Lost some chickens today :(

[Sloane Chickens]

Today we lost some of our chickens. 3 dogs broke in, damaged some fencing and took the lives of 5 of our girls. Injured a further 2 and the remaining 5 (including the injured ones) are all in shock.

I posted in our local fb group looking for the dogs, with only brief descriptions and their owner messages messaged me. Stating that they’ve done this before (including doing it to her own) And she could “give me some of her chickens”

Unfortunately it’s not that simple and I’m unsure what to do.

We had chickens I cannot replace. (Sentimental reasons but also - they just aren’t available Locally. I had to drive hours for them.)

Besides asking her to replace the fencing her dogs damaged - what do I do about the chickens? I’m grateful she wants to do the right thing. But I don’t think giving me your backyard flock really says you’re understanding and know how serious this is - especially when it’s not her dogs first attack..

I’m absolutely devastated and furious.. our girls who are in shock have been kept In the dark- warm, we have scrambled eggs and electrolytes in water. Any other suggestions for them would be fabulous also.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Charge her at least $30 per hen or what you think it will cost to replace them, including shipping. Explain that you keep a closed flock because you don't want to introduce possible diseases to your birds. Not that you think hers may be sick, it's just your policy. As it should be. Good luck.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Give your birds sugar water. 1 tsp sugar to 1 c warm water, plus a pinch of salt, pinch of baking soda.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well, you need to look at your fence. I have had very good luck with chain link fence. But what you had was not predator proof.

It is just sickening to have a wreck like this, but it is a fact of chicken keeping, the woman is trying to do the responsible thing. There is no bringing back those birds, hard as it is, what I have found is this can be an opportunity for fresh genetics or adding younger birds to freshen the flock.

I would contact where you got your breed of birds, find out what chicks are to replace them. If they are really expensive I would ask for half the cost. I know it was her dogs, not being where they were suppose to be, but it could have been coons and no one would pay. Good fences make for good neighbors.

It always is your favorites, and it is the hardest part of keeping chickens.

Mrs K

 

[Sloane Chickens]

Well, you need to look at your fence. I have had very good luck with chain link fence. But what you had was not predator proof.

It is just sickening to have a wreck like this, but it is a fact of chicken keeping, the woman is trying to do the responsible thing. There is no bringing back those birds, hard as it is, what I have found is this can be an opportunity for fresh genetics or adding younger birds to freshen the flock.

I would contact where you got your breed of birds, find out what chicks are to replace them. If they are really expensive I would ask for half the cost. I know it was her dogs, not being where they were suppose to be, but it could have been coons and no one would pay. Good fences make for good neighbors.

It always is your favorites, and it is the hardest part of keeping chickens.

Mrs K

We are in Aus, I’m assuming you’re in America hence the coon reference? We have roaming dog laws so they can be held liable with court fees etc. not what we plan to do. But it is something they can have against them.

Charge her at least $30 per hen or what you think it will cost to replace them, including shipping. Explain that you keep a closed flock because you don't want to introduce possible diseases to your birds. Not that you think hers may be sick, it's just your policy. As it should be. Good luck.

Thanks!

 

[tviss711]

I’m really sorry for your loss. We went through the same thing about 4 months ago, two dogs broke into our yard and killed our whole flock, sparing only one. We caught it on video. Same thing, repeat offenders and they did end up contacting us and did what they could to make it right.

I would contact animal control if you have it, and file a report - the reason being, it will be documented in case there is yet another offense. It doesn’t mean you have to take them to court or press charges, but it can be helpful for the future, just in case. We reported before the owners contacted us, though we did knock on their door initially trying to get a hold of them.

I would request that they at least help if not cover the cost to predator proof your coop and run, since there is no guarantee their dogs won’t do it again. I would also request that they also examine their own fencing and ensure that they make the necessary repairs to keep their dogs in their own yard. That is part of the issue.

In our case, we put up a new 8ft fence on one side, and also put up hot fencing around the run that’s powered by a 5mile solar box that would be very painful for a dog should they try to break into our run. It gives us peace of mind knowing that it’s always on and always protecting our birds when we’re not home.

