I am sorry to hear of your loss.
but dogs are animals, we love them and we want to have all of our pets together..dogs, chickens, cats everything else...but sometimes they cant all live in the same place together safely? Like some dogs will kill/chase/harrass cats, so owners make the choice not to have cats.
The dogs are going to do what they do - and yes, they are going to try to continue killing until the last bird is gone, they will be forever waiting for the opportunity to occur again. I know - I lived the nightmare over and over, trying numerous ways to outsmart my dog - I was too stupid to realize when it was finally her or the birds. Our last loss was over 28 birds because I forgot to chain a gate. June is gone now. She was nine years old and hadnt started hurting or killing chickens/animals until 3 years ago. They used to all share the same yard.
Another thing I will say though - the best survivors of our dog attacks were inside my kennel coops up on the roosts! Give them plenty of places to hide under or above. Many of my birds lived by getting under the Shed coop and up on the roosts. If you are going to keep dogs that kill and vulnerable chickens, maybe you can plan for the chickens to try to escape from the on site "predators". Which is basically what a pet dog is, just a known predator vs. a wild predator.
Its too bad about the dogs. Lots of people here on BYC have dogs and chickens, and there are strong feelings about our responsibilities for both. Take care of yourself, and your family and your garden.....Enjoy your remaining chickens, especially your little Partridge Rock survivor....she made it through the trauma and was even happy to see you! That means alot! No matter what your dogs did, you are a good chicken mom! Dont let their bad behavior sour your pleasure. Love the rest of your babies!
Take care, and BYC is here,
Tina/tfpets
(sorry for the long post)
The dogs are going to do what they do - and yes, they are going to try to continue killing until the last bird is gone, they will be forever waiting for the opportunity to occur again. I know - I lived the nightmare over and over, trying numerous ways to outsmart my dog - I was too stupid to realize when it was finally her or the birds. Our last loss was over 28 birds because I forgot to chain a gate. June is gone now. She was nine years old and hadnt started hurting or killing chickens/animals until 3 years ago. They used to all share the same yard.
Another thing I will say though - the best survivors of our dog attacks were inside my kennel coops up on the roosts! Give them plenty of places to hide under or above. Many of my birds lived by getting under the Shed coop and up on the roosts. If you are going to keep dogs that kill and vulnerable chickens, maybe you can plan for the chickens to try to escape from the on site "predators". Which is basically what a pet dog is, just a known predator vs. a wild predator.
Its too bad about the dogs. Lots of people here on BYC have dogs and chickens, and there are strong feelings about our responsibilities for both. Take care of yourself, and your family and your garden.....Enjoy your remaining chickens, especially your little Partridge Rock survivor....she made it through the trauma and was even happy to see you! That means alot! No matter what your dogs did, you are a good chicken mom! Dont let their bad behavior sour your pleasure. Love the rest of your babies!
Take care, and BYC is here,
Tina/tfpets
(sorry for the long post)
