Flock wiped out

[clcarpen251]

I am so upset. This morningour three barnvelders were great, right before lunch we looked out to find two big dogs had torn into the coop and killed them all! We have tried to be so careful, and the coop is in our fenced back yard! My hubby is beside himself. Not sure what we will do now... But if we get more we will have to rethink our pen since apparently a large dog can rip right into it!

 

[bloonskiller911]

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

 

[joleneschix]

So sorry for your loss. You should really think about chain link fencing if you get more. I have never had dog troubles due to where I live, but I have a friend who has had dog troubles with his chickens and swears by chain link fencing. I myself thought it was a bit extreme but he said he has seen three large dogs attack the fence and they gave up because the fence was just to strong. Maybe even you could find a used chain link dog run? I see them on craigslist around here a lot. Good luck. I would contact the owners of the dogs(if you can find them) and tell them. Maybe they could pay for the damages. I know that does not bring back the flock but a responsible owner would do that. Where I am at because we are not in any city limits we have the right to protect our livestock by whatever means. And the owner of said dogs is responsible for all damages incurred by their dogs. But if you are in city limits then there is most likely a leash law that the dogs have to adhere to. And if that is the case, call animal control. Again I am so so sorry for your loss. Good luck! Jo

 

[clcarpen251]

So sorry for your loss. You should really think about chain link fencing if you get more. I have never had dog troubles due to where I live, but I have a friend who has had dog troubles with his chickens and swears by chain link fencing. I myself thought it was a bit extreme but he said he has seen three large dogs attack the fence and they gave up because the fence was just to strong. Maybe even you could find a used chain link dog run? I see them on craigslist around here a lot. Good luck. I would contact the owners of the dogs(if you can find them) and tell them. Maybe they could pay for the damages. I know that does not bring back the flock but a responsible owner would do that. Where I am at because we are not in any city limits we have the right to protect our livestock by whatever means. And the owner of said dogs is responsible for all damages incurred by their dogs. But if you are in city limits then there is most likely a leash law that the dogs have to adhere to. And if that is the case, call animal control. Again I am so so sorry for your loss. Good luck! Jo

A chain link dog pen isn't a bad idea, although I wouldn't have thought they could get into our backyard because it is fenced with chain link! We do live literally right in the middle of the city, and do have leash laws. The dogs ran off, but I didn't see a collar on either of them. Its just crazy, all this time we have been worried about snakes, foxes, racoons, etc, and dogs get to them! When we got to them our big pullet was still breathing and we were hopeful, but before we could even determine where her injuries were she died. we invested a lot of time money, and energy into these chickens that we hatched from eggs, so its very disheartening!!
Thanks for the advice!

 

[The Lazy L]

Did you use chicken wire or 1/2" welded wire?

 

[real_redhead]

So sorry for your loss...I know how you feel I lost all but one of my girls to a dog attack this past March...I wasn't sure if I could continue but I did and now enjoy my girls even more. Good luck!

 

[capthollis]

I have a ferrel cat problem, but not dogs. My friend had a dog problem and ended up using hog panels that worked wonderful. The panels holes are 2" x 4". He even used it for his flooring to stop them from diggin in. It did solve his problem. Sorry for your loss. That's sickening

 

[clcarpen251]

I have a ferrel cat problem, but not dogs. My friend had a dog problem and ended up using hog panels that worked wonderful. The panels holes are 2" x 4". He even used it for his flooring to stop them from diggin in. It did solve his problem. Sorry for your loss. That's sickening

Hog panels are not a bad idea either - I'm sure I could get them at our local tractor supply. We did have portions of the pen reinforced with hardware cloth, but apparently not well enough. I even thought about an electric fence, but then I would have to worry about my kids and our pets, so that's not the best idea for us. We also have cats that come into our back yard, but most of them have owners, and we haven't seen them messing with the chickens. However, after all this happened yesterday my hubby did say he saw a "very big black cat" in the pen (we left it open after we cleaned up and buried the chickens).
Not sure yet what we are going to do, my hubby is so upset he doesn't really want to discuss getting more chickens right now. We went SEVERAL years without chickens, and last spring finally decided to go at it again. We really put a lot of effort into deciding what breed we wanted (barnevelders), finding them, building a proper coop/house, hatching and raising them. Our big pullet was due to start laying at any time, and our roo had just started crowing good! At this point with winter coming (even though we don't get really cold winters normally), I think we would be better to wait until spring to do anything?

 

[20736]

We swear by dog runs for chicken fencing.
here is a pic.


Sorry for your loss. I would file a report with local authorities on dogs.
The dogs could eventually hurt someone.

 

[Mattemma]

Sorry for your loss.I thought chainlink would be enough.It is what I have around my yard.Bummer you could not get the dogs.