About 3-4 weeks ago I lost my entire flock to a Pit Bull. I got up, got my kids up since its summer break. I thought I heard a dog outside but that's not real uncommon since we have close neighbors so I didn't think anything about it, but at about that same time my 11 year old daughter had made it to the den and she yelled to me that there was a dog in the yard and all the chickens were dead. So I ran to the bedroom, loaded the 410 and headed for the back door. Yep, when I stepped down the stairs I saw all my chickens dead and a huge pit in my barn trying hard to rip into my rabbit cages. She came towards me and at that time my cat jumped over the chain link gate to greet me as he does every day and the dog spotted him. I shot her. Our backyard is chain link fenced and our top barn is towards the back side of the yard but only 20 feet or so from our back deck. The chicken pen was in front of that barn so less than 20' from the back door. That dog had to come through my horse pasture up around behind the barn to get in the backyard is my guess. Thank GOD my horse Jazz is such a dead head and not remotely phased by dogs and thank GOD she didn't get my cat. I am an animal lover for all animals and absolutely HATE to kill anything but if that dog had gone after my horse or my cat I would have beat it to death. As it was she killed all my precious chickens. Thankfully she didn't make it into my rabbit cages but left a heck of a mess of stuff knocked over in the barn. The rabbits were shook up but not harmed.
So I had to start all over with my flock. I had bought my chicks from TSC in March. Had 3 Red Sex-Link pullets, 3 White Leghorn Pullets and 2 Blue Ameraucanas that I'd got locally trading my incubator for. I was so excited for them to start laying and they weren't but a month and a half probably from laying. I was tickled that my brown hens would lay brown eggs, white hens white eggs and blue hens blue eggs. It was weird that it worked out that way because we didn't plan it. Instead we had to bury the chickens.
So long story but that's the situation I was in. I found someone here in town who had bought a bunch of chicks special order from TSC of RIRs and Dominiques hens so I bought the last ones they had. Gave my best friend the 3 Dominique hens and kept the 5 RIR hens. They're 3 months old so about a month and a half younger than my flock was. But its a start. I was worried I wouldn't find anything and I didn't want to start completely over with chicks again. I was so close to the reward of getting eggs.
We've raised chickens off and on for years and last year when I sold out my dairy goats I sold my chickens to a friend's mom. My dream was to get horses and I did. So I had just the horses for a while but all this barn space was going to waste so we got some Netherland Dwarf rabbits too. Now I'm itching to have eggs again. Just wanted to share my story. I had my chickens in a 6 x 12' dog kennel and she ripped the chain link loose at the edge and wiggled her way in there.
I've since learned that the owners have had problems keeping her in their fenced yard (she's normally chained in there as well) and now I believe the thing that got in my neighbor's chicken pen on the corner, was her. They had a pair of bantams and a pair of RIRs and one day the side was ripped off the pen and the only chicken left was the RIR hen. Few weeks later everything was gone so I don't know if she killed it or they got rid of her. Anyway, she won't be hurting anyone else's animals though. Thanks for reading. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and getting to know my new birds.
So I had to start all over with my flock. I had bought my chicks from TSC in March. Had 3 Red Sex-Link pullets, 3 White Leghorn Pullets and 2 Blue Ameraucanas that I'd got locally trading my incubator for. I was so excited for them to start laying and they weren't but a month and a half probably from laying. I was tickled that my brown hens would lay brown eggs, white hens white eggs and blue hens blue eggs. It was weird that it worked out that way because we didn't plan it. Instead we had to bury the chickens.
So long story but that's the situation I was in. I found someone here in town who had bought a bunch of chicks special order from TSC of RIRs and Dominiques hens so I bought the last ones they had. Gave my best friend the 3 Dominique hens and kept the 5 RIR hens. They're 3 months old so about a month and a half younger than my flock was. But its a start. I was worried I wouldn't find anything and I didn't want to start completely over with chicks again. I was so close to the reward of getting eggs.
We've raised chickens off and on for years and last year when I sold out my dairy goats I sold my chickens to a friend's mom. My dream was to get horses and I did. So I had just the horses for a while but all this barn space was going to waste so we got some Netherland Dwarf rabbits too. Now I'm itching to have eggs again. Just wanted to share my story. I had my chickens in a 6 x 12' dog kennel and she ripped the chain link loose at the edge and wiggled her way in there.
I've since learned that the owners have had problems keeping her in their fenced yard (she's normally chained in there as well) and now I believe the thing that got in my neighbor's chicken pen on the corner, was her. They had a pair of bantams and a pair of RIRs and one day the side was ripped off the pen and the only chicken left was the RIR hen. Few weeks later everything was gone so I don't know if she killed it or they got rid of her. Anyway, she won't be hurting anyone else's animals though. Thanks for reading. I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and getting to know my new birds.
