MY WORST FEAR CAME TRUE!!

[bwalden]

Do you know what barrel bolts are? I have them vertically and horizontally on each door, in addition to spring loaded hook-and-eye gate latches on my pop doors; at least, the one that doesn't slide shut and lock from the inside. One even has a bar across in in addition to the lock. NO dog can open that, no raccoon can open that unless he has a college degree and the strength of a bear.

If a dog could open it, it was very, very weak. A dog would literally have to chew through the wooden door to get into my coops and we keep baby monitors in the coops so we'd hear a commotion.

Roaming dogs are a problem, however, your coop should be safe when it's closed up. Work on that.

I have barrel bolts on them now. I did have spring loaded hook & eye latches on them (the ones the dogs got open). I am beefing up my latches and adding probably more than I thought I would need. Maybe it will be enough. Thanks for the advice.

 

[CorinneP]

I am sure you will be making changes but that doesnt stop the pain your Child is going through I am soo Sorry this happened to your family ~

 

[bucky52]

so sorry for your loss.i keep my chickens under lock&key,because we have small kids in the neighborhood.and no i have not lost any chicken.that maybe because we have two strands of hotwire
around the house and run.i would recommend the electric wire .those dogs or whatever took your chicks put their wet noses on that wire.will probably won't stay around long.and they do have solar if you don't have electricity in your coop.

 

[speckledhen]

I have barrel bolts on them now. I did have spring loaded hook & eye latches on them (the ones the dogs got open). I am beefing up my latches and adding probably more than I thought I would need. Maybe it will be enough. Thanks for the advice.

Are you sure it was dogs? Dogs cannot open a hook and eye latch that is spring loaded without evidence of chewing and slobber. A raccoon can, however. I wouldn't rely on those alone, for sure.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I have the barrel bolts that speckledhen was talking about but I also have hot wire around the run/coop since a determined dog can do a lot of damage trying to get in. A dog like that needs a good shock right on his nose. Very effective, you should hear the sound a dog makes when he sticks his nose on that wire. They leave and have no desire to do it again. It keeps a lot of other nosey critters away too.

I'm very, very sorry your son lost his chicks. My boy was 9 too when I got him his first chicks.

Will animal control in your area not come out even for stray dogs that are after livestock? We are rural too but our a/c will come for dogs that are causing a problem or are otherwise aggressive.

 

[bwalden]

I think i'm going to invest in a electric fence. I have put heavier latches on the coop now I just need to fortify the run.

 

[bwalden]

Are you sure it was dogs? Dogs cannot open a hook and eye latch that is spring loaded without evidence of chewing and slobber. A raccoon can, however. I wouldn't rely on those alone, for sure.

I'm not 100% sure it was dogs. But i've never seen a raccoon around my place. These dogs however, are almost always present. I've put heavier latches and snaps on the latches. I dont think a raccoon, dog or any other 4 legged creature will be getting these open.

 

[speckledhen]

You don't see raccoons unless you hang out quietly at 2-4 a.m., but they're there, all over. Everyone has raccoons, whether they know it or not. You're in Arkansas, so yep, you got 'em, trust me!

 

[moetrout]

A dead dog never comes back to attack again.

 

[suezqz_64]

A dead dog never comes back to attack again.

I agree with this person. Not to sound cruel but if these dogs are wreaking mayhem on your property there's no telling what they would do to a child. And they could be a potential source of rabies if they are interacting unchecked with the wildlife. I have to believe if someone is letting their dogs run like that they probably don't take very good care of them otherwise. So sorry for your losses.