Idaho?

[titika]

So my dog (blue heeler border collie mix) has decided after several months, that she is now a chicken killer. She killed two last night. I thought i had fixed the fence where she was getting through. Woke up this morning to check on my last two silkies and only found half of one. I'm very attached to the dog but after this I'm torn. I've been told once a dog gets the taste of blood they'll never stop. She doesn't seem to pay much attention to my quail...but she never really bothered chickens before either. I don't know what to do.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

So my dog (blue heeler border collie mix) has decided after several months, that she is now a chicken killer. She killed two last night. I thought i had fixed the fence where she was getting through. Woke up this morning to check on my last two silkies and only found half of one. I'm very attached to the dog but after this I'm torn. I've been told once a dog gets the taste of blood they'll never stop. She doesn't seem to pay much attention to my quail...but she never really bothered chickens before either. I don't know what to do.

I lost a silkie yesterday to my terrier....was posting on the Utah thread, it is so sad. I have had problems with my dog for 3 yrs, we have to keep him in the house or have him go potty in the front, no pottying in the back yard. My son let him out yesterday and just forgot. Grrr. I am so sorry for your loss, it really sucks. I do believe that once they taste it, they are always a threat, mine won't quit. I would have sold him two years ago but he is otherwise very sweet and my kids would not want him to go. He just sees the chickens and his eyes glaze over and he hears no voices after that no matter how loud we yell at him. Funny thing, he does not really eat them, he shakes them to death, I think he feels like when they get "out of the run" they are a threat to us and is protecting us from them. He will not let any other critters into the yard, and is very protective at the front door. The good side...I HATE snakes, and we get them often, if i find a snake I turn him loose and tell him "go get the bad guys", and he shreds the snakes to bits. He is a great watchdog, but we have to really watch him around the hens, he will dig sometimes even to get into the run.

ETA: Mine has killed a few quail too so be careful.

 

[pawtraitart]

So my dog (blue heeler border collie mix) has decided after several months, that she is now a chicken killer. She killed two last night. I thought i had fixed the fence where she was getting through. Woke up this morning to check on my last two silkies and only found half of one.

I'm very attached to the dog but after this I'm torn. I've been told once a dog gets the taste of blood they'll never stop. She doesn't seem to pay much attention to my quail...but she never really bothered chickens before either. I don't know what to do.

So sorry for you loss. Yes, once a chicken killer always a chicken killer. We had to re-home a dog because of that.

 

[titika]

So sorry for you loss. Yes, once a chicken killer always a chicken killer. We had to re-home a dog because of that. 

if I'm outside she doesn't pay any attention to them. She goes in the coop with me even and doesn't bother them at all. She's only about a year old and i haven't been taking her out like i used to. I'm hoping she's just doing it because she's bored. We're putting up an invisible fence around the quail just to be safe. Their pen is chain link fence with chicken wire on the inside so she can't tear through it.

 

[titika]

I lost a silkie yesterday to my terrier....was posting on the Utah thread, it is so sad. I have had problems with my dog for 3 yrs, we have to keep him in the house or have him go potty in the front, no pottying in the back yard. My son let him out yesterday and just forgot. Grrr. I am so sorry for your loss, it really sucks. I do believe that once they taste it, they are always a threat, mine won't quit. I would have sold him two years ago but he is otherwise very sweet and my kids would not want him to go. He just sees the chickens and his eyes glaze over and he hears no voices after that no matter how loud we yell at him. Funny thing, he does not really eat them, he shakes them to death, I think he feels like when they get "out of the run" they are a threat to us and is protecting us from them. He will not let any other critters into the yard, and is very protective at the front door. The good side...I HATE snakes, and we get them often, if i find a snake I turn him loose and tell him "go get the bad guys", and he shreds the snakes to bits. He is a great watchdog, but we have to really watch him around the hens, he will dig sometimes even to get into the run.

ETA: Mine has killed a few quail too so be careful.

the ones she killed she ate parts of before we caught her. She goes after the same spot on all of them. I feel horrible. I caged up these birds thinking i had made them safe and really just made it easier for the dog to kill them

 

[Kalalyn21]

I had problems with our heeler last year but I think he is fine now, he got 2 Roos that got
Out of the run last spring. Now he actually well help me heard them up and I can leave him outside with them unattended. Mine free range all day.

 

[Mo5C]

Thanks for the reply. I'm looking for some pretty eggs so can't take her here. Hope she finds a home though!

I have a wheaten hen if you are interested still, she lays really pretty blueish green eggs.

 

[NewToChix]

if I'm outside she doesn't pay any attention to them. She goes in the coop with me even and doesn't bother them at all. She's only about a year old and i haven't been taking her out like i used to. I'm hoping she's just doing it because she's bored. We're putting up an invisible fence around the quail just to be safe. Their pen is chain link fence with chicken wire on the inside so she can't tear through it.

I would use this to your advantage. She obviously respects you as the owner. You should work on showing her just how important those chickens are to you. I think that is great that you let her see you caring for them and going in the coop. That is something our trainer recommended we do with our dog that killed our chickens. Unfortunately, we just didn't have the time to put a lot of work in and an Aussie mix wouldn't have been happy here anyway (not enough room to run). We re-homed him to a farm. Our dog now hasn't killed a chicken yet although he has had many chances. He just sniffs them to death!

I would recommend (per our trainers advice) keeping the dog on a short lead while you are out tending to the chickens so you can correct any unwanted behavior immediately. That way, if the dog decides to act out, the chickens aren't in danger. At a year old, she is probably just acting out right now. That said, the chickens will either learn or they won't. Reinforce the crap out of your coop and if you chickens end up in the main yard, they are taking their chances. They know there is a big, scary dog out there and will eventually get a clue. Ours did anyway.

We ended up having to build a fence to give the chickens their own area. The coop would have never kept a dog out. Now everybody has their own area. I don't know if you have just a coop or a fence, but a fence sure helps.

 

[Mr Peeps Mama]

I think my dog must be an exception to the rule....when I first got the chickens 4 years ago he killed one. I didnt whip him, I just really scolded him...he is normally such a good dog so really hadnt been in '' trouble '' until he killed the chicken. He hasnt paid a bit of attention to them since. My friend put an electric fence around the outside of her chicken run...towards the bottom...so if her dog or other predator tried to get in they would get a big surprise. You would, of course, have to make it so the chickens couldnt touch it...might be kind of a pain but your chickens would be safe. It might be enough of a bad experience for the dog that he wouldnt even ''think'' chicken!

 

[titika]

She did just get done weaning puppies so I'm hoping she just thought she needed to feed them somehow. I'm done with chickens for the time being. We put invisible fence around the new quail pen. She doesn't pay much attention to them but better safe then sorry. A strong piece of fishing line chest high had detoured the pups from digging. they are so curious. Two pups left to find homes for then i won't have to worry about that.