Hubby's dogs killed wife's birds - no more chickens or different dogs?

[danielle82]

I had my dog kill a chicken, it didn't get into the run, the chicken escaped, and my dog acting on instinct, killed it. I have a very secure pen, and if she could get in she would. It would never be safe for any chicken to be loose with her, but like I said my run is very secure. In answer to your question, I think the dogs are not safe around loose chickens, but if they are in a very secure area it might work. I don't think its fair to "get rid" of the dog based on it killing a few chickens....most dogs do that sort of thing..its a predator vs prey kinda thing

 

[smarsh]

I attached fencing around the outside perimeter of the run, laying flat on the ground; pegged down tight. they cannot dig through this and after awhile the grass will grow up through it and hide it presence. about 2 foot should do the trick; they won't figure out they need to dig so far away from the pen, and if they it would take a long time to dig that hole.

 

[Bunnylady]

I like the hotwire idea. My electric fence has been the main thing that has kept my birds alive for years. Yes, being shocked hurts, but if the dog stays away, it doesn't get hurt. The fence won't discriminate, either; any other unwelcome visitor will get the same treatment.

Mentioning discriminating, our local pound has an almost violent dislike of any animal that has killed anything. If they had a dog come in that they knew had been the cause of death of any other animal, no matter how small, that dog would have a 0% chance of making it out of their facility alive. A lot of rescues won't take on livestock killers, either. Unless this gentleman has friends that will open their homes to his dogs, "getting rid of them" most likely means taking them to the pound. The only difference between doing that or euthanizing them at his Vet's office will be, who winds up paying to have the "dirty deed" done.

I'm just wondering if replacing the dogs would mean that this couple will eventually get to see more chickens get killed, just by different dogs. Just about any dog is capable of killing chickens, if it gets bored. Especially if there is more than one dog - the ol' pack mentality thingy. Shoot - there have been posts on this forum by people who have had their own Livestock Guardian Dogs go after their stock, and those are breeds that are bred to protect! I say, keep the dogs, beef up the security, and recognise that these things will happen. It's annoying and disgusting when it's your own dog, but there you are.

 

[LynneP]

I can't see any reason for getting rid of those poor dogs provided they are good in other ways. The fix is having a dog-proof run and reaching some agreement about an additional barrier to keep the dogs back from it, to reduce friction. The underground dog perimeter kit will work, but I would get those birds secured anyway- the dogs are not the only thing that can get at birds.

 

[kindir]

OK, fair warning, this tends to be a bit of a hotbutton for me.

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I have had dogs my entire life and am heavily involved in dog training since i compete in several dogsports. We bring dogs into our lives and they are somehow expected to know the rules that we want them to live by. They are NOT little furry people - it is OUR job to train them and keep them contained so they don't cause harm to themselves or others. Imagine if you were transformed into a wolf today - how do you suppose you'd fit in to a wolf pack? I'd imagine not very well since we don't know the rules of their world either.

I have dogs, I have chickens and never shall they meet unless I am RIGHT there. If they meet by mistake and a chicken dies? That is MY FAULT. The dog has no way of knowing that he isn't supposed to eat chickens!!! That being said, I have my dogs well trained enough (including a terrier, by the way) that a chicken could fly right in his face and he wouldn't do a thing. But this only applies if I am THERE. If I'm not there, instinct takes over and I've got a dead chicken and a happy terrier.

So PLEASE, make intelligent, informed decisions when purchasing ANY animal and take the time to protect them. They rely on us to do that for them. You may, at times, have to spend some time training or spend some money building barriers to keep your animals safe. That is what you sign up for when you take on the responsibility of a pet or livestock. If you can't or won't do that, perhaps you shouldn't have them. Buying dogs and throwing them away because they ate chickens is completely irresponsible in my opinion. Mistakes happen, I get that, but fix the problem with training and/or better barriers (or just don't get chickens) but don't toss the dogs away...

