be a jerk or refuses to pay or do anything about his dog then call the local animal control/LEO and file a report. Personally, I'd also let him know that if his dog harasses my chickens again it would be the last time. But to each their own.

Either way, reinforce your coop/run.

 

[RaquelsChickens]

Sorry for your loss. You will need to build a run with a good fence that is tall enough that a dog can't jump it or climb over. A apron around the bottom would also be a deterrent so, nothing can dig under the fence. Any chance the neighbors dog gets, it may now come over to get more of your birds.  

Thank you I am new to this site so I'm not sure if im responding right. But thank you for the ideas. Maybe I will try out that apron idea

 

[RaquelsChickens]

Talk to the neighbor. If he is reasonable, willing to pay for damages, and willing to do more to keep his dog on his property then go that route.

If he wants to be a jerk or refuses to pay or do anything about his dog then call the local animal control/LEO and file a report. Personally, I'd also let him know that if his dog harasses my chickens again it would be the last time. But to each their own.

Either way, reinforce your coop/run.

Thank you. Yes if that dog ever does come around again it probably will be the end of him. thank you for you help

 

[microchick]

Raquel, first off, welcome to the forum. Sorry your first post was about a tragedy.

I like the motto, good fences make good neighbors. They also keep your Chickens safe. When you build your run make sure you cover it so birds of prey can't dine on your birds.

I also agree with the response about the dog's owner being liable for damages to your flock. Hope he is a responsible dog owner and not a jerk. You can never fully replace what you lost but being compensated might help.

Good luck with safe keeping your birds.

 

[RaquelsChickens]

Thank you @microchick. Yes I'm going to try and talk to my neighbour again. And I'm going to build a nice good run so this never happens again. Thanks for the reply.

 

[microchick]

Dogs always a challenge.

We are bringing our babies home tonight and we have 5 dogs. I don't trust any of them with chicks let alone chickens. I know that there are people who have dogs that are completely trustworthy with their flock, but our dogs are not that way so I am taking special precautions when we build our coop next month. We are hot wiring around the parameter and using 6 foot kennel panels for the run. If they are out of they will be either in a chicken tractor or under strict supervision from us with the dogs penned up either in their fenced in yard or in the house.

Even brooding is a challenge where I take safety seriously. The brooder is set up in my utility room where there is a screen storm door to separate them from any potential hazards.

It's in a dog's nature to hunt. Birds are easy prey so you cannot blame the dog as much as you can the owner who doesn't take precautions.

If the owner doesn't take responsibility, then time for a police report.

 

[JJSS89]

Make that dog push up daises if it ever comes around again looking for chicken blood.