My increadably bad luck and bad dogs....

[Guinea Goonie]

Unfortunately, now that your dogs have killed the chickens, they will do every thing in thier power to get to the next batch and kill again. You are past the point of no return here. Training is just about futile now unless you take EXTREME measures which most people just wont do. I wouild sugest that you do not get a second batch of chickens, eventually you will get the same result.

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

Just fyi, I have a dog who is part lab part shar pei. He killed the neighbors chicken in summer of 07. He had no concept of protecting or ignoring a chicken. To him it was just another bird to chase. I got my chickens this past summer, and it took some work, and some time, but now he is fine around them, and they free range.

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I would say; why not get rid of the dogs? Why control the impulse? Leaving a pack of dogs unattended with a brand new flock of chicks , no matter what type of fencing, is not thinking like a dog OR a chicken!

Dogs are simply PREY seeking animals, bred from the beginning of time for hunting any and all other smaller animals. And in a pack situation, much larger animals! To get angry at the dogs and consider their banishment is about as similar to getting angry at the dead chicks for running around flapping and squawking, enticing the dogs to enter and kill them.

If the dogs are 'outdoor only' dogs, I wouldn't even attempt to bring home new chicks. With the 3 dogs living on the same property, you are looking at some big bucks to dog proof the enclusure unless you do as everyone suggested and go with hot wire starting at 6" and going up from there.

You didn't give the breeds of the three dogs but some breeds are just more prey driven than others and some that are not so prey driven breeds CAN pick up bad habits from watching other dogs operate.

Also, how are you posting that you 'don't know how' the dogs got in? Isn't there plain evidence of torn down fencing? Just wondering cuz if there are no down fences then obviously they jumped over your fencing and you will have to build higher as well as stronger.

I am also sorry that 21 beings lost their lives on your property yesterday.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

I can just imagine the looks on your dogs faces...he did IT!!! I didnt do it!!! .....When we got our chickens we didnt have a run so when the chickens free ranged I had to do some training with the dogs on leash...it worked...but i never give them the chance..one of our dogs has an electric collar because he's a wanderer so we ran the wire close to the coop......Alot of good advice here....and its a live and learn situation....good luck...

 

[Jay13]

Quote:
We rescued these 3 dogs and don't think we could find someone who would take all of them. I don't know if I could handle just shooting them.

If the dogs are 'outdoor only' dogs, I wouldn't even attempt to bring home new chicks. With the 3 dogs living on the same property, you are looking at some big bucks to dog proof the enclusure unless you do as everyone suggested and go with hot wire starting at 6" and going up from there.

You didn't give the breeds of the three dogs but some breeds are just more prey driven than others and some that are not so prey driven breeds CAN pick up bad habits from watching other dogs operate.

They are german shepherds and are outdoor only dogs, their job is to help 'patrol' the yard and keep other dogs/people/critters out.

Also, how are you posting that you 'don't know how' the dogs got in? Isn't there plain evidence of torn down fencing? Just wondering cuz if there are no down fences then obviously they jumped over your fencing and you will have to build higher as well as stronger.

Most of the fencing is the field fence and it has a hot wire around it that the dogs *do* have a great deal of respect for. My question of their ability to get to the chickens is that the wire is pretty strong stuff but they went THROUGH it, big gaping hole ect at the one weak point.​

 

[whatsup chickenbutt]

Jay13
You will be able to keep chickens and dogs. You will just have to fully enclose your chickens, as Im sure you know. It does take a lot of time and energy to train the dogs to leave them alone, and with there being three, you may not be able to break through the pack mentality. So, just dont free range your chickens. You can build a very nice large coop and yard that is fully secure from your dogs, and keep both. Obviously, you under estimated your three dogs, and it is unfortunate that you lost all your chickens, but you can start again. Im not trying to be complacent about the loss of the 21 chickens, but, its not worth getting rid of your dogs over. I wouldnt get rid of my dog if he attacked a chicken again. I would just take better measures to avoid it, and now going by your dogs track record, you know how to do that. Im sure you are more attached to your dogs.
IF you put up some good fencing and THEN start working with your dogs, it will be fine. Are your dogs trainable? I mean I have two dogs. One is trainable, one is really dumb. The one that is really dumb is small and always inside and just isnt a threat to the chickens, the smart one is the shar pei lab, he is the one who killed the chicken in the first place, so we worked with him over and over in levels. But like I said, he is trainable. Sometimes you just cant get through to them. However, if your fence is strong enough and they are fully enclosed, it won't matter. Good luck.

 

[Renee]

Dang.
Sorry about the chickens. It's amazing how fast dogs can wreak havoc.
In 1966 my husband's brother started raising quail. One day when my husband got home from school, his Brittany Spaniel had neatly stacked all 24 of them outside the back sliding door. Needless to say, the two brothers were not on speaking terms for a while.
Our chickens are behind welded wire and the dog is not allowed to even LOOK at the chickens. Even the welded wire can break: when we first set it up, the dog chased a raccoon right into the new fence and a link broke.

 

[rooster0209]

You can train your dogs to leave the chickens alone, I did. My chickens and guinea's free range with my cats and dogs, no problem.

It takes alot of consistent training.

If you put your mind to it, you can do it. I am sure that alot of ppl here will be able to give you some suggestions on training. Do some searches, read up on the topics and them pm the posters with any questions.

 

[Jay13]

I appreciate all the support. I know its going to take a lot more effort on my part (and a major overhaul on the electric fence lines) but I am determined to be able to have both my dogs and my chickens (and turkeys and goats eventually) it was just heart breaking that they ALL died this afternoon, if I had even 2 or 3 left it wouldn't be so bad ( I know that sounds awful) We have just been working so hard on the fence and coop for so long. We had planned to free range the chickens in the fenced in orchard. I wonder if this will be enough considering there is no roof... will have to probably replace the hot wire on top though, just in case the dogs get a bright idea....

Thank you again for all the ideas. We do have 2 dogs that I think are semi trainable, its the third that always 'sets off' the others. Is the reason they don't come inside, she chases the cats and so the others do too even though they do 'ok' by themselves inside. Its that pack mentality that is SO hard to break. Needless to say they are in their kennel tonight, no idea when I am going to let them out again.

Jay

 

[daisy_dukers]

Wally mart sell proximity shock collars....Get within X # of ft of the transponder and the collar shocks em.. Put the transponder in the coop and set the voltage to max the first time....

I have 2 GSD's and have learned that if the 1ST lesson is a good one they tend to REALLY remember it. If you try and use the lowest voltage first and gradually increase it they will just get used to the zap.

When we got our youngest GSD she had a habbit of trying to grab things off the table when we werent watching. Our dog trainer told us to buy some mouse traps...set them up on the table and put a piece of paper over each. They went into the basement for a few minutes but put a few treats on the table. Low and behold Roxy tried to grab a treat, touched the paper which set of the trap and scared the bejeusus out of her (the paper prevents the dog from getting caught in the trap).
We havent had a problem since then and we can literally leave anything on the table without her even thinking about grabbing it...