Help! My dog attacked a chicken, what do I do?!

[suzie789]

Hi, I am currently house/dog sitting for my Auntie. I know that my dog (as a gun dog) has a thing for catching any kind of bird! I supervise him everytime he goes into the garden to make sure no harm comes to the chickens. Today after a walk, I was washing the other two dogs when mine got away, jumped the fence into the chicken run and got one of the chickens. After much screaming he dropped the chicken. I cannot see any visable marks on the chicken, just some feathers missing. Being a gun dog and therefore soft mouthed, he did not (that I know of) break the skin or do any damage. The chicken ran away and went straight into its coop. However, it still has not come out and the other two chickens seem a bit shaken as well. I have been checking on the chicken every hour to make sure it's ok. It moves around everytime I open the door but doesn't seem to want to go back into the run. Is there something I should be doing? I don't have chickens at home so I have no idea what to do! If anyone could offer any advice I would be eternally grateful.

 

[CheepingCkicken]

This happed to our hen. A hunting dog got after her and she lost a lot of feathers but she wasn't hurt though. But she was very scared and she ran away and got stuck in a cinder block but after a few hours she had calmed down. So if she is not hurt I would say you could leave her alone for a few hours and she will probably would have calmed down by then and if not I wouldn't know what to do then.But maybe after a few days she would have forgotten about it and go out... Hope I was some help.

 

[ChickNanny13]

This happed to our hen. A hunting dog got after her and she lost a lot of feathers but she wasn't hurt though. But she was very scared and she ran away and got stuck in a cinder block but after a few hours she had calmed down. So if she is not hurt I would say you could leave her alone for a few hours and she will probably would have calmed down by then and if not I wouldn't know what to do then.But maybe after a few days she would have forgotten about it and go out... Hope I was some help.

IF you're sure the chicken wasn't hurt, CheepingCkicken is right...They'll probably be very nervous for a few days before cautiously coming out of the coop. Just make sure they have food & water in their coop, you could try & sprinkle some treats in the run after a couple of days to coax them out. Good luck...

 

[suzie789]

Thank you so much both of you! You've put my mind at ease a bit. It's really cold in the UK here at the moment so hopefully she will be ok during the night. Will check on her in the morning and fingers crossed she will be alright. Thank you again!