Lost 5 in Two Days... And the Plot Thickens... (Update)

[bobbi-j]

Dog within age range when episodes of bad behavior to be expected. He also will not yet be competent against a coyote even when he a considerable size advantage. Not too long ago I had a coyote come in and kill a few birds. Pup at the time (Scoob) policed up a couple of carcasses and brought them into yard and laid down among them. I saw carcasses initially thinking Scoob was culprit but noted very little feather damage especially where I found carcasses. Killer also was very good at killing, better than a fox which often has to wrestle victims with multiple bites. Very shortly as less than an hour later the carcasses were removed while Scoob was confined. Culprit was watching entire time I trying to figure things out. Later I found kill sites some distance from house after a few more birds were lost. Scoob at that time simply watched as far as I kind tell. I tend to have good depth in free-ranging birds making such losses easy to absorb and expected. If I am correct, keep your pup out of fights with coyote as getting whipped now can make many dogs, even LGD's less effective later.

The behavior of birds when dog walks through flock can be informative as well. Birds scared of dog?

Also once dog is mature, flock does not have to spread out much to make dog's defending efforts very difficult if working alone. Remember the snatch and run often done by Mr. Fox. Predator with good lead can get away if dog does not press chase very far. That is why I opted for speed and more than one dog to stop that nonsense.

One more thing, check around fence areas that might slow dog down. If chickens get in there you can have problems keeping predators out.


Currently I am having all sorts of fun with hawks as they rile birds up in pasture. They are not after chickens, rather after songbirds hiding in cover patches used for juveniles during warmer part of year. Even had a Coopers Hawk try to catch a Sharp-shinned hawk with later almost taking my head off as it buzzed past. Mareks will soon likely be popping up as a result of the song birds.

I agree that the dog is still young enough to be causing problems. I have been doing some reading on the breed and one thing I read says that Redbones "have canine ADHD". From personal experience, I will not dispute that.

The things that have stuck out the most in this loss is: It was only the new birds (which is why I first suspected the dog), no carcasses found anywhere (causing me to question my first guess of the dog) and the feather piles I've found. I really don't expect him to protect the flock, really, but it would be nice if he'd leave them alone. He did, however, alert DH to the raccoons that were lurking about last summer when he was only 6 months old, so he maybe at least has a sense of knowing what does and doesn't belong here.

My free ranging birds don't go too far from the building site, but the outbuildings are some distance from the house. The area is surrounded by farm fields. Soybeans this year. For the most part, DH is down there in or near his shop-office area. This time of year not so much due to fieldwork. No fences to keep dog from getting near chickens to either protect or attack them. (depending on his mood, maybe) Our fox population has decreased dramatically - haven't seen any either alive or dead on the road - in years since coyote population has increased. I know they're good at snatch-and-run, too. I'm not really expecting the pup to take on a coyote. I'd rather he didn't.

Are the birds scared of the dog? I'm not sure how to answer that. They don't really run away from him, but some are a little jumpy with him around. Others just ignore him.

 

[bobbi-j]

I agree that the dog is still young enough to be causing problems. I have been doing some reading on the breed and one thing I read says that Redbones "have canine ADHD". From personal experience, I will not dispute that.

The things that have stuck out the most in this loss is: It was only the new birds (which is why I first suspected the dog), no carcasses found anywhere (causing me to question my first guess of the dog) and the feather piles I've found. I really don't expect him to protect the flock, really, but it would be nice if he'd leave them alone. He did, however, alert DH to the raccoons that were lurking about last summer when he was only 6 months old, so he maybe at least has a sense of knowing what does and doesn't belong here.

My free ranging birds don't go too far from the building site, but the outbuildings are some distance from the house. The area is surrounded by farm fields. Soybeans this year. For the most part, DH is down there in or near his shop-office area. This time of year not so much due to fieldwork. No fences to keep dog from getting near chickens to either protect or attack them. (depending on his mood, maybe) Our fox population has decreased dramatically - haven't seen any either alive or dead on the road - in years since coyote population has increased. I know they're good at snatch-and-run, too. I'm not really expecting the pup to take on a coyote. I'd rather he didn't.

Are the birds scared of the dog? I'm not sure how to answer that. They don't really run away from him, but some are a little jumpy with him around. Others just ignore him.

After keeping my chickens locked up for the past few months, we decided to let them out the other day because it's so nice out and they were all crowded around the run gate. So, out they went and headed directly toward our old, falling-down barn. There is some good, composted manure in there that makes for great scratching, digging and dust bathing. While the chickens were enjoying some dry, snow-free ground, the dog went into the barn with them, just snuffling around. The chickens didn't seem to be the least bit alarmed by his presence, so I am voting coyote as the culprit in the disappearance of my pullets. We did see coyote tracks between the coop and barn, so the chickens will not be out if we're not out and about down there.