------------- END RANT------------

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Since I think everyone has covered the part about how you can build secure fencing, don't leave chickens out, etc. I'll answer the OP's orig questions:

1. Yes, you can buuild secure yards to keep the chickens in and the predators out. If you havn't done this, it was only a matter of time before something got your chikens anyway. Bury the wire, use 1/2" hardware cloth wire. Electric will keep the dogs out too.

2. Dogs are not disposable. They are not something to be tossed out when they behave like dogs. Either make secure chicken housing, or get rid of the chickens. If you have to choose between the two, the dogs were there first and you should rehome the chickens. NOT the other way around.

 

[doublebow]

It doesn't look like the OP said anything about taking the dogs to the pound or any such thing.

 

[KKatknap]

Quote:
Absolutely correct.

I haven't taken the time to train my dogs that chickens are part of the "pack". Not to mention that I board dogs, and many people just let them out of the car when they arrive. So, I have hot wire around the top and bottom of my coop and run. It only takes one "hit", and I haven't had any dog go for seconds!

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote:
Well, the title on this thread does say "no more chickens or different dogs." There is also a question about getting other dogs/puppies and training them to be less lethal to chickens. Unless you are supposing that the chicken killers are already dead, they have to go somewhere!

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
Yes, they did:

Or should they go to a shelter or rescue and they could get puppies that could be raised with chickens that would be okay around them? Any dog breeds better than others?

Dogs kill chickens. This is a human problem, not a dog problem (I don't mean that in a judgemental way toward your friends, OP, or anyone else who has had dogs kill their chickens--these things happen--but in that I mean that we forget that dogs are predatory animals, and instead expect them to act like humans). Yes, some breeds might be better than others in general, but you can't ever, ever say 100% that one particular breed of dog, or that training a dog from puppyhood, will always 100% result in a dog that doesn't kill chickens. You're talking about keeping predatory animals with prey animals. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. There are too many factors involved to predict it. And there is also the fact that a well-trained dog, raised with and trained to respect chickens, may one day decide that they look tasty. You're talking about a live animal--you can't read their minds, and you can't expect them to reason and rationalize like a human.

I agree with kindir's post.

Personally, I have 3 rescued pit bulls (one of which was confiscated from a drug/dog fighting ring). They are well-trained (having a very good understanding of the command "leave it!" ingrained in their minds has been quite helpful

) and run loose with my chickens, no problem (though only supervised, and I understand that I am taking a risk in allowing them to do this at all). However, I would never, ever say that pit bulls are acceptable dogs to have around chickens, because 1) in general, we're talking about a breed with a very high prey drive, and 2) in my opinion, there is NO breed that is a good breed to have around birds (with the possible exception of one of the LGD breeds--and I've even heard horror stories about these breeds when they are introduced as adults to a species that they weren't raised with/trained to guard). I never understood all of the discussion of what breeds are better with birds. If I were to go by personal experience, I would be able to say in these cases that everyone should run out and rescue a pit bull from a shelter and put them in their chicken coop--and we all know that that is NUTS!!

Anyway, to the OP: Like a lot of folks have, I would suggest better fencing to your friends. I agree with Beekissed, a good "juicing" from an electric fence may do the trick--and I'm talking about the livestock variety of high-tensile wire fencing around the coop, not the shock collar type on the dogs. Keep the birds, and for goodness sake, keep the dogs. It's not their fault that they did what dogs do. If they decide to re-home one or the other, suggest re-homing the chickens. The chickens will likely easily find another good home--the dogs will likely end up euthanized, if not taken in by a surely stretched-too-thin and underfunded rescue.

Good luck to your friends. It can't be easy having one pet destroy another.

ETA: After re-reading my post, I realize that it is long-winded and rant-a-licious, and for that I apologize. To summarize in a lot less words: find a way to keep dogs and chickens separate. There is no such thing as a good breed for birds, because there will always be exceptions.​