My dog goes after my Black English Orpington Only and not the other hens

[mwillers]

I have 3 hens and when I got the third one it was the Black English Orpington, every since my 2 year old boxer/shepard mix will not leave her alone, only her he ignores the other two. 2 of my hens got out of their run from a hole under the deck (it has been fixed) and my dog went after my black hen, tried to carry her and she is big but held her down and plucked out her feathers on her back. I treated her and put a saddle on to protect her from him and the other hens. Yesterday, she decided she wanted to run the back yard so she and she alone got out and i found my dog, again, holding her down and plucking out the feathers much worse this time. Why does she not run or even make a noise, she just sits there and does not fight back. Why does he only go after her? She seems fine, eating drinking playing scratching and hanging out with my Buff Braham, those 2 are like peas in a pod.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like you are going to lose her if you don’t keep the chickens from getting out, or the dog from getting them. I had young hens about 11 years ago. They started flying up to the top of my 4 foot chainlink yard fence, and then over into my yard with the dogs. The golden retriever would chase them and pull out feathers, playing with them. The first 2 survived after discovering them, but the last one about a month later, did not. She did not have a mark on her. We had ordered a shock collar for the dog. With her body lying in the yard, the dog only needed 2 shocks, and he never once would even look at a chicken afterward. The collar came off after the first day. The other dogs followed his lead. Later we added 5 chickens to the yard, and they would lounge around all day long. No more dog attacks. However this would never work with young chicks, only birds that are mostly grown.

 

[mwillers]

It sounds like you are going to lose her if you don’t keep the chickens from getting out, or the dog from getting them. I had young hens about 11 years ago. They started flying up to the top of my 4 foot chainlink yard fence, and then over into my yard with the dogs. The golden retriever would chase them and pull out feathers, playing with them. The first 2 survived after discovering them, but the last one about a month later, did not. She did not have a mark on her. We had ordered a shock collar for the dog. With her body lying in the yard, the dog only needed 2 shocks, and he never once would even look at a chicken afterward. The collar came off after the first day. The other dogs followed his lead. Later we added 5 chickens to the yard, and they would lounge around all day long. No more dog attacks. However this would never work with young chicks, only birds that are mostly grown.

All 3 of my hens are 1 year old but he has access to all 3 but he only chooses the one black hen. I wonder what it is about her that he wants to pluck her so badly.

 

[Isadora]

All 3 of my hens are 1 year old but he has access to all 3 but he only chooses the one black hen. I wonder what it is about her that he wants to pluck her so badly.

Perhaps she is the only one that lets him get close enough to grab her.

 

[mwillers]

Perhaps she is the only one that lets him get close enough to grab her.

He will go up to my Olive Egger and stick his nose in her feathers and then walk away, he just wants the black one. i am moving their coop to a different area with mesh over the top of the run so they can not get out and hopefully no one else can get in.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

Maybe she reacts to him the way a hen reacts to a rooster by hunkering down, which allows the dog to catch her. Or, she might behave more reactively around him. My dog isn't interested in my slow ponderous hens that are older and laid back, they're like yard ornaments to her. but my younger bird reacts to my dog like a fearful prey animal, and my dog goes on alert and wants to chase this specific hen. Dogs with their predator instincts can be odd around chickens.

 

[mwillers]

Maybe she reacts to him the way a hen reacts to a rooster by hunkering down, which allows the dog to catch her. Or, she might behave more reactively around him. My dog isn't interested in my slow ponderous hens that are older and laid back, they're like yard ornaments to her. but my younger bird reacts to my dog like a fearful prey animal, and my dog goes on alert and wants to chase this specific hen. Dogs with their predator instincts can be odd around chickens.

She goes completely still when i go to pick her up too, i just wish she would fight back and peck him in his face so he wont bother her anymore. My other dog has been around a big flock of chickens so she is used to them and she just leaves them alone.