Lost our first chicken

[LittleMissCountry]

One of the dogs on our street broke into the run and killed my kids favorite buff orp. The other chickens ran out the hole he created and into the woods.

My kids are devastated. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Even a well made coop and run won't keep a 100 plus pound dog out if they are determined. The dog is usually behind a fence in their yard, and we had never seen it out before.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Bummer!
Might need some hot wire.
What was run made of?
Did the other birds come back?
Will owner of dog make 'good' on loss?

Run was hardware cloth. The dog barreled through it at a corner, breaking the post. It was a big dog. Even having the apron on the bottom didn't stop him. He broke it where it was nailed to the post.

We are not asking them to make good. We knew this could happen when we got chickens. The neighbors are really upset as well.

I am going to look into electric fencing. The coop and run are far enough from the house that we can't plug something in.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

They make solar electric fencing.

 

[aart]

Bummer!
Might need some hot wire.
What was run made of?
Did the other birds come back?
Will owner of dog make 'good' on loss?

 

[Perris]

that's awful; so sorry for your loss

 

[LittleMissCountry]

I forgot to mention that the other chickens did cone back, so we stilk have 3 chickens.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

So sorry for your loss. Perhaps consider electric fencing around the run.

 

[MissChick@dee]

One of the dogs on our street broke into the run and killed my kids favorite buff orp. The other chickens ran out the hole he created and into the woods.

My kids are devastated. I knew it would happen sooner or later. Even a well made coop and run won't keep a 100 plus pound dog out if they are determined. The dog is usually behind a fence in their yard, and we had never seen it out before.

Oh NO!
So Sorry.
Tell the owners to keep “Cujo” on their property. One dog acting like that? What the heck!
Makes me wonder what it’d do with screaming and running children. (out playing)
I wouldn’t trust It anywhere's near my property. Be careful

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No explanation necessary. You did a good job fencing your birds. You can't plan against every contingency, a dog breaking down posts is .... I mean, you can build to protect from wolves and then a bear comes along. You can only do what you can do. This wasn't your fault. Shtuff happens. . .

 

[LittleMissCountry]

A dog breaking a 3x3 post is pretty crazy!
Curious for learning purposes, not looking to criticize.

I didn't think you would. I have seen others jump in and criticize though, on other posts. I feel bad enough. The posts were already weakened by humidity and lots of rain. My second mistake was to not seal them as well as I should have. The dog barreled into them from a distance and it just snapped. I saw it happen. I was in rhe house and saw the dog in the front yard. He smelled the chickens apparently because I saw him flat out run from the road towards the back yard. I ran out the garage door in time to see him smash into the run and the post snap. I saw him grab the chicken, and tried to get it away, but he wouldn't let go.
I had just taken the kids pictures three days ago, and my daughter had hers taken with the chicken that died. They were going on our mantle. Those came in today, in the mail. My daughter started bawling. She's 11, so she understands death, but still.