Looking for some reassurance. My flock has been destroyed!

[LaynaDon95]

GRR! That dog was out again this morning!!! They decided not to rehome her, and still can't keep her away from our yard! They went yesterday and bought an invisible electric perimeter thingy (Where the dog has to wear a special collar and every time she leaves the yard it shocks her.) but apparently she just sucks it up and deals with the pain, because she was following the other neighbors walking his dogs this morning.

We called the owners and the wife drove and got her. She stopped in front of our house (We waited at the end of the driveway) and talked to her. She says they've done all they can do and to shoot her if she comes back. We said we will be. She said they've spent $800 to keep her in their yard and there is nothing else they can do. We told her isn't obviosly wasn't enough because she was still getting out. She said she was trying to be responsible and they had done all they can. (She said "We've done all we can." a bunch of times.) My mom said "Her being out 4 of the last 6 mornings since the attack is not responsible!" They went 'round and 'round but the women refused to acknowledge anything we said. Basically she said over and over again. "We've spent $800. We've done all we can. Shoot her if she comes into your yard again."

We've filed a report with the sheriff and they said they would let the neighbors know that the report had been filed and that we had the right to kill her if she came back. It would seem that we are going to have to kill her. It makes me so sad. Lady is a good dog. She's beautiful and friendly. She has very irresponsible owners. That's not her fault. I don't want her to die. She could live a very happy life somewhere, just not here. It's so disappointing that it has to come to this.

 

[HEChicken]

With the invisible fence, there is a training period. Since the dog can't see it, you can't just set it up and walk away - it takes time to teach the dog where the boundaries are. I'm still in the process of training my LGD to an invisible fence so this is all very fresh in mind. It is usually recommended to place flags along the fence line as a visible cue to the dog where the line is that they cannot cross. Then, the collar has a warning beep before it shocks. The idea is for the dog to learn what happens when it does cross the line and then learn to respond by turning back when it hears the beep. There are also different shock levels that can be administered, so a dog who is willing to run through a mild shock, may need it turned up to get their attention.

It does not sound like these people have really tried very hard, or spent the time to train the dog to the fence. For the first 5 days we had the fence, we tethered our dog at night because we didn't want her blundering across it and then being unable to get back in without being shocked. Once we felt confident she was starting to understand where she can go and where she can't, we've left her off tether the past 4 nights and she has done great. But it is a process - not a one-time set up like with a visible fence.

 

[LaynaDon95]

We know there is a training process but they just don't seem to want to put time and energy into it. Her husband has taken off work for 3 days to make sure it works, but he's apparently not even watching her well. If she gets it into her head that all she has to do in endure a shock and then she gets free, then it's never going to work and all the money they spent was for nothing. Their $800 doesn't even begin to cover the amount we spent on building the coop alone, not to mention feed cost and everything else we've had to buy for the flock their dog and the other dogs killed. And the fact that they are willing to just throw their hands up and say "We've done all we can." is infuriating. They have not done all they can. We've don't almost everything we can besides shoot her. I can't leave my flock unsupervised now. I can't live my normal life because they won't take care of their dog. It makes me so so angry.

 

[Nslangton]

That stinks so bad for you. As a child, we lost several flocks to weasels getting through a hole that seemed impossible for something to fit through. I was so traumatized that we just got the next flock and that was 25 years later. I forgot how much joy a chicken can bring. They are so funny. Due to my past experience I built my coop and run like fort Knox. I do not let the chickens free range because we have every predator known to man, including my three dogs, which would kill my hens instantly if given the chance. We just give our hens tons of fruits, vegetables, proteins, etc. It gets pretty expensive this way. I would have to sell my eggs for about $50 a dozen to turn a profit. On the underground electric fence, I not only have one, I advertise for the company that installed it. All of my dogs went through extensive training for this (a lot more then 3 days) They would not cross that fence if someone had a steak on the other side and called them. I do know of a lot of people that they do not work for though. I feel so bad for you, I would never want to shoot someones dog, but as your signature line states a dog on your property is a predator and you need to protect your hens. It is not fair that you seem to be the only one suffering over this. Don't give up on chickens, they seem to give you lots of joy. Hope you have better luck in the future.

