HELP! My dog wants to eat my chickens!

[Baymule]

Thank you for the idea. Will my chickens get caught in the wire if I let them out to free range?

Not at all. In time it will get covered with dirt and maybe even grass if the chickens don't scratch it up. Mine scratch and dig in the wire I laid on the ground around their coop and run, they never get hung up in it nor have they ever been hurt by it.

 

[centrarchid]

Most of the smaller black and red ants are edible even for us. We eat them for a class each year. The only nasty ones I know of are are those that are small and pale brown with a skunk like smell. Those ants also smell like dirty socks. The bigger red ants with black butts can blast you with larger amounts of formic acid that makes them taste sour.

 

[newbie32]

Not at all. In time it will get covered with dirt and maybe even grass if the chickens don't scratch it up. Mine scratch and dig in the wire I laid on the ground around their coop and run, they never get hung up in it nor have they ever been hurt by it.

Okay I will hit the hardware store next time im in town and pick up more wire. And ant control

Most of the smaller black and red ants are edible even for us. We eat them for a class each year. The only nasty ones I know of are are those that are small and pale brown with a skunk like smell. Those ants also smell like dirty socks. The bigger red ants with black butts can blast you with larger amounts of formic acid that makes them taste sour.

Oh they are the big red ones! So my chickens don't like sour then

 

[centrarchid]

Oh they are the big red ones! So my chickens don't like sour then

Big red are tasty. Big red with black butt is sour.

 

[newbie32]

I think they are just big red. ugh my chickens need to eat them already! I heard vinegar works-does that hurt my chickens and what do I do-just pour it on the hole?

 

[AmericanMom]

Once a dog gets the taste for chicken its near impossible to get them over it... Our dog, German Shep/ Retriever was a great dog, he loved us, our Grandkids and was an awsome watchdog, but we found out one day as we were wondering why our chickens had quit laying that he also loved fresh eggs, he would sneak under a fence, over a fence, thru a fence, how ever he could and steal the eggs, always crafty, never leaving evidence til one day I caight him with an egg in his mouth... We added another fence line to give the chickens more protection and gave the dog a time out with a stern warning... less than six months later two of my very best laying hens mysteriously showed up dead, after the second one died I asked hubby if it could possibly be the dog, he said no way, probably a racoon or something else.. A few days later he came up to the house to tell me that in fact it was the dog killing the chickens, asking him how he knew it for sure he said that he caught the blasted dog with a hen in his mouth... Hen survived the ordeal, dog went to a new home without small critters that can be used as chew toys..

We also raise rabbits and have to much time and money invested into our little farm to always be worried about losing it all to a dog that cannot help but do what his instincts tell him too.

 

[centrarchid]

Once a dog gets the taste for chicken its near impossible to get them over it... Our dog, German Shep/ Retriever was a great dog, he loved us, our Grandkids and was an awsome watchdog, but we found out one day as we were wondering why our chickens had quit laying that he also loved fresh eggs, he would sneak under a fence, over a fence, thru a fence, how ever he could and steal the eggs, always crafty, never leaving evidence til one day I caight him with an egg in his mouth... We added another fence line to give the chickens more protection and gave the dog a time out with a stern warning... less than six months later two of my very best laying hens mysteriously showed up dead, after the second one died I asked hubby if it could possibly be the dog, he said no way, probably a racoon or something else.. A few days later he came up to the house to tell me that in fact it was the dog killing the chickens, asking him how he knew it for sure he said that he caught the blasted dog with a hen in his mouth... Hen survived the ordeal, dog went to a new home without small critters that can be used as chew toys..

We also raise rabbits and have to much time and money invested into our little farm to always be worried about losing it all to a dog that cannot help but do what his instincts tell him too.

This not entirely accurate, both of my current dogs and most prior killed chickens before settling into job. My dogs are then expected run with birds 24/7 and birds include very young ones without momma.

 

[AmericanMom]

This not entirely accurate, both of my current dogs and most prior killed chickens before settling into job. My dogs are then expected run with birds 24/7 and birds include very young ones without momma.

I didnt say it was impossible, I said nearly... Twice have we had dogs that didnt give a second notice to the chickens , once we think because as a pup when he did get curious the Roo attacked him... One dog seemed great and one night tore through the chicken wire to there coop and killed several. Maybe in time it would have gotten better, but after investing so much time and money into the birds we couldnt trust that when the birds were replaced that it wouldnt happen all over again.

 

[centrarchid]

I didnt say it was impossible, I said nearly... Twice have we had dogs that didnt give a second notice to the chickens , once we think because as a pup when he did get curious the Roo attacked him... One dog seemed great and one night tore through the chicken wire to there coop and killed several. Maybe in time it would have gotten better, but after investing so much time and money into the birds we couldnt trust that when the birds were replaced that it wouldnt happen all over again.

You went through much the same learning curve I did when actually trying to have dogs specifically for benefit of chickens. I had to work harder from that point at managing interactions between dogs and birds using much stronger pens for birds and getting better control over dogs as they were worked around chickens and everywhere else. When same dogs were used for hunting, they needed to come in when called and load up into truck, now they had to be expected to leave something alone that otherwise demanded their attention. Also found dogs need to be around chickens more, not less. Having chickens calm also helped. All dogs I train now are confined to areas with a specific group of birds that calm yet can fly up and out of trouble if need be. I also work backwards with training where dogs must be trained first around adult roosters and hens, then juveniles and finally chicks. Broody hens are used to provide the final polishing and sometimes broody game rooster is also put to same task. Process to get dogs into true working form takes about 18 months and often results in juvenile birds being at least played with and sometimes worse. All is worth because I have a large number of birds and net effect is dogs prevent a lot more losses than cause during training. For me. both chickens and dogs are a long-term interest so not getting rid of either.

 

[AmericanMom]

You went through much the same learning curve I did when actually trying to have dogs specifically for benefit of chickens. I had to work harder from that point at managing interactions between dogs and birds using much stronger pens for birds and getting better control over dogs as they were worked around chickens and everywhere else. When same dogs were used for hunting, they needed to come in when called and load up into truck, now they had to be expected to leave something alone that otherwise demanded their attention. Also found dogs need to be around chickens more, not less. Having chickens calm also helped. All dogs I train now are confined to areas with a specific group of birds that calm yet can fly up and out of trouble if need be. I also work backwards with training where dogs must be trained first around adult roosters and hens, then juveniles and finally chicks. Broody hens are used to provide the final polishing and sometimes broody game rooster is also put to same task. Process to get dogs into true working form takes about 18 months and often results in juvenile birds being at least played with and sometimes worse. All is worth because I have a large number of birds and net effect is dogs prevent a lot more losses than cause during training. For me. both chickens and dogs are a long-term interest so not getting rid of either.

What would have been the proper responce when the dog killed the chicken? we banned him from there area by cross fencing. A friend said tying the dead chicken around his neck and leaving it for a few days would have broke him (gross), but honestly at that point I was just so frustrated we just got rid of the dog.