We simply told the dog owners that we couldn’t put a price on our birds as they were our pets, but we would definitely put a price tag on ensuring that their dogs would not be able to gain access to them again, as we were the 3rd or 4th offense for these dogs just in our neighborhood.

Again, I’m so sorry for your loss and I hope you guys will be able to grieve and get your yard in order. It sounds like the dogs owners are doing the right and responsible thing, which is very helpful. Are you able to contact the breeder/people you originally got your birds from to see if they might have more of the breeds you had previously? If you had a rooster, you might also try incubating any eggs they left behind. We had 8 left out on the counter and hatched out 6 babies from our original flock.

As for your remaining birds, our sole survivor spent a couple of weeks in the coop after the incident. Give them time, and special feed/treats definitely helps, if they’ll take it. A little electrolyte or vitamin boost in their water wouldn’t hurt either. Hugs to you!!

 

[alinas2010]

Today we lost some of our chickens. 3 dogs broke in, damaged some fencing and took the lives of 5 of our girls. Injured a further 2 and the remaining 5 (including the injured ones) are all in shock.

I posted in our local fb group looking for the dogs, with only brief descriptions and their owner messages messaged me. Stating that they’ve done this before (including doing it to her own) And she could “give me some of her chickens”

Unfortunately it’s not that simple and I’m unsure what to do.

We had chickens I cannot replace. (Sentimental reasons but also - they just aren’t available Locally. I had to drive hours for them.)

Besides asking her to replace the fencing her dogs damaged - what do I do about the chickens? I’m grateful she wants to do the right thing. But I don’t think giving me your backyard flock really says you’re understanding and know how serious this is - especially when it’s not her dogs first attack..

I’m absolutely devastated and furious.. our girls who are in shock have been kept In the dark- warm, we have scrambled eggs and electrolytes in water. Any other suggestions for them would be fabulous also.

I’m so very sorry for your loss. Someone once told me that they give us so many good days and a few very bad ones. Those bad ones can be just awful. I hope that the memories and pictures you have of them can help get you through these tough days. If it helps you, feel free to share any pictures and memories with us.

I don’t have great advice for you on the person with the dogs that caused this, besides to say I would be furious, too. My chickens are sentimental, also. But I think of pet chickens like this: chickens are among the most poorly treated species in the world, and good homes for them are hard to come by. So when a spot opens up in my home for more, I will gladly take them in. Now what means you acquire them by is completely up to you. I like @BigBlueHen53 s advice, although my the hen I took a chance on and adopted from a neighbor as an adult is my very favorite.

If you need help with any of the injuries or getting them through shock, you can post pictures of the injuries. A new thread can be started in the emergency/illness/injuries section for faster, more adequate help, also. Getting them through shock is most important. Sounds like you’re doing everything correctly. How are they doing?

Standard injury care involves flushing the wounds with something such as saline once or twice daily, then applying a triple antibiotic ointment, such as neosporin all over the wounds to keep them moist. Be sure to use an ointment without pain relief. Wound sprays, such as Vetericyn, can be effective for cleaning, also. Advice may differ for more complicated wounds.

 

[Sloane Chickens]

I’m so very sorry for your loss. Someone once told me that they give us so many good days and a few very bad ones. Those bad ones can be just awful. I hope that the memories and pictures you have of them can help get you through these tough days. If it helps you, feel free to share any pictures and memories with us.

I don’t have great advice for you on the person with the dogs that caused this, besides to say I would be furious, too. My chickens are sentimental, also. But I think of pet chickens like this: chickens are among the most poorly treated species in the world, and good homes for them are hard to come by. So when a spot opens up in my home for more, I will gladly take them in. Now what means you acquire them by is completely up to you. I like @BigBlueHen53 s advice, although my the hen I took a chance on and adopted from a neighbor as an adult is my very favorite.

If you need help with any of the injuries or getting them through shock, you can post pictures of the injuries. A new thread can be started in the emergency/illness/injuries section for faster, more adequate help, also. Getting them through shock is most important. Sounds like you’re doing everything correctly. How are they doing?