 

[DianaMallory]

Put an electric fence up to keep them out! And if you know anyone who has a baby monitor they don't need find a place in your coop for it, catch them in the act and shoot the **** dog! Maybe with some rock salt or rubber bullets if you don't want to kill it! Paint ball guns sting like hell too!

 

[LaynaDon95]

Put an electric fence up to keep them out! And if you know anyone who has a baby monitor they don't need find a place in your coop for it, catch them in the act and shoot the **** dog! Maybe with some rock salt or rubber bullets if you don't want to kill it! Paint ball guns sting like hell too!

That stinks so bad for you. As a child, we lost several flocks to weasels getting through a hole that seemed impossible for something to fit through. I was so traumatized that we just got the next flock and that was 25 years later. I forgot how much joy a chicken can bring. They are so funny. Due to my past experience I built my coop and run like fort Knox. I do not let the chickens free range because we have every predator known to man, including my three dogs, which would kill my hens instantly if given the chance. We just give our hens tons of fruits, vegetables, proteins, etc. It gets pretty expensive this way. I would have to sell my eggs for about $50 a dozen to turn a profit. On the underground electric fence, I not only have one, I advertise for the company that installed it. All of my dogs went through extensive training for this (a lot more then 3 days) They would not cross that fence if someone had a steak on the other side and called them. I do know of a lot of people that they do not work for though. I feel so bad for you, I would never want to shoot someones dog, but as your signature line states a dog on your property is a predator and you need to protect your hens. It is not fair that you seem to be the only one suffering over this. Don't give up on chickens, they seem to give you lots of joy. Hope you have better luck in the future.

Than you, both. We had to leave the flock unsupervised for a couple hours today and I was antsy the whole time! (We were shopping for more laying hen, actually.) I'm sorry to hear of your losses Nslangton.
Diana, we totally plan on killing her if she comes back. Rock salt and paintballs won't deter her. If she doesn't mind getting electrocuted to come over here, she mind a paintball to the rear. I absolutely hate the thought of killing her, but this is what her owners have chosen.

 

[LaynaDon95]

So we went to the flea market today and came back with 1 hen. There were 2 people there selling chickens. 1 had geese and turkeys and all kinds of beautiful fowl, but they were horribly sickly looking. They were pecked and gasping and had their eyes closed and sneezing and looked so bad! I wanted to take every single one home and nurse them back to health, but obviously I can't risk my own flock and I'm so not rich enough to buy all of them. =P We moved on to the next stand and found a lot of beautiful chickens that weren't sickly looking. They were in good condition. We got a black Andalusian pullet, 51/2 to 6 months old. I'm about to go set up a quarentine area for her. There was a buff Orpington, a white Rock, and a Black Australorp for sale that I liked, but they were already 2 years old, so we passed on them. I'll post a pic of her soon.

 

[bcboy]

It makes me so sad. Lady is a good dog. She's beautiful and friendly. She has very irresponsible owners. That's not her fault. I don't want her to die. She could live a very happy life somewhere, just not here. It's so disappointing that it has to come to this.

What breed of dog is LadyÉ Is she a long haired dogÉ
I have an electric training collar and it works great. Does any one near you have an electric cattle prod you could borrowÉ

 

[LaynaDon95]

She is an Alaskan Husky, so yes she is very fluffy.
I don't think anyone I know has a cattle prod... I've never asked them... =P

 

[dainerra]

with a husky, they are going to have to shave her neck for the electrodes to even reach the skin. Not to mention, this is the downfall of an invisible fence - an excited dog (especially one that hasn't been trained to know what the beep means!) will run right through the shock. However, when they try to go home, they will get shocked again and, since there is nothing exciting enough in the yard to be worth it, they will avoid the shock and just hang around the neighborhood.

Huskies are runners. It's what they do; it's what they have been created to do. They are also escape artists and it takes dedication to keep them contained, not to mention notoriously prey-driven. I just don't think that is going to happen in the current situation. I'd keep hitting the owners with bills and see if you can get them to rehome her to someone who will take good care of her.