First predator loss AVERTED! One of my Buff Orpington ladies, Ginger, was almost got eaten by the next door neighbor's puppy. Not their fault at all. She went out the one corner of the fence, the last small stretch we hadn't finished, and ended up on their property by going down the embankment and crossing the dirt road that divides us from the Wilsons. Dora the Explorer is what we always call her. She and Lorelei used to to off on these little expeditions and now Lorelei, her partner in crime, is gone.
I was on my way to the mailbox when I heard the most awful screeching and squawking from nextdoor of a chicken in serious distress. Couldnt see through the trees, but I hollered for my husband while running to our fence to see if I could tell which bird was in trouble. I really wasnt 100% sure it was our chicken since there are game fowl all around us and we even found the head of a chicken once. The 18 yr old kid from nextdoor (whose foot was broken from an ATV crash) caught her and got her away from the dog, but I heard the commotion, just couldnt see thru the trees. She is missing some feathers from the oil gland area where the puppy grabbed and yanked them out, but no other wounds. She is a lucky girl! The pup is an Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler cross, only a few months old and small still and I'm sure if he'd had bigger teeth, she might well have a few punctures.
Sure hope my little explorer is shaken up just enough not to go down there anymore till we get the last 20' of fencing strung, which, btw, we put up mainly because of Ginger's propensity to explore. Yep, that's all we lack doing the perimeter and by golly, she knows where that opening is, LOL. Can I crash now?
I was on my way to the mailbox when I heard the most awful screeching and squawking from nextdoor of a chicken in serious distress. Couldnt see through the trees, but I hollered for my husband while running to our fence to see if I could tell which bird was in trouble. I really wasnt 100% sure it was our chicken since there are game fowl all around us and we even found the head of a chicken once. The 18 yr old kid from nextdoor (whose foot was broken from an ATV crash) caught her and got her away from the dog, but I heard the commotion, just couldnt see thru the trees. She is missing some feathers from the oil gland area where the puppy grabbed and yanked them out, but no other wounds. She is a lucky girl! The pup is an Australian Shepherd/Blue Heeler cross, only a few months old and small still and I'm sure if he'd had bigger teeth, she might well have a few punctures.
Sure hope my little explorer is shaken up just enough not to go down there anymore till we get the last 20' of fencing strung, which, btw, we put up mainly because of Ginger's propensity to explore. Yep, that's all we lack doing the perimeter and by golly, she knows where that opening is, LOL. Can I crash now?
