My very Bad dogs!! What would you Do?

[jruner]

My Lab and Border Collie got out of their kennel when my wife and I where gone during the day. They killed six out of seven of our Buff Orpingtons one is recovering slowly. My dogs have been kept away from my chickens but they got out of the kennel and worked together to get into the coop. We came home to a seen out of horror movie. What would you do? I am afraid I will have to crate my dogs if I cant be home with them to protect my remaineing hen. They used to ingnore the chickens but now what?

John Runer
Challis, Idaho

 

[davidb]

If a dog ever tastes chicken they will want more, If you like your dogs build a good pen they cant get out of while your away, the only other option is to git rid of them

 

[Overeasyplz]

Hello Idaho! Sorry for your loss. Need a better dog kennel or an electric guard around your chicken pen!

 

[cafarmgirl]

My dogs are also untrustworthy with my chickens as are many dogs. I keep the chickens in a secure run when I'm not around, there is hardware cloth buried around the outside of the run to prevent dig under as well as a few strands of hot wire near ground level to zap them when they do their cursory sniff around. I've had no problems and this also deters a lot of other predators.

 

[farmerwnb]

Two words: Elactric fence. $100 is a great piece of mind and it double as deterent for other predators. Sorry about your loss. I lost 15 BR to my three dogs. One small investment later and no more predation problems. Craigslist is a good place to find a used fence charger and local feed store for the other parts. Don't let this stop you from trying again. Good luck.

 

[JestersEye]

I'm sorry for your loss, and I know I would be heartbroken if something like that happened to me.

I have always been lucky enough to have very trustworthy dogs (and cats, for that matter). Not sure how I manage it... but I make sure to introduce all our pets to each other under close supervision, as early as possible. It just seems that they understand what I expect of them, and it has always worked out for me. My dogs were just out with me this morning, INSIDE the chicken coop with the birds, and they were all okay with this. They were full grown when we got our chickens, btw, so it IS possible to train dogs even after they grow out of their puppyhood.

 

[eggchel]

Im sorry that you lost some of your hens. I think that the advise from cafarmgirl and others to put an electric hot wire around the chicken pen is a good one.

 

[Lensters]

It is so hard to determine without knowing the dogs. I have a lab/border collie cross that ignores the chickens unless I tell him to herd them or they start eating out of his food bowl. However, the neighbor's Mastiffs (not normally birdy dogs) think that my chickens are the greatest toys ever invented. He plans to raise some chickens and thinks that tying a dead one to their collars will stop the bad behavior. I've seen that work with some dogs but I'm afraid these two would chew the chicken of the other one's collar long before they became the smelly deterrents that they were meant to be. I think that unless you really know how to train your dogs that beefing up the kennel and the chicken run are the way to go. Electric fences are especially effective with dogs.

 

[mediazeal]

You love your dogs and you love your chickens
Keep them both but strengthen the fences between them and electric fence around the chicken coop.
It's the easiest way to keep the peace.
sorry for your loss

 

[KKatknap]

Electric wire top & bottom around a good existing fence is a great deterrant for dogs. Might not be a bad idea around both the dog yard and the chicken pen.

Our border/aussie accidentally tapped the hot wire with his nose one time and took off. We thought we'd lost him. Found him 3 hours later trying to figure out how to get back without crossing any fences - hot or otherwise. Poor dog still won't touch any kind of fence.

I am so sorry for your loss. I would be horrified to come home to that.