Lost my first girl

[The Chicken Lady]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

From experience, it's usually safer to keep the chickens inside their coop and run unless you're out there supervising them. It's a hard lesson everyone new to chickens learns at some point.

 

[little horse]

i am so sorry how awful, my thoughts go out to you

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm very sorry. That's a terrible thing to have to go through.

Do you have a run you can keep them confined in? That dog may very well come back, now that it's discovered your chickens. It would give you a chance to do something about the dog, while not losing any more chickens.

 

[ridgefire]

Thanks everyone, it was a hard decision to put her down. I thought about trying to save her but then I decided it would be unfair to make her suffer because I am a big softie that hates to kill.

As far as having an enclosed run they have that, but we just got dumped on with snow, they wouldnt go out in the run. So instead of keeping them locked up I opened the door to the main barn to let them wander around in the big barn. I opened the outside door to let them get fresh air. The dog actually went into the barn to get her.

 

[thethreadedgarden]

SO SORRY!!! I came home today and found a hawk in the garden with one of my girls. My butterscotch a mille fluer bantie is now dead. My other six girls were all in hiding, but came out slowly after I walked around the yard for an hour. Well Butterscoth's eyes were pecked out and all the feathers on her neck were stripped. Her head was dangling, I think the hawk broke her neck. I had to chase the hawk away, but it just flew from tree to tree and watched me. I took pictures to try to I.D. the hawk and I think it is a Goshawk. Anyhow I am soooo mad that Butterscotch is gone! I feel your pain!!

 

[LadyHawk_2006]

I join everyone with their sorrow, my first (and so far only) girl was just taken by a hawk on Monday (Dec 1). She was an indoor pet chicken and I had been cleaning her little house. Since it had warmed up I thought she might like a chance to scratch in her favorite dirt hole. I got distracted doing other things and remembered her a little while later. When I went out on our porch a huge red tail lifted off the ground and perched on the fence to look at me before taking off. I just said "oh no..." and looked down. She was just torn open, there were feathers everywhere and nothing to be done. Judging by the extent of the damage, it had probably happened maybe only 10 minutes earlier. Usually when I'd put her out, I would watch her like a hawk because I always knew it would happen one day, but I guess that day, the hawk was watching more closely than I.

My husband and I are crushed, I was inconsolable for 3 days. Whenever we get another one (or 10?) we will be more careful.

All my love to other sad chicken mommies and daddies.....

Stephanie

 

[cmom]

So sorry for your loss. If the dog had a taste of chicken it may be back. I recently lost one of my big girls to a dog, cayote or fox. There were dog like prints. I burried my girl and whatever came back and dug her up. I burried her 2 ft down. Now I'm using her as bait and have traps set out. Also I put a camera and VCR out to record if the critter comes back, and if I get a chance my 410 is loaded. My other choice if you are more in an urban area, a paintball gun with brightly colored paint balls and then call animal control, and if that fails then SSS.