My Dog Carried Hen Away

[Rooster Rules]

Hi all, today while I was away from Home My Daughter and Wife were at the coop/run, 7 YO Daughter can handle all the birds 2 Bantam roosters include, she picks all the birds up, holds and nurtures them, they love her and She is very fond of the Chickens.
Any way, 1 large Barred Rocck/Sussex Hen got by her, and went out into the yard, 1 of my Dogs a Border Collie X stayed sitting, on ground and did not pay any attention to her. Wife and Daughter chased after Hen, but she ran away, then all of a sudden My Golden Retreiver grabbed the hen and ran to the woods along the property, he would not listen to drop the hen.
I get a phone call, was Mad as she is a great egg layer, but accept what happened.
Tonight I am at work, get a phone call, 11 yoSon finds Hen in Spruce tree, alive, and not too roughedr up. She has a small 1 inch gash on her back, they caught her, and put on some high powered antibiotic cream, placed her in the coop on the roost, she was quite stressed but okay.
Not what the heck happened, guess my old hound jus carried her off, cuz He could have killed her like nothing.
I am at work, it is night, so will maybe seperate her in the morning, hopefully she does not die of shock overnight.
I have 12 bantams, 2 roosters, 3 hens, 3 cockerills, 4 pullets, and 1 other barred rock hen. I was sure surprise she was alive and not beat to a pulp...

 

[bobbi-j]

Sounds to me like your golden RETRIEVER did just what he was bred to do, and did it well - he retrieved your bird and did so with a fairly soft mouth. To prevent such hints from happening in the future, though, maybe the dogs should be locked or tied up before going to the chickens in case of another escape. Working with the dog to "drop it!", or leave the chickens alone entirely might not be a bad idea, either. I'm glad the dog didn't kill the hen.

 

[Rooster Rules]

Thanx for the input. He is quite capable of killing thats for sure, and have even watched him tangle with a timber wolf, although the wolf ran as I was nearby.
I can go around the coop and run anytime, he does not intefere ever,but things happen, and usually when I am not around to keep the lid on things. He also does keep anywildlife from messing with anything at night. I live very rural.
You outta see Him laying at the front door of the House, with 2 kittens walking and climbing all over Him, he just lies there.....

 

[humphrey farms]

Sounds to me like your golden RETRIEVER did just what he was bred to do, and did it well - he retrieved your bird and did so with a fairly soft mouth. To prevent such hints from happening in the future, though, maybe the dogs should be locked or tied up before going to the chickens in case of another escape. Working with the dog to "drop it!", or leave the chickens alone entirely might not be a bad idea, either. I'm glad the dog didn't kill the hen.

Our Lab just got back from hunting camp and did the same thing. We searched the field for the hen but couldn't find it. Well turns out the next day the hen had flown into the growing pen with the younger birds. The retriever just stepped on the chicken scaring it into flying and lost feathers during flight when the dog lost her grip on the hen. Good thing. A gentle reminder lesson for the dog and life is back to normal.

 

[fluttervale]

My Dad's Labrador brings him a new baby birdie about every week this time of year. Not a feather ruffled. A good retriever shouldn't hurt a bird, even if it is alive. Might work on training for a proper retrieve as it might be a handy trick as he'll at least bring it to you.

 

[humphrey farms]

My Dad's Labrador brings him a new baby birdie about every week this time of year. Not a feather ruffled. A good retriever shouldn't hurt a bird, even if it is alive. Might work on training for a proper retrieve as it might be a handy trick as he'll at least bring it to you.

We are working more on the "HOLD"

 

[fluttervale]

That's great--and was probably the hardest thing for me to teach either of the Labradors! They all want to spit it out as soon as you reach for it because they know you're going to take it, but when you're trying to take a still-live animal from them then it gets away. I used a clicker and treats and pretty much over a week he got the point. I never tried force-fetch personally but the dogs I've seen trained that way (professionally, I mean--never saw anyone do it amateur) were amazing retrievers. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, but then I've never hunted over my dogs either.

 

[humphrey farms]

That's great--and was probably the hardest thing for me to teach either of the Labradors! They all want to spit it out as soon as you reach for it because they know you're going to take it, but when you're trying to take a still-live animal from them then it gets away. I used a clicker and treats and pretty much over a week he got the point. I never tried force-fetch personally but the dogs I've seen trained that way (professionally, I mean--never saw anyone do it amateur) were amazing retrievers. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, but then I've never hunted over my dogs either.

We don't "Force Fetch" unless it is the last resort. We always try for a natural hold via praise. The trick is taking the bird before the dog tries to drop it. Especially when going to "Heel" position. We run our Labs at working & AKC hunting events at the Junior levels . Also at the NHRA tests. The lower entry doesn't need to hold. Just get that birdie back to you within a few feet. Most of our dogs have had a flyer that wasn't dead on the return and only one dropped it at my feet where it then proceeded to try to flutter and get away. The dog scooped that duck up so quick!!