My Dogs killed all my Chickens

[TropicalBabies]

I'm so sorry for your big loss. But don't give up.
I had a similar situation happen when I had to leave town on emergency. I was SUPER mad at the "oh, I got it, no problem" sitter who blew off instruction time for horses and chickens. I wont use her again. (Also $400. vet bill for horse). I think my dogs reacted- separation anxiety when I left. When I got home I promptly threatened their lives- as the alpha dog that I am and with the dead chicken in my hand- Then threw them out of "my pack" ( also known as not talking to dogs for about a week). Then slowly let the dogs back into "my pack" after they had shown the proper humility and submission. It took me about two months to get over it lol. Dogs wont look at my chickens when I am around but I will never let them be alone with them again either. Lesson learned. Unfortunately, losses are part of chicken keeping. It hurts.
I think your coop is lovely- you are most of the way there. It would be a shame for you to give up and miss out on all the good stuff.

 

[centrarchid]

@JaiBanana you have a lot of what is needed to make for sustained keeping of chickens. Your fencing is leaky with respect to dogs. That can be remedied. Your dogs regard your chickens as play things or prey. That can also be changed with a lot of work (almost all my dogs have gone through a stage of being chicken killers, think 30 at once for current male dog) that can have rewards for all beyond dogs not killing more chickens. My dogs protect chickens and let me know when bad things happening. The caretaker issue is something that is harder to define. I have had some really good caretakers where the usual limitation is how well I detail what must be done and keeping list of responsibilities where caretaker accesses them. I have also had a caretaker bring in multiple dogs into where my chickens are kept and caretaker's dogs proceeded to kill chickens and destroy pens while the caretaker was present. Caretaker gave a story that changed by the minute and did not agree with the caretakers family member that witnessed the fiasco. That caretaker was not supposed to bring dogs onto property, but also attempted to stop what was going on. The caretaker was young and had issue keeping with the facts as scared of my potential reactions. Caretaker also did not have the means to pay for losses. That caretaker, nor I, came away feeling warm and fuzzy over that one. Since, I have made so how my chickens are kept and how caretakers are trained are more foolproof.

I have kids too, and they have learned from such experiences. Many of my birds are outright pets and have value related to the amount of training that goes into them. Plus all, but one bird, are of my breeding so a lot is invested before they are even hatched.

Do not get soured. Get mad for a bit, then use that as a motivator to prevent bad things from happening in the future. Lets see some more detailed pictures of your fencing and coop. Any ideas on working with dogs to increase your control and reduce their interest in chickens? Consider developing a written procedure that can be pulled out when a sitter comes that addresses care of kids, chickens, and dogs.\\

Try not to get bogged down by negativity. Look for advice from parties that may have had problems from time to time, but are on the whole successful and have a positive attitude. My assumption is you are after enjoyment from keeping chickens.

 

[SixNolans]

we left town and had a sitter for our home and pets. Unfortunately, due to neglect on the sitters part, my chickens got out and my dogs killed them. I am so mad and hurt I can’t believe it. I don’t even want to keep my dogs anymore. I don’t trust them. I have young children...plus the sitter I mean really? Common! How negligent can you be? Unfortunately he’s family so I can’t cause problems; but I’m so mad. I don’t know what to do. I’m not ready to start our flock over but our daughter loved them and always helped me. This is my first time owning chickens but they were pets we got them for eggs not meat. We loved them and are in mourning. Are these normal reactions? I’m not sure if I want to run the risk of loosing my flock again. I’m sorry for the rant I’m so mad and don’t know what to do.

Oh goodness! I do know how you feel. We had a pet sitter and used her twice but was irresponsible as well. She left the gates open and our cows got out. The first time she watched our animals we lost two Roos because she let our dogs in their fenced area. It’s hard to lose our animals. Start fresh and enjoy your new flock. Keep them safe as possible. Sorry you went through that. I think your daughter would love to have some new birdies.

