My dog killed my 7 week old Barred Rock. 😞

[CottageMamaof3]

Maybe that's the reason
Did he used to have a buddy?

Sadly yes. I had to put down our pit bull mix. She because increasingly aggressive towards him so I had to put her down. The pit would have killed him if I hadn't been there to stop it. Our Shepard is a big softy and great with our kids, which was why I was so shocked that he could actually kill a chicken. He put her down when I told him to but not soon enough (he was trying to swallow her whole!)

 

[CottageMamaof3]

After 35+ years of chicken keeping, I have lost chickens to all kinds of predators, including my own dogs at times. I know that even if it’s been years without a predator loss, it’s going to happen. I don’t make pets of my chickens. That doesn’t mean I’m OK with them being killed.

Are these your first chickens? How old is the dog? How much time have you put in training it?

These are my first chickens. And our 115lb dog is 11 yrs old (old for a dog his size). I thought I could rely on his good natured temperment and thought little of training him. That was a costly mistake. One I won't make again that is for sure. My kids are more resilient than I am about the chicks. They already want to go get more to replace the one we lost.

 

[Folly's place]

Training can still happen, and keeping them all separate is a priority, for sure.
I've found it easier to train puppies to respect the chickens, but adult dogs, especially of some breeds, can be taught. Right now we have terriers, much more difficult!
Mary

 

[GingerAndHerChicks]

I’m so glad I came across your post, just lost our buff polish chick today, had her for 11 days and just wasn’t thriving the last 3 days. I feel the exact same, as if I’m not set out for this. Unfortunately, I make every animal my pet no matter how small or big and I wear my heart on my sleeve. Sending you hugs and hoping the remainder pull through!

Yesterday my German Shepherd ran out and crunched down on one of my 7 week old chicks. This was the second day of them outside in their chicken coop. I bought 5 chicks and prepared myself the best I could that a few would not survive. My sweet Barred Rock!

I've been a city girl turned country by desire but my question out here in chicken world is how do you handle death on the "farm"? I feel so inequipt. I have a newfound respect for the life of a farmer. I feel so pathetic and helpless that the loss of 1 (just ONE) could shake me up this way. It makes me wonder if I am cut out for raising chickens.

 

[Danielpn]

I have an Australian Shepherd that can walk around in the yard all day with the chickens, as long as they came out through the gate. If a chicken jumps/flys over the fence, its game on. I keep their flight feathers trimmed.

 

[bobbi-j]

These are my first chickens. And our 115lb dog is 11 yrs old (old for a dog his size). I thought I could rely on his good natured temperment and thought little of training him. That was a costly mistake. One I won't make again that is for sure. My kids are more resilient than I am about the chicks. They already want to go get more to replace the one we lost.

I think most dogs aren’t actually out to kill the chicken. I think the self-propelled squeaky toy is just too much for them to resist, and the killing is accidental. Some dogs are out to kill the chicken, I know that. Separation is your best option as you’re working on training, but you already know that.

Kids are very resilient. A lot depends on how we react as well. If we treat it as a thing that happens sometimes, I think they tend to accept it as that as well. If we turn it into a crisis, it can be a crisis for them, too. When my boys were 10, 8 and 5, we were given a little Holstein bottle calf. They named him Butch “Because we’re going to butcher him anyway, Mom.” They handled it much better than I did.

 

[MissE]

My GSD got ahold of two of my birds when he was 11 months old. I thought he had good recall, but didn't test it under distraction and didn't realize the chickens had wandered to a place where he could get them. He couldn't resist an interactive toy. I had to put one down, and my poor rooster will never grow tail feathers again.

While the dog is much better now thanks to more training, I never have, and never will, fully trust a dog around a chicken. They can't help the prey drive. That's why I use the electric poultry fence from ground thaw to ground freeze up. The above incident happened when the ground was still frozen and I thought I'd let the chickens stretch their legs behind the barn on a beautiful spring day instead of confined to the run.

I grew up on a small farm. From time to time, livestock will die. It just happens. There will be the occasional loss to wild and domestic predators, calves that are stillborn, chicks that fail to thrive, sows that roll on a piglet, rabbit kits that get out of the nest, goats that get their heads stuck in the eave of the shed, illness, etc. Its a fact of life I have to accept even though I don't like it.

Most of our livestock were raised for food, so they weren't going to die of old age anyway, and it makes no sense to get emotional if an owl gets a chicken a week before it was scheduled for the chopping block. It just sucks to lose out on the dinner you put time and money into raising.

 

[Kissie618]

You learned a valuable lesson about your dog's prey drive. I am sorry that happened. Last year when we first got chicks I was terrified to leave my Shepard/ Lab mix near them because not only two weeks early and she killed a tiny 3 in long bunny that was living with its family under my shed. Dogs are just going to do what dogs do. After some leash training around the chicken that she knows are our family, she is terrific with them and I leave her outside when the chickens are out to guard them from hawks. It can be done and just takes time. German Shepards may have strong prey drives, but they are also very smart and want to do their "job". Teach her the chickens are the job. I wish you luck and other posts have said not to think of the chickens as pets. I think its ok if you do. I know I do. But I also remind myself they are farm animals with a purpose. I am not sure if it helps, but good luck!!