my poor babies!!! and i thought i was so smart!!

[cracked_egg]

My 25 chickens were in a coop in the barn (made from old horse stall, so had a bale of hay blocking bottom of door.). I thought there was no way my dog could get in there with them, I thought they were safe.... I was wrong! She killed 12 of my 25 chickens... The other 13 seemed to have escaped? One of those came back but now it is pouring and I don't have any of the other 12..... My poor babies.... I was so upset! (Still am). Ready to KILL dog, but she was just doing what she's bred to do... I just thought they were protected!) And here I was worried they'd hurt her when they're older, but thought I'd could keep them seperate until then....

 

[ZepChick]

I am so sorry this happened

I know how it feels. From my experience, nothing heals like baby chicks, however....make sure you learn from your mistake. Either keep your dog tethered or supervised, or predator proof your chick area. We buried hardware cloth in cement to prevent digging after we had a bad predator incident. Again, I am so sorry for your babies...kim

 

[cracked_egg]

Well I know it isn't the tightest coop. But I really didn't think she could get past the hay bale, but it looks like she squirmed her way in. Idk what to do w her. But for now there is my one loan 3 week old in with my not even 1 week olds up in the garage.

Can they survive outside this young? I don't see any other bodies.

 

[Lofty Dreams]

No offence if that was my dog not being worth any showing value i would deystroy

 

[cracked_egg]

Well, this dog is my best friend... I live alone, in the sticks, on 86 acres, far away from where I grew up and have friends... So she's it... She's my buddy, my entertainment, and my baby... She's better at mousing than the barn cats, and she is a house dog, not some random farm dog... She is about 12 inches high.... I didn't think and still don't, that she will do damage when they are full grown, and she was doing what she was bred to do, and she was here first.... They're just chickens, she's a dog (higher on the pet chain in my mind).... While I'm heartbroken and sad about my chickens, I did love them more than I thought I would, I will NOT destroy a dog over her doing what is in her nature to do... I will make the coop safer, I will work with the dog, and I will try again... And if I get to a point where she just keeps killing chickens, then the chickens will go and the dog will stay...

 

[WhetzelMomma]

MAN!! I'm so sorry you lost kiddos. Sounds like you'll have more than a dog problem if you live so far out. Work on getting that pen more predator proof, and hopefully the rest of your babes will start to show themselves. hugs.

 

[jenjscott]

I had the same problem My dogs were there first and it had always been their job to kill any little critters that came around. For them, chickens fell into that category. I went with strong pens and electric fencing to discourage them. After a few losses the first several months, after putting up the electric fence, there were no more losses.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Quote:
Most dogs will kill chickens. It's up to the owner to keep the chickens safe. OP thought she had done that...things happen.
I kennel my dogs when I let the chickens out to free range. I KNOW they would kill them and I don't take any chances.
I think it's unfair to destroy a dog that has killed chickens. They are driven by instinct. The drive is greater in some dogs &
in some breeds.

I never trust a dog in a room alone with a baby . . . and now with a chicken.

 

[CoffeeCow]

I have to agree, It is not the dogs fault. It was doing what it was supposed to do... hunt...
If you have any doubt about how secure the run/coop is, then you can rest assured that it is not secure at all. and sometimes when you think that it is preditor proof, you could be very very wrong...

For example:

I have a run that is attached to the side of a barn.. hard to explain in words, so I will post a pic of how it looked Before it was secured.

See how I did the chicken wire under the tin? I buried it about a foot in the ground. I had no doubt in my mind that it was secure... boy was I wrong...
I had a fox actually chew through the chicken wire, and eat 2 of my ducks that were out there. Luckily, my chickens are still inside... I have since made a small wall out of cinder blocks under the tin. I would like to see that fox chew through those.

I am sorry for your losses, but you may want to re-think your coop/run design a bit before replacing the chicks. Chickens are apparently very tasty, and can't defend themselves. It's up to us to make sure that they are safe from danger.

Hope this helps some, and don't be hard on the dog, it really is not her fault.

 

[Thundrr-Chicken]

dont blame the dog for being a dog...