I am sick of my dogs killing chickens

[nautical_bouy]

Why don't you get an invisible fence installed around your coop and put the shock collars on the dogs?

 

[chicknmania]

I don't know what kind of dogs you have, but this is what worked for us. When our shepherd mix killed one of our first chickens, I showed her the dead chicken and scolded her furiously, then several times a day for the next week I would take her to the barn, point at the chickens, drag her to them, scold her furiously, etc. It got so she wouldn't even go near the barn. Now she prides herself on being their protector, and shares treats with them. Our other dog just kind of followed her example, and since he was a Dachshund, they intimidated him anyway, but he too eventually took pride in helping chase predators and rats and loved going to the barn with us. He died recently and I dread what will happen when we lose our other dog, or when we replace our dachshund, because we will have to deal with the dog vs chicken thing again, I'm guessing, and I don't know if my method will work twice.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
Dachshunds weigh 10-15lbs MAX. If they can break in--anything can get in and will.

Miniature dachshunds maybe, but standards are bigger, ours weighed twenty pounds and he was not overweight.

 

[chicknmania]

Hmm, I just read the rest of the posts about dachshunds...guess we were lucky!!!

 

[Jenski]

jadude, could you post photos of your coop and run setup?

 

[JayBird+16]

We lost our first chicken to our 5 year old Doberman about a week ago. He brought it to us while we were sitting on the front porch having cocktails with some friends. Boy, was that interesting, our friends already thought we were crazy for getting the dog and the chickens, that really reaffirmed it.
This chicken flew outside of the pen and the dog corrnered her up against the fence...end of chicken. I have done 2 things to prevent this from happening again. #1- wing- clipping #2, which might help with the killer dachshunds, is that our dogs have an underground invisible fence system to keep them in our yard. This system deliver a small beep, as the dogs get near the property line( which is marked by small white flags), followed by a small shock if the dog continues on it's chosen path. The shock hurts and helps the dog learn really quickly!!! Our dogs are so well trained to this system, that all I needed to do was surround the chicken fence with the white flags and like magic, the dogs won't go near the fence! Their instinct may be to catch and kill chickens, but they will not continue to do so if it hurts.
Punishing your dogs after might make you fell better, I know I did, but they don't get it. My dog was really proud of himself, his first kill! If installing and underground fence system is not in your budget, you can pick up a hand-held remote trainer and collar for around $100 at most big box pet stores or home depot. One collar should work for both dogs, you will be amazed how quickly they catch on. Good luck!

 

[HarlessGals]

I'm a newbie. My first 12 chickens were 6 weeks old on Friday (8/15). We spent at least 60 hours building a 16 x 16 chicken yard and an 8x8 coop. My chickens went into their outdoor coop on Saturday night and did really well. Today all 12 dead at the jaws of my dog Molly. She didn't eat them just killed them. Molly is a drop off dog and the gentlest thing you've ever known. She is part lab and part pit bull and maybe something else. The blue healer, Memphis, was with her and I'm not sure if he was a observer or a culprit too. I'm heartbroken - and I had even given all the little hens names. They were so gentle and sweet - they've all been handled every day for 6 weeks. Now I've got an empty coop and I'm afraid to get more chickens until I fortify the yard and coop. I don't really want to start over after having chickens in the house for 6 straight weeks. I'm confused and upset right now.

Here was our design. 4 x 4 wood posts with 4x4 posts along the bottom (to prevent digging), 2 x 4's at the top and middle with chicken wire all around-secured down by 2 x 4s. A solid chicken wire roof - I even took galvanized baling wire and stitched it together where the seams met. The chicken yard walls are 6' high by 16' wide on 3 sides. Around 2 sides of the chicken yard walls there is 4' field fence with another 12" of barbed wire - so 5' tall. We put a lot of large rock all around the edge of the fencing and around the coop too. The dogs got in on the one side that didn't have the field fence reinforcement - only chicken wire. They went right through the wire. The chickens were in their coop, not the yard and we had made a 2' x 7' area with just chicken wire in the coop for venting and the dogs tore right through that wire to get to them.

Does tying a dead chicken on the dogs neck really work? It seems so awful and I don't want to see my little hens all yuck on the dog. We don't hit our dogs or any of our animals. I think the only solution is to make a better coop.

I've seen a lot of advice. I don't want to re do the walls we've already done - but is that the only way? To dig down 3 feet? Will chicken wire plus my field fence be enough? if I did it on all sides?

When I looked at all the pictures for coop designs I thought I had done it all really well.

I'm so mad at our dogs right now!!

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Laura - My bet is the dogs tried to go through the side with the field fencing and it didn't work, so they kept going around it to find a weakness. I bet if you put the field fencing up on all sides, it would keep the dogs out. Some folks have lined their chicken yards with electric fencing as well, to deter dogs and other predators.

There is a dog whisperer episode somewhere online where Cesar helps a couple with their dog, who attacks their chickens.

Might be helpful to try and introduce the dog to the chickens (when you get them again), to show that they're not prey.

Here you go, I found it!

 

[roosterwrangler]

I have 3 dogs. One wouldn't think of touching or going near the chickens. One would think about it but not do it. The other - well she's a different dog. She knows she's not supposed to go near the coop, the chickens, or anything. I could beat the tar out of her with or without a dead chicken, every day of her life, and it wouldn't make any difference. She would just get sneakier and cleverer about getting the chickens. So here's what I did. First of all, both the door to the coop and the door to the chicken yard have latches on them that require 2 hands to open - a pain in the rear for me, but at least the dog can no longer open the doors. Next I reinforced the lower 4 feet of the coop with fencing - the kind you put around a garden. I buried the fencing 2 foot into the ground. And finally, when the chickens are free ranging, the dogs are in the house - period, no exceptions, that is the rule. Here's how that works. I get about around 7 am, let the dogs out (chickens are in the coop and chicken yard), go out and feed the horses, come in and feed the dogs, then the dogs get to run around outside for a couple of hours or so. Then the dogs come in, the chickens get let loose. When it gets dark and the chickens have gone to roost, I go down and close and lock the doors, then the dogs get to go outside again. Of course, if one of the hens goes broody and decides to sit on eggs in a nest outside of the coop (which has happened more than once, sadly), then she's done for and there's nothing I can do about it.

 

[Miltonchix]

I have the nicest most loving German Shepherd................who'd kill all my chickens in an unsupervised second!!
She knows better. She just can't help herself when a chicken/duck/or whatever bolts after a grasshopper.
Those who say "my dog would never..........." Give 'em time.
There may be exceptional dogs that really "never would'. But why take the chance with your chickens. We put way too much time and effort into them to have an "OOPS" from fido.