How to stop dog killing chickens

[Deerslayer901]

I kill deer, turkey, squirrels all the time. But I don't think I can take my dog behind the barn and put a round threw her head. Knowing she's my 4 year olds dog.
**Edited by Staff**

 

[Primo]

Wonderful first post to the forum.

welcome 1hawkeye2

 

[Primo]

Then don't. Protect them from your retriever and other predators. As simple as that. How did she get into the run? digging? tearing up fence? there are solutions.

 

[Luvmy9hens]

You are in a tough situation. You love your retriever, and you also want to protect your flock. I arrived home from work one day to find that a stray dog had entered my coop and killed half of my hens. He was still in the coop when I opened the door. I could have easily "trapped" him and used lethal methods to exterminate him but I did not. The dog by nature, is a predator. How could I kill a puppy? The chicken, by nature is prey. It could have been a fox, a hawk, or other predator that attacked that day... I shooed him away and dealt with the clean up. I never saw the dog previous to the incident nor have I seen him since. After this incident, I never free ranged my girls again. I realized that it was MY responsibility to protect my girls.

Once your golden has a "taste" for game and knows where she can get more, the problem will continue. There are some easy solutions that could also help. Use welded wire for covering the walls of the run. Chicken wire is useless as dogs can tear it from its attachment points and enter through a hole that they have created. I have ALSO added polycarbonate paneling to the walls to protect the run from wind/rain/snow. The run has a roof as well. Dogs can and will jump over a fence/wall to get at chickens so covering the area is important. Lastly, dig down a foot or so and bur welded wire hardware cloth. Back fill with dense soil/gravel to prevent animals from digging UNDER the run.

An invisible fence surrounding the chicken area may also help but some dogs will endure the shock if they are motivated enough to get what they want. Good Luck.

 

[silkieaddictIN]

Here is also a video I found.
It may help you.

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[bobbi-j]

I kill deer, turkey, squirrels all the time. But I don't think I can take my dog behind the barn and put a round threw her head. Knowing she's my 4 year olds dog.

You are in a tough situation. I would not kill the dog. I would recommend working with the dog, reinforcing your coop/run area to be sure she can't get in, and frankly never trust her around the birds. If you want to free range, she needs to be tied, kenneled or in the house. One other thing to think about. If the dog can get to your birds. so can other animals. That being the case, coop reinforcement would be my first step. Electric fence around the perimeter is a good place to start. Not that expensive or hard to install. I'd put up several strands. One low enough she can't get under it, one high enough she can't get over it, and a couple in between. What is your coop and run made of? Can you show a picture of your setup? I'm sure there are people here who would be willing to point out areas where you can strengthen it. Golden Retrievers are usually pretty eager to please. Training takes time, patience and consistency. Not all dogs that kill are lost causes.

ETA - I had forgotten about the goat. You will need to provide better protection there, too. And I've gotta say - if the dog, after much intensive training, continues to go after livestock, it may have to go. I'm not telling you to kill it, but if you were to give it away it would have to be with full disclosure. Start over with a pup that can be trained from day 1. I know it's hard to get rid of a pet, so I hope you can find a solution that keeps your other animals safe, and the dog in the family.

 

[MeepBeep]

Have you considered just containing (kennel, tied up) the dog when he/she is outside when unsupervised, thus preventing it from getting at the chickens?

I don't fully trust my dogs around my goats and chickens either thus the reason they are fenced into different areas...

 

[Deerslayer901]

I will take pictures today. The only reason she gave the goat a little bite was when I first got her and was introducing the goat to my mnt Feist and the retriever. The goat gave my hunting dog the mnt Feist a good head butt and she doesn't bother the goats at all now. And the retriever hasn't done anything to the goats since. But I have 0% trust with leaving her with them

 

[Deerslayer901]

Then don't. Protect them from your retriever and other predators. As simple as that. How did she get into the run? digging? tearing up fence? there are solutions.

She got in by tearing where it connects to the coop.

 

[bobbi-j]

OK, so that's where you start. What is your run made of? Chicken wire, or something stronger? If it's just chicken wire, I would strongly suggest you reinforce that ASAP or she'll just tear her way through. If not her, then something else will. As has been said many times, "Chicken wire is made to keep chickens in. It doesn't keep anything out."