I am so sad and mad....Predators really.....

[SevenWinds]

Just a quick thing I've seen. My grandfather and my father both had dogs and a multitude of animals comingle in their times. My dad had three german shorthaired pointers that he initially trained 'off' the chickens (free range). One of the young shorthairs followed her instinct, grabbed a young pullet, and crushed her in the barnyard. My dad had the dog drop the pullet, scolded the dog, loosened her collar, and stuck the crushed (not bloody) dead pullet under the dog's collar on its back. She tried to shake it off at first and he said no. He made the dog "wear" the pullet all day.

I was a teen and horrified, but the dog never went after a chicken again in the last fifteen years. You could march chicks over her paws with no reaction. She ignored the chickens. My dad said that any dog that killed a chicken/cat/whatever successfully would do it again without doing this to them. He saw his father do it to a neighbor's Husky who killed a kitten.

I have a very gentle labradoodle on the farm who, so far, has conducted herself as trained. We have trained her 'off' the chickens, but if she ever hurt a duck or chicken I do wonder about what my dad did. We live in PA Dutch country, but I wasn't sure if anyone has heard of this before. I know it sounds gory.

 

[SevenWinds]

P.S. If there is any basis to it, I wondered if it had to do with a olfactory memory...every living thing has muscle memory, olfactory (smell) memory, etc.

 

[wendy's chicks]

I am so mad to!! I had 1 araucana, that was named cloud a frizzle rooster named old cocky a black australorp named fizgig and barred rock, buff orphington,and tow rhode island reds anyway my husband and I were drinking our coffee went out to say goodmorning to our hens and get the eggs with my five year old twins and something had broken into the enclosed pen and killed everyone! Oh my god I cried over cloud the oldest hen I had for 3 days everytime I though of her, not to mention my daughters crying constantly. So I was so sad and so mad I got a live trap and put all kinds of treats in there for two weeks all I caught was neighborhood cats that I let go of course then I missed the hens so much I got one adult silkie and 10 babies everyone a different kind of chicken and I have them all out in the pen two days after I put them out I caught the killer a big grey fox! He will not be killing my hens anymore! He was relocated a long long way from here into the wild!

 

[mmtillman]

Totally know how you feel...so sorry.

 

[mmtillman]

Today when I spent my daily time sitting in the coop holding and loving on the chickens.... (bonding).....I let Scoobie , my beagle/JackRussel mix, come in with me.She sat quietly beside me, with the girls all around her and she never made a move to hurt them....I am goin to do this daily now, so Scoobie will know not to bother them....She never bothered our first flock of 9 girls, last year...so I think she will be ok....??
This is to hopefully , insure that she is comfortable around them ....Hope it works!

 

[farmin'chick]

My mom says wholesale slaughter without eating is usually the mark of a weasel...so check for small holes.

 

[Jennie5193]

THAT IS TERRIBLE! I'm so sorry that you lost your chickens. I hope the next generation in your 'bator turns out to be everything and more that the old ones were.

Great dog.

 

[lovemychix]

Hope you have better luck with the new ones.

 

[tofuranch]

update from here...I have babies from the last eggs that these ducks and chickens laid..

They are so cute and doing great.

I have been really careful to make sure that everything is closed and locked