Neighbor Dogs

[KLEChickens]

Hi All,

So I started out with 9 hens and had them free ranging 10AM-3PM. I work remote and would go out and let them out when the last neighbor left for work and then would put them back in before the neighbors got home.

Well a couple weeks ago a neighbor left for out of town and had a house sitter who just let the dogs run rampant through the neighborhood and 2 of my chickens were killed. That was taken care of, dealt with the neighbors and all and their dogs haven't been on our property since.

But how do you get past that to let them out again? My other girls are so eager to come out again, but I'm too scared. I went and got a rooster the next day for my girls so I have some sort of warning/protection and now I'm out there checking on them every 30 mins and look out the window even more frequently, and they're locked in their run.

 

[NatJ]

But how do you get past that to let them out again?

Short of just fencing your entire yard with something dog-proof, I suppose the only way would be to let the chickens out when you are outside with them, and gradually see if you become mentally able to let them out more.

Since you said you work remotely, maybe you could work from outdoors when the weather is nice? Or just work with your window open (nice weather only) so you can hear right away if anything happens.

 

[LaFleche]

Hi All,

So I started out with 9 hens and had them free ranging 10AM-3PM. I work remote and would go out and let them out when the last neighbor left for work and then would put them back in before the neighbors got home.

Well a couple weeks ago a neighbor left for out of town and had a house sitter who just let the dogs run rampant through the neighborhood and 2 of my chickens were killed. That was taken care of, dealt with the neighbors and all and their dogs haven't been on our property since.

But how do you get past that to let them out again? My other girls are so eager to come out again, but I'm too scared. I went and got a rooster the next day for my girls so I have some sort of warning/protection and now I'm out there checking on them every 30 mins and look out the window even more frequently, and they're locked in their run.

Electric poultry fencing would keep the dogs out.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

A good rooster will alarm if he thinks the hens are in danger. I know when I had a rooster, and we free ranged the front yard, he would start herding the girls toward the back gate and yelling "Hawk, Hawk" whenever he saw a dog. Then go back to face down the dog if necessary. I had a new hen one winter who fell into my swimming pool and the rooster started yelling "Hawk,Hawk" to save the hen.
If your rooster appears to be a protective of his girls I would slowly allow the flock to free range again, with an open ear and watchful eye. (maybe a large stick)

 

[Birdsonghill]

In my area, dogs are a constant threat. But no more so than the dozens of large Hawks, owls or minks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats ,feral cats and all other chicken loving critters! My neighbors, who try free ranging chickens, all end in failure. The losses are constant, sometimes heavy and eventually, devastating. When I lived in the city, I got away with letting my chickens roam my fenced yard with only a few predations over several years. Here, I have lost thousands of dollars worth of sheep and goats to dogs and coyotes before I got out of that! I have seldom seen a chicken free ranged in my neighborhood live past two years and they were the lucky ones! I also love nature and the wild animals and birds are important and a natural part of the environment! I had a choice, to shoot, trap, poison and threaten all the chicken loving animals and my dog/cat owning neighbors(I love and own dogs too!) or keep my chickens penned up safely! I chose the later. Covered runs are a necessity in many areas. However, narrow,(less than 10-12 feet wide) uncovered runs with tall 5-6 ft. high sides and a couple strands of electric wire, can be OK for some extra day space, if you place a wire with fluttering tapes/rags every 25 feet or so across the top. Predator large birds will usually not attack/land in such an area. I have seen minks get in a large confinement house locally and kill more than 60 birds a night, until we got all the holes patched up! They only ate a few choice organs from a couple of the birds. I gave my experienced neighbors 10 pullets some years ago, they had all been eaten before the end of the first year, with a solid coop, but free range in the daytime. For me, free range is not a viable option, chicken tractors are only safe in the daytime, with close observation or a guard dog and the birds must be transferred every night back into the safe coop with covered and secured run. Good luck and best wishes keeping your flock safe!

 

[KLEChickens]

Short of just fencing your entire yard with something dog-proof, I suppose the only way would be to let the chickens out when you are outside with them, and gradually see if you become mentally able to let them out more.

Since you said you work remotely, maybe you could work from outdoors when the weather is nice? Or just work with your window open (nice weather only) so you can hear right away if anything happens.

Yeah we have 2.5 acres so fencing isn't an affordable option. Maybe they'll just have to suck it up until I can sit outside, we live in MN so right now isn't an option.

 

[KLEChickens]

In my area, dogs are a constant threat. But no more so than the dozens of large Hawks, owls or minks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats ,feral cats and all other chicken loving critters! My neighbors, who try free ranging chickens, all end in failure. The losses are constant, sometimes heavy and eventually, devastating. When I lived in the city, I got away with letting my chickens roam my fenced yard with only a few predations over several years. Here, I have lost thousands of dollars worth of sheep and goats to dogs and coyotes before I got out of that! I have seldom seen a chicken free ranged in my neighborhood live past two years and they were the lucky ones! I also love nature and the wild animals and birds are important and a natural part of the environment! I had a choice, to shoot, trap, poison and threaten all the chicken loving animals and my dog/cat owning neighbors(I love and own dogs too!) or keep my chickens penned up safely! I chose the later. Covered runs are a necessity in many areas. However, narrow,(less than 10-12 feet wide) uncovered runs with tall 5-6 ft. high sides and a couple strands of electric wire, can be OK for some extra day space, if you place a wire with fluttering tapes/rags every 25 feet or so across the top. Predator large birds will usually not attack/land in such an area. I have seen minks get in a large confinement house locally and kill more than 60 birds a night, until we got all the holes patched up! They only ate a few choice organs from a couple of the birds. I gave my experienced neighbors 10 pullets some years ago, they had all been eaten before the end of the first year, with a solid coop, but free range in the daytime. For me, free range is not a viable option, chicken tractors are only safe in the daytime, with close observation or a guard dog and the birds must be transferred every night back into the safe coop with covered and secured run. Good luck and best wishes keeping your flock safe!

Yeah they're run is 16x16x12 and covered with chicken wire. So their run is secure as we have wire going 2 feet under and 2 feet out for any diggers. I just feel bad that they got used to coming out and now they're locked up. I do give them lots of stuff to do with hanging veggies and hiding treats and dirt baths. Maybe they'll have to wait until spring when I can sit out there with them. I'd rather them safe then dead!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Where I live the neighborhood dogs can often be a concern. I try to keep mine in a run of some sort, but depending on the dog, even that's not safe enough. Whenever there's a dog loose, I go outside and lock the birds up in their coop, and try to sho off the dog. If the dog doesn't leave or keeps being a problem, the animal control gets called. As far as free-ranging the hens, I'm usually out there with them looking out for danger. It's ok to keep your chickens in a safe run while you're not out there with them. If you want to let them free-range while you're inside, I'd have a window open or something so you can listen to what's happening out there.
A rooster is good if you have the right one. One winter I was letting my hens all free-range with two of my roosters. My next door neighbor's dog came over and started attracting the flock. The stronger, bigger rooster (whose flock was attacked) of the two ran away and got lost when the dog came and the other rooster (a Silkie) stuck with his hens and went into shock over the whole thing. Then, on another time, I had a different rooster who gifted a dog with eight stitches whereas he only had a slightly injured wing. So as you can see, it depends on the rooster. Sometimes experience is a big thing with them.