My own dog, in my own house!

[amyc]

I've read a lot on BYC, but this is the first time I've posted. I'm still so upset I can't sleep....

I had 10 little chicks in my brooder, in a spare bedroom and have always been VERY careful about the four dogs I have. My oldest, a pit mix, is really interested in the chicks, but the other dogs could seem to care less.

Well today I made a new brooder out of carboard boxes, and had the kids and my dad in the room to check it out. We left and went down to the basement, and when I came back upstairs I heard an awful squawk coming from the bedroom. I went in to find that my dacshund had killed all but one of the babies.

The worst part is, the door was shut, so when I left to go to the basement I must have locked him in there without noticing. I feel so guilty. I can't blame the dog, its what he was bred to do - and I'm the one who's supposed to be capable of intelligent thinking.

So now my big flock is down to just one, a little wynadotte bantam who's about one week old. The only reason she survived is because she doesn't run when she's scared, she just hides in a corner.

I've spent all night consoling the kids and the little wynadotte, I just needed to vent this out a little bit.

 

[Tala]

Youch!

I nearly did the same thing. I was putting zip ties on two of my pullets because they look the SAME, and I left one alone in a box while I was concentrating on the other one.
Turned around and my cat was sitting in the box with it, staring. I was like

But the cats have been generally gentle with the chicks so far, interested yes, but when they paw at them their claws are still in.
I just gently push their paws away, looking is OK but pawing is not. Apparently it's working well-enough that they aren't gone in 2 seconds if I slip up.

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

I'm so sorry! I hope the one little survivor stays warm and isn't too lonely.

I have dogs, too, so I know they can sneak in the room really fast sometimes and you won't even notice them. Our problem here is a very sneaky cat who is curious about the chicks.

 

[ginasc]

Wow,
What a nightmare!

I am so sorry for your loss. I have dogs too, and I worry they
will mess with the chicks (who are only 4 weeks old).

That really is sad. Bet you look at that dog and think ....

But you love your dogs and your chickens and the dog was just
being his dog self.

Again, sorry.

One of my chicks died today of unknown causes. Its now 1AM and I'm about to go check on them again.

They give such joy and cause so much pain ...


You take care.

 

[amyc]

I moved the lone survivor into a smaller brooder box with a fuzzy stuffed animal and a mirror, so she's at least got inanimate objects to keep her busy. Going to run to TSC tomorrow morning and see if they have any chicks left to keep her company. Plus I'm going back to the breeder that I got her from (and two of her brooder-mates) to pick up a couple more.

The dacshund is just so darn small, I think he was probably hiding under the bed. My other dogs (all 60+ pounds) are easy to keep track of.

I'm all distraught and I only had them for a week - I can't imagine what it would be like if they were older and I was even more attached! My 10 year old son cried for half the night.

(I will be doubling my efforts on predator protection on my work-in-progress coop - I WILL NOT go through this again)

 

[Tala]

could you put a baby gate on that doorway and not let the dogs in that room AT ALL so that you can step over the gate and don't have to worry about them slipping in underfoot.
Seems like a good idea to me, but dunno if it would work for your household.

 

[vickie2133]

I'm sorry for your loss. I felt the same way just this past week. I lost a young pullet all because my shephard who doen't bother the larger chickens, just cant' stand the noise of younger ones, was tied too close to where the chicks like to free range. My own fault, and that makes it feel worse.

 

[patyrdz]

Welcome to BYC. I am sorry about your loss! I know you can get attached very fast to these fuzzy butts! Give your son a big hug! And hugs to you too!

 

[emilyweck]

Oh no! Don't you even question yourself. You did the best you could and we are all human. I'm sure you're trying to level yourself between your feelings and your childrens' feelings, but one hard thing for us animal lovers to remember is that dogs are animals. They are instinctive and react. We can't always teach otherwise. I'm sorry for your loss. Don't beat yourself up!

 

[amyc]

I may have to invest in another gate - even though that dog is low to the ground, he can actually jump the "standard" sized baby gates.

And it would keep the kids out if they didn't have my permission (we had very strict rules about the kids going in by the birds to minimize problems with the dogs - leave it to mom to be the one to mess it up)