 

[Dona Worry]

Wow, just wow. Lots to unpack here.
First: your sitter owes you for the birds. Don't know if you paid him or not, that's a separate issue I will address below, but calculate what it will cost you to replace the birds and fix the fence, and make it clear that is the amount he owes you for his negligence. Make a racket about it, call his mother if you need to. He deserves to be shamed for this, and needs to make it right.
Secondly, don't use him as a sitter ever again. Hire someone with a good reputation as a house sitter, dog sitter, babysitter, whatever. Pay them well, at or slightly above the going rate in your area. A valued house sitter is nearly always a responsible one.
Third, I would have a serious come-to-jesus day with the dogs once you get chickens again. I only ever had to break one dog of chicken chasing, and it wasn't pretty, but it was effective. Still never trust your dogs again and fix the fence, but added layers of protection never hurt.
Fourth, well, your kids are devastated and rightly so. Kids are never too young to learn the hard truth of life-- that dogs aren't people, that chickens die, and that sometimes good people do stupid things. Just help them navigate this the best you can, and good luck!

 

[JaiBanana]

So for those who asked...no I’m not asking for compensation from the sitter. The issue is not the money it is the loss of our beautiful hens especially for our daughter. They had just begun to lay eggs and were prized pets.

We have determined the 2 fails that allowed this to occur. Probably more than 2.

The chickens escaped through a side door that was not properly secure but the main mistake is my outside fencing. It is too flimsy and I thought it would be okay mostly because I never thought anything could penetrate our coop. We have a hardware cloth apron around the coop and the run. The main point of the exterior fence was so the dogs wouldn’t be right up against the chickens or if one got out while we were feeding them there would be extra protection.

So yes I’m considering electric fencing... I want to put a different lock on the side door. Of course the pin only works if it is actually put in. Our dogs also need a lot more training. And to sleep inside which they normally do.

I added some additional more closeup photos.

As far as our sitter. I know they never meant for this to happen and it is taking restraint not to rake him through the coals. But it will do nothing but cause more pain. Right now he is too scared to face us. Our animals are ultimately our responsibility including ensuring the sitter we choose will follow direction down to the last detail.

On a different note we will be starting over with some new chicks in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we do it right this time. Thank you for all the helpful comments!

 

[Folly's place]

I'm glad to hear that things are looking up, and that you will be getting more chicks!
Do replace those latches, I think raccoons could open them too.
Mary

 

[Dona Worry]

So for those who asked...no I’m not asking for compensation from the sitter. The issue is not the money it is the loss of our beautiful hens especially for our daughter. They had just begun to lay eggs and were prized pets.

We have determined the 2 fails that allowed this to occur. Probably more than 2.

The chickens escaped through a side door that was not properly secure but the main mistake is my outside fencing. It is too flimsy and I thought it would be okay mostly because I never thought anything could penetrate our coop. We have a hardware cloth apron around the coop and the run. The main point of the exterior fence was so the dogs wouldn’t be right up against the chickens or if one got out while we were feeding them there would be extra protection.

So yes I’m considering electric fencing... I want to put a different lock on the side door. Of course the pin only works if it is actually put in. Our dogs also need a lot more training. And to sleep inside which they normally do.

I added some additional more closeup photos.

As far as our sitter. I know they never meant for this to happen and it is taking restraint not to rake him through the coals. But it will do nothing but cause more pain. Right now he is too scared to face us. Our animals are ultimately our responsibility including ensuring the sitter we choose will follow direction down to the last detail.

On a different note we will be starting over with some new chicks in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully we do it right this time. Thank you for all the helpful comments!

Raking your sitter over the coals and asking for payment will do three things: get the subject out in the open, provide him with a way to make amends (which if he is any sort of decent person he will want to do) and also give him real, tangible consequences for his negligence, which is food for him as a person.
People act like feeling guilt, emotional pain, or other negative feelings is the end of the world when it is actually a hugely important part of teaching us how to behave.
And while money won't replace your birds in your heart, it will help put up a new fence and buy you more chicks.