Standard injury care involves flushing the wounds with something such as saline once or twice daily, then applying a triple antibiotic ointment, such as neosporin all over the wounds to keep them moist. Be sure to use an ointment without pain relief. Wound sprays, such as Vetericyn, can be effective for cleaning, also. Advice may differ for more complicated wounds.

Thank you for the kind words.
The surviving girls are in shock still but are finally eating. They’ve remained locked up in our coop - with food and water. None want to leave, which is fair enough.

I did post about our Cochin in the thread section you mentioned. No visible wounds but limping significantly..

 

[Sloane Chickens]

I’m really sorry for your loss. We went through the same thing about 4 months ago, two dogs broke into our yard and killed our whole flock, sparing only one. We caught it on video. Same thing, repeat offenders and they did end up contacting us and did what they could to make it right.

I would contact animal control if you have it, and file a report - the reason being, it will be documented in case there is yet another offense. It doesn’t mean you have to take them to court or press charges, but it can be helpful for the future, just in case. We reported before the owners contacted us, though we did knock on their door initially trying to get a hold of them.

I would request that they at least help if not cover the cost to predator proof your coop and run, since there is no guarantee their dogs won’t do it again. I would also request that they also examine their own fencing and ensure that they make the necessary repairs to keep their dogs in their own yard. That is part of the issue.

In our case, we put up a new 8ft fence on one side, and also put up hot fencing around the run that’s powered by a 5mile solar box that would be very painful for a dog should they try to break into our run. It gives us peace of mind knowing that it’s always on and always protecting our birds when we’re not home.

We simply told the dog owners that we couldn’t put a price on our birds as they were our pets, but we would definitely put a price tag on ensuring that their dogs would not be able to gain access to them again, as we were the 3rd or 4th offense for these dogs just in our neighborhood.

Again, I’m so sorry for your loss and I hope you guys will be able to grieve and get your yard in order. It sounds like the dogs owners are doing the right and responsible thing, which is very helpful. Are you able to contact the breeder/people you originally got your birds from to see if they might have more of the breeds you had previously? If you had a rooster, you might also try incubating any eggs they left behind. We had 8 left out on the counter and hatched out 6 babies from our original flock.

As for your remaining birds, our sole survivor spent a couple of weeks in the coop after the incident. Give them time, and special feed/treats definitely helps, if they’ll take it. A little electrolyte or vitamin boost in their water wouldn’t hurt either. Hugs to you!!

Thank you for your comment!

The owner of the dogs has said their fence has been reinforced, however I have out a report into our council. My partner has redone our fencing and it should hopefully deter any further attempts..

As for contacting our breeders - I have contacted the lady I got our polish that passed from but unfortunately I bought her last hen for a while (the one that passed)
Our other sweet babies were unfortunately while we could refund their breeds (not colours tho) , are too sentimental for us to replace. Especially the girl who started our flock all together.. we will hold off on new chickens for awhile. And I’ll be focusing on our remaining girls

They finally ate today- raspberries! I would buy them an ungodly amount of raspberries if it means they’ll be ok

 

[Bsmac]

Today we lost some of our chickens. 3 dogs broke in, damaged some fencing and took the lives of 5 of our girls. Injured a further 2 and the remaining 5 (including the injured ones) are all in shock.

I posted in our local fb group looking for the dogs, with only brief descriptions and their owner messages messaged me. Stating that they’ve done this before (including doing it to her own) And she could “give me some of her chickens”

Unfortunately it’s not that simple and I’m unsure what to do.

We had chickens I cannot replace. (Sentimental reasons but also - they just aren’t available Locally. I had to drive hours for them.)

Besides asking her to replace the fencing her dogs damaged - what do I do about the chickens? I’m grateful she wants to do the right thing. But I don’t think giving me your backyard flock really says you’re understanding and know how serious this is - especially when it’s not her dogs first attack..

I’m absolutely devastated and furious.. our girls who are in shock have been kept In the dark- warm, we have scrambled eggs and electrolytes in water. Any other suggestions for them would be fabulous also.

I have heard electrolytes are good for stress, scrambled eggs can`t hurt either. Sorry for your loss that is hard to deal with. I had to humanely help a favorite bird pass yesterday. Losing a bird is never easy.