Lost 17 hens at one swoop

[bantymum]

Hi Lisa, hugs to you and any survivors, you have done the only thing possible, they were a threat not only to your pets on your land but also to you!

I prefer the sss method "shoot, shovel, shut up"
when it comes to stray predators!
I hope you had survivors, if so, please settle them with a nice big dark safe spot to chill out for a few days!
And i agree that disposal by bonfire is the best method as their souls are in a nice place. but in saying that I would also have a hard time actually doing it, burial is aways more pleasant for us,
have you got a friend that could perform the task while you went out shopping??or for a massage!
hugs
Helen

 

[lacyloo]

awww im so sorry for ur losses :aww

 

[LuckysMom]

Oh, I feel so bad for you! You were so brave , though. How are you feling today? It will take awhile for the shock and pain to pass. My prayers are with you. I hope you have someone to help you through this ordeal.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, no, Lisa! I'm glad you weren't hurt! The poor chickens...I'm with you! What's the point of calling Animal Control? Just get rid of the problem and protect your birds. I sure did NOT want to hear this first thing this morning. Again, so sorry!

 

[silkhope]

That is just horrible!! I'm so sorry you had to deal with that but I'm glad the dogs didn't hurt you. I think I would have done the same thing in your position.

Again, I'm so sorry

 

[SpottedCrow]

Oh My Goddess!!! Your poor birdies!
I'd dopeslap you for going unarmed against a dog, but I'd have to do it to myself too because I would've done the same thing!
I'm glad that you're okay.
If the dog had tags, then call the police and make a statement about all the damage that he and his pack did.
Then call the owner and tell them that you want to be compensated for the losses.
I'm the same way Jaynie...if the dog is being walked then it's cool and it's fine, but if the same said dog is chasing Obelisk and Penny, I have a good arm and have plunked Buddy on the head with a nice rock a couple of times.

 

[Lunachick]

What a terrible thing to happen! I would have done the same in that situation, I hope you have survivors! My sympathies to you....:aww

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Thanks everybody. The dogs were 2 grown labs, a black and a yellow. No one knows where they belong or has admitted to knowing (our UPS and USPS delivery people can't place them as 'locals', either). I took pics of the hens and the the 1 dog 'as they were' in the pen.
I have put out the word about what happened and (I get the SSS, but I have a problem with the 'shut-up' part) and I'm hoping some idiot will show up to confront me about the situation (the other lab was pretty beat up) , but I doubt anyone will. It's common here that people who know their dogs roam don't collar and tag them so they can deny responsibility for damages (a neighbor of mine is in court trying to recoup vet bills for for a neighbors dogs that attacted of her goats).
I lost 3 more hens from that pen today --- shock or internal injuries, I guess, and there are a couple more that I don't expect to make it thru the night.
I feel no guilt or regrets about the dead dog. It was not hungry and had walked right by a big live-trap baited with cat food (I have a bit of sympathy for a hungry predator) . They were just having dog-fun and couldn't stop themselves.
Then they got agressive (after I was trying to beat them to death with a shovel).
Hubby got on my case about taking on 2 big dogs, but that I might be in danger didn't occur to me.
Lol,I got a dog-bite on my toe. After it took my shoe, I stepped on something sharp with my bare foot and have a gash on my shin where I whacked myself with the shovel, otherwise, I'm good.
Very sad, but good.
Oh! About the rooster in that pen, the 'defender of the flock',well he was in the fray at some point (he's missing some faethers and has some minor flesh-wounds but when I found him he was hiding on the highest roost in the coop all by himself.
I had to seperate him today because, even wounded, he wanted to keep mating the wounded girls, they aren't up for that.
I have giant IFs. If the power hadn't been out, would they have have stopped at the hot-wire.
If I had stayed out playing in the rain, just 15 minutes longer, and not come inside to change into dry clothes, I would have been there when the dogs showed up. I could have just sent them on their way.

 

[GoodEgg]

Oh, wow, I am so sorry to hear this. That's just shocking, not only that you had to come along and see your birds being attacked but that YOU were attacked right along with them. It's all around horrible.

Dogs that get together can do terrible things sometimes, when a dog becomes "a pack" and they set out. Even a pack of two dogs. Their mentality sometimes changes, and they may dare to attack anyone and anything.

It's a terrible shame that people can't be more responsible. I don't have a dog right now, I wish I did, but IF I did you can bet that it would be locked up in the backyard AT ALL TIMES except when it was with me and on a leash. Irresponsible pet owners give a bad name to everyone else, and allow their pets to cause too much suffering and loss, in too many ways.

I'm so sorry that this happened. I hope at least the rest of your birds recover from the attack and the shock. And I hope that your nerves get settled.

trish

 

[mom'sfolly]

Sorry about your birds. Dumb dog owners! If even your UPS guys don't recognize the doggies, it could be that they are dumps. Some people think that getting rid of a dog in the country is somehow more humane than turning it over to animal control. "They'll find a home" or "They can hunt for themselves". My grandparents had this problem all the time.