Just kind of discouraged. Horrible update: post 29, I think. So sad.

[augustwest]

We didn't find any bones, but did find something weird last night. Under our deck (it's a story up) we found a pile of feathers on the ground and a pile of poop on a PVC pipe that was on a potting bench. It was fresh. Dh said it was mostly brown and not well formed. I think a fox could get in the fence without us finding the spot, but I'm not sure about a dog? Of course if it was a fox sized dog....

We haven't seen a loose dog in years. But that's not worth much.

I'm intimidated by roosters.

. We had a big nasty one when I was a kid. My youngest daughter would Freak Out if a rooster challenged her. Silkie roos are more my speed. But you're right- he's not a guard chicken.

I'm so tempted by this black one. And my ladies are going to be confined till spring. I know if I see him, I'm taking him.

 

[heather112588]

If you try again with more chickens, different breeds have different traits...some are easier to care for than others. Some are better with cold and heat. Some are better protectors attutide wise. Bantams and silkies are up there in the higher matinence group if it helps. i reccommend a site called mypetchicken.com ; not to buy from bc they are overpriced but click on breeds. It has a list of every breed and what traits they are known for. I have rir's and barred rocks (2 larger breeds that are great layers and immune to the 10 degree weather that im having).

 

[2DogsFarm]

So sorry for your losses.
Your kids sound like they have good perspective - loved the "No Hawks" signs & your son's statement about the hawk having a good meal

I personally conisder it part of the price we pay for having outdoor pets.
I am sick at heart whenever my little barncat goes on Walkabout & is missing for as long as a week.
But her job is to patrol the barn so I have to let her take the risks that go with that.

My own little flock knows about hawks and I have witnessed one dive as low as my eye-level (I'm 5'5") when I let them out to freerange one morning!
I am at work 8A-5P 4 days a week so I have to decide to let them roam or pen them.
Their yard has a deer-netting roof to discourage predators from above.
I almost always decide in favor of letting them roam.

If (when?) I lose one of my girls I'll be sad, but I'll have to tell myself they had a good life up till then.

 

[Rock Wyandotte]

Hi there. Feelin for ya. I really get it. It's hard, but your birds bring you so much joy and you give them a great life, too. I, for one, have done lot's of things "wrong" and have learned the hard way.
In fact, I just lost a turkey hen out of my ignorance about turkeys.

I guess I just keep pluggin' because our turkeys, chickens and geese make us so happy.

They are such great energy to have around. Keep up the good work with them and you'll become an expert!

By the way, I currently have an amazing Welsummer rooster that is pretty big, great with all the hens and a perfect gentleman to humans. He has NEVER ONCE made an intimidating move toward anyone so he has become our A1 man. To top it off, he's a beauty. You might want to try a Welsummer to protect your girls. I don't know if this is characteristic of the breed, but ours is awesome!

:

 

[darkmatter]

Welcome to losing chickens, I wrote up some of my experiences earlier:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2806232

 

[ParadiseFoundFarm]

augustwest:
How are you and the kids doing?
I told my DH your story and he almost cried for you guys. He's worried about our small flock with our large coyote population.
A bird that would fight back would be the pumkin hulsey.
They are supposed to be gentle with humans but protective birds.
You might want to look into that. They can also fly and escape terrestrial and air predators. I can't add them to my flock now, they would likely hurt my standing roosters at this point but since you have to start almost anew......?

 

[Grenadianexpat]

Yep, Dog kills are nasty. They just rough the poor birds up so bad. I caught one in the act, only seconds after I heard the squawking, and we ended up terminating as the flesh tares were too grave.

We ended up giving the FIRST one it killed to the neighbour for dog food as it was not salvageable for human food, but There was no way we were going tio reward it a second time for getting through the fencing.

 

[augustwest]

Quote:
Thank you so much! We are OK. We've lost 9 of our 11 chickens and we only started this in April! It's been a lot harder than I thought it would be.

My 4 year old is totally over it and my 7 year old is getting there. She came into my room last night long after I thought she was asleep and asked if it was OK if we did get Max's (our rooster) brother. The woman that we got Max from has another silkie roo- black this time- that she's willing to part with. I've been on the fence, but I can't say no to my daughter. My daughter said that it just seems like the right thing to do since Max was great at letting the ladies know where the food was and was an amazing peace keeper in the flock. The owner has agreed to meet me at the chicken show this weekend... I doubt that we will come home without him.

I think that we have a plan for expanding the run- and covering the expansion part. We'll so some planting back there, too. My chickesn LOVE hanging out under the bamboo in the front yard. I think that we'll install a bunch in the backyard, too.

I can't stop thinking about our silkie pullet, Silvia. She was so stinking cute and friendly. She was also dumb like a box of rocks- but in a good way. It wasn't fair for me to free range her. I have come to terms with that.

Regarding this maybe being a dog kill... we really can't find where the dog would have gotten in. Moot point now since there is 2 feet of snow out there now. Would the dog have taken 2 away like that? Maybe I should get a game cam??