Goodbye baby Ginger I love you.

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

Well, I let my silkie chickens that were 9 weeks old Friday kinda free range today and took off there little run, my dad came home early on Saturdays and left my dog out while he was cutting the lawn. I was sitting inside watching T.V. and I couldn't hear anything and didn't know what was going on, I heard collar tags shaking and thought my neighbors dog was out there so I ran and saw my own dog chasing the chickens, I very distinctifly rough tone said "Alvin!" about two three times then he came couragin to me with shaky eyes wide open I didn't see Ginger all I saw was Baby and Sammy running to a near tree then I saw Ginger lying motionless on the fresh cut grass I ran to her she was gasping for air, she was the smallest of the three and had curled toes I figured that is what brought her to her death as she could not run fast enough with the others, I craddled her in my hands while gasping for air. She blank once, twice, then she was gone. There were no big injures other then a clip to the wing, I guessed my dog was shaking her very hardly like chew toy and broke her back because there was no other injures. I screamed to my Dad "The dog killed the chicken!" Then he turned off the mower and came to me as if he was going to hit me and told me it was my fault, I am sitting there crying over my baby dieing and he sits there telling me I killed him its my fault and I told him you know the dogs that way and the chickens were out ! Then hes telling me how cruel and I should be shot when I had no intensions for any of this to happen and tryed to scold the dog and he says the dog did nothing and its not his fault I said alright ya its not the dogs fault, its yours you let him out and knew he would tear those chickens like a chew toy. After that he just sas ya ya whatever, he hasn't anything back yet cause he knows I am right.

I have only a couple pictures of her I should have been more up to date but I will love her and miss her and she will know she was brought up in a good family who loved her the way she was flaws and all.

 

[equine chick]

Silkie,
I'm really so sorry about your ginger. Your dad probally does feel a lil guilty and maybe did not realize the dog would hurt the chickens. Dogs are predators so it really is not alvins fault, but that is just the way life is sometimes. So sorry..

 

[SpottedCrow]

I'm sorry for your loss...

 

[Dawn419]

So sorry to hear of your loss!

 

[jackiedon]

I am so sorry about your chicken.

jackie

 

[Southern28Chick]

I'm sorry about your baby. Sure was a cute one.

 

[ruth]

Amanda - I'm so sorry you lost your baby chick. Give the others extra loving and please try to forgive your father for the hurtful things he said.

 

[Fancy Feather Poultry]

Thank you all, I am planning to get some baby ginger look alikes for her brother and sister, they have been chirping for her and miss her alot already, it makes me cry to hear them hurt as much as I have, the babys may not be as small as her and have curled toes but will look sorta like her, I would be I dont know "weird" if one came and looked just like her small for her breed and curled toes. Man I got to see her hatch and everything and found out they lived for up to a year and was so excited to see her life span from her birth to her first peck of food, her first egg, and her first babys. She will be missed greatly she was a real one of a kind.


Come to think of it now, she was black and red, curled toes, and could not be considered even bantam she wasway smaller!. She is a one of a kind will be in my thoughts forever and will be my only Ginger.

 

[lacyloo]

dang u have me cying now

im so sorry for ur losses

 

[gretchen13]

i am new to the forum and this is the first post I read. I have a new dog. A black lab female about one year old. I love the dog, but I love my hens too. It really is tough. If anyone has ideas on how to train dogs to leave hens alone I would love to hear them. Sophie stays away from the hens if I am in the yard with her now, but I wouldn't be able to leave them all alone together.

You sound kind of young (living with your dad and all), may I ask how old you are? Do you show your chickens with 4-H or anything like that? I want to encourage my kids to show hens but I am having trouble finding info on how to go about it and what breeds etc. Anyways, parents make mistakes too. We are just human. And because we want to look infailable to our kids we may not always admit our mistakes to them. Let me apologize to you for your dad. I am sure he feels badly. But once again, there is little we know how to do to control a dogs instinct to chase prey. The hen was gone and there isn't anything he could do to bring her back to you. Plus, very few people (particularly men) see the uniqueness of chickens and they don't understand the attachment we form to them.

Hang in ther kiddo. And keep enjoying your chickens!