My dog killed one of my girls!!!

[LittleHouseDreams]

I forgot that I had the girls free ranging and I let the dog out to do her business. Now I have 3 hens and one very sad 11 year old boy. I feel awful. It's my fault and now I don't know what to do with the dog so that this doesn't happen again. Can she be taught to leave them alone? I've never left her alone with the hens because I knew she wanted to get at them but then I forgot and this happened

! Any advice?

Thanks for listening.

 

[gritsar]

I'm very sorry for your loss.
Although I'm sure others will disagree with me, I don't trust our other animals with the chickens at all. The goat ignores them and they him, but that's the only exception.
IMO, even the most trustworthy dog or cat can suddenly get an urge to "play" and a dead chicken is the result. It's for that reason that my big dog and the outside cat are in the house when the chickens free-range and the outside dog is on his runner. I refuse to take chances just because others insist it's not a problem for them.

 

[LittleHouseDreams]

Thank you for your response. I am going to put a sign on my back door "Chickens are out" or "Chickens are in" to help remind me and my family if the girls are free ranging or not. Obviously the dog can not be trusted and it has been a sad lesson to learn.

 

[chickiepoo]

I agree with Gritsar. And I am so sorry you lost one of your girls.
My doberman got off her run line a few weeks ago and killed my number one Blue Ameraucana cockeral. I was glad she was already scheduled to go stay with my husband to keep him company where he works in another state. I was SICK!

 

[Pumpkinpup]

I am so sorry to hear about this. It is very hard when something like this happens. The door sign is a good idea. Once a dog has done this, it's pretty certain that they will at some point do it again so I would just be very very careful and not let it near my girls ever again.

 

[Cetawin]

sorry you lost a girl...try not to be too hard on yourself for forgetting. I think the sign is a wonderful idea and reminder. As for the dog...there are some ways to do it but msot on here think it cruel. It is however better than losing more chickens or losing the dog.
PM me if you care to give it a try.

 

[TurtleChick]

i'm so sorry!!! we have 4 backyard girls, and 3 (german shepherds) inside dogs... because i'm scared of overzealous "play" with the fun-to-chase chickens, i've never let the dogs out when the peeps are out of their run. our rule is: dogs are CRATED in the house when chickens are loose in the backyard. we have kids, too, so this ensures that NONE of us accidentally opens a door and dogs and chickens are out at the same time. i'm so afraid that the same thing would happen here, and i would just be sick.

 

[Chirpy]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I, too, lost a chick to my wonderful, sweet dog. It was also my fault but I learned a valuable lesson and made adjustments so it won't happen (at least like that) again.

I love your idea of the sign. I think will help you.

 

[Duppydo]

I agree totally with Pumpkinpup,once a dog, yours or someones elses gets a taste of chicken killing, you'd better be careful and alert...

 

[junebug7334]

unI will join the list..........my little Cavelier King Charles Spaniels (I know--very prissy -) got a hold of some teen age chicks I had no idea they would do this and this was all she wrote. Now they eat anything smaller than a Faverolle. Be warned!