How to Reignite my Passion for Chickens

[Sadness Child]

Today my dog got in the coop and killed 4 chickens 3 of which were my favorite, at this point I am ready to give my chickens away and start on something that does not involve birds. My previous flock of 7 was killed by coyotes all at once before this. I just don't know what to do.

 

[Bert96746]

What is your run like? Do you use hardware cloth or chicken wire? Its expensive but hardware cloth is the way to go to predator/dog proof runs and coops. I hope you can get past the loss

 

[Sadness Child]

Thank you everyone for the support, I think I will set aside a place for my bantams, then try to fortify the run with cattle panel and fix the area where he got in

 

[Tamdog]

I am so sorry, that had to be hard to take and it is doubly hard to know your pet dog hurt them.. I had a few things like that happen at first, but as I began to change my coop and make it more secure I was much more happy and relaxed with the chicks.- The day my dog hurt and killed a few of mine I really fussed at him ( the boxer in the painting I use as my avatar) I put him in the dog pen and scolded him every time I walked by- now he is very good with the chickens and I can even leave home for a few hours and know he will not mess with them- So look forward to getting in a better place with your next batch.

 

[Sadness Child]

He got in under the gate that we use to get in and out of the run area do you know a way I can fix this while the gate is still able to open

 

[Sadness Child]

Also do you think that a plastic shed will serve as a good coop if I fix it up.

Will post pics tomorrow

 

[HippieAtHeart]

He got in under the gate that we use to get in and out of the run area do you know a way I can fix this while the gate is still able to open

You could try framing in the gate so you have to step over the bottom of the frame, you could even bury part of it if you used a wide enough board.

 

[Sadness Child]

Yeah all of these could work, but I think I will try the board method, I think that it will stay in place. I also cannot keep him in arms length because I have to go let the chickens out, and it is when they all storm out and stomp on each other that gets him excited. they also occasionally fly around the run if I let them out and that is when he also gets excited.

My grandma also said that she saw coyotes at around 5:30 near where the chickens are kept

 

[Sadness Child]

yeah we see a fair amount of coyotes here, before the dog the only chicken deaths we have had were to coyotes in broad daylight

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Today my dog got in the coop and killed 4 chickens 3 of which were my favorite, at this point I am ready to give my chickens away and start on something that does not involve birds. My previous flock of 7 was killed by coyotes all at once before this. I just don't know what to do.

That is horrible, sorry to hear that. My dog attacked my hen and she was so close to death, I would have felt terrible had she died, so I can’t imagine how you’re feeling. I literally didn’t speak to my dog for a week. Sorry to hear about your previous flock as well.

If you’re looking to reignite your chicken passion I would just try to think back to why you got them in the first place. I know from watching my mom have chickens for several years now she has had a lot of loss too and while she cries when they die she is always happy they could live a happy life, even if it was short. I feel the same way, but I had to tell myself before getting them that my chickens are livestock and although they all have names I tell myself not to expect them to live long so if I manage to keep them safe with a little luck they do live long lives that’s a blessing. It’s hard to be someone who loves and cares for animals, just know everyone here feels for you