No good deed goes unpunished.....

[critterkeeper25]

I want to say that I am sorry to hear about the loss of your birds. We use to have a chocolate lab that was hard headed and a royal pain in the butt! He died of old age several years ago, but if he was alive today our chickens wouldn't stand a chance around him. He was all about the hunt and his nose came before anything we would tell/ask of him. I don't think that we would have EVER been able to train him to stay away from the chickens. He would have figured out a way to get to them no matter where they were. But..that's the nature of that breed of dog. That's what they are raised to do. Would I have been so totally furious at him if he had killed my birds? !@#% YEAH! Would have I seems irrational? !@#$% YEAH! We are all different. We all handle life's bumps differently. I'm an emotional creature. People would probably say the same things about me. I'd get my feelings hurt, stay away from here for a while. Then come back later when I felt better. I think that it is easier to judge people and say things about them when you can't look them in the eye.

 

[ChickenPox]

Thanks for the constructive posts, and the apology. I honestly wasn't myself yesterday and I am FAR from a person who maintains a "victim" mentality. (Could you point out where I am ALWAYS posting "victimized" threads? I am curious to see what you are talking about. Because I can assure you, total stranger, your judgement of my integrity is WAY off.)

But that's beside the point! LOL! Some people take the "I don't sugar coat" stance as a way to just come off as a bully, and that doesn't sit well with me. Whether it's towards me or towards others. I learned a long time ago that being CONSTRUCTIVE with criticism goes much farther with someone. All being a bully does is make others defensive and shuts them down to HEARING what you have to say. Valid points were made in every single post of this thread, my skin just happened to be thin yesterday. That was MY fault.

It's tougher today. I am more myself today. A dead chicken is FAR from the only problem in my life at the moment. And I'm trying to get back on track with many things. We are all fighting our own private battles, sometimes we all need remember that. I am blessed. I have a job. A couple of great kids. A loving BF. And a few birds, ponies, pups and kits that bring me happiness.

It's a better day.

 

[tawana]

Hello there, after reading your post I had to reply to it ,as I myself just went through this this past weekend.

2 monthes ago we bought 4 rhode island reds and 2 black sex links that were 2 weeks old when we got them. 2 days later we bought 2 white leghorn pullets that were 24 weeks old, that were laying every day their names were( april and miaugie ) we raised them little birds like our babies and also the older pullets were well trained to do tricks for treats.

we have lived in the hobby farm setting 3 monthes now,so were new at raising birds as pets.

prior to getting the birds , we have had a german shephard for about 5 monthes who was very loyal and showed no interest at all in the birds, though he did not like being left home, when we had to go out, we would leave him on the porch with the door closed, though sometimes he would chew through it to get outside but never bothered the birds, ever!

he watched us clean the pen every night and then close it up and also open the barn every morning, he also watched us handle the birds and talk to them and give them treats, though he also got treats as well.

last thursday we came home after being gone all day, my pullets ( leghorn girls were missing) i called them and called them, they never came!

it was clear the dog had got off the porch( through a hole he tore through) then went to the coop, tore apart the fance and got in to get my birds, but i had no proof except feathers laying in the yard as when we got home, he was on the porch. so at this point, i didnt have proof.. oh i should mention that on the porch there were little feathers,though no sign of the birds).

i was so sad, but had no clear proof he did it " until" the next day hubby and i were in the yard and found a foot of one of the girls and all the large wing feathers left over laying there and the dog chewing on one of the feathers, how we didnt see them the night before i dont understand but mabye we were in to much shock to really see clearly.

he never showed any signs of aggression to the birds ever.

then the next day hubby and i went out for 2 hours.

this time we put the dog on the porch and put tires in front of the hole where he got out of there before. so we thought it would be ok.

only to come home to,, the tires moved" the fence ripped through in the barn and now seeing a blood bath all over the yard all my birds laying everywhere ,with 2 of the babies still alive though suffering..( they had to be shot ) and one bird missing"

Again" the dog was on the porch, when we came home, though that dog was smart enough he thought" to go kill my birds and then get back to the porch so we didnt think it was him.

to our amazment" we were sitting at the kitchnen and all the sudden out of no where comes running this little bird " her name is rusty" 12 weeks old.( one of the babies we had) she had managed to run into the bushes somehow and go un noticed we figure and then got brave to come out.

well the dog was on the porch and must of heard her cluck" so he was in hot pursuit , trying to get her and kill her and this time" we seen it".. she was smart enough to run under the car and we ran out screaming to tell the dog ,, stop!! we rescued that little baby girl.. though how she got away and hid like that for 2 hours i have no idea.

having to pick up the birds as they laid lifeless and bleeding ,was heartbreaking and looking at the barn now is so hard.

the next day we posted a ad on a website and sold the dog,as we couldnt look at him the same anymore after what he did.

if it has been a new situation for him i would be probably a bit more understanding, though he watched the birds grow up for 2 months and i know he did it out of jealousy , it hurts to think of what them birds went through and i struggle with it daily, looking outside around the yard.

so the other day after keeping "rusty enclosed for 2 days to reduce her stress, i went to the barn and she seemed so sad, clucking and depressed that all her friends were gone, so i went and bought 2 rhode island reds that are 18 weeks old and put them in with her" right away she perked up and was wanting to see who they were, though so far so good,, no problems with the 3 blending together . its just me though " i cant look at these birds the same" im still so hurt over what happened and never cried so hard in my life, as i did that terrible day.

i dont know if she knows they are not the ones she was raised with, but i do know she is happy to have company.

though how do i put this behind me,, i have no idea.. as it just dont feel the same here now..

Any suggestions??? i would appreciate any advice.

 

[ChickenPox]

Tawana, I am so sorry you lost your birds. Smart dogs can be sneaky. And sometimes we want to believe the best out of our pets. One of my current dogs (mine, not the foster) killed a baby when we first got him. But he has been worked with and trained and we feel like we can trust him now. I've had other dogs in the past that killed at first, but later learned to NOT. Our other dog has never showed an interest from day one, and he is a herding breed mix. Fortunately, he is not the brightest bulb in the box, and I am thankful for his lack of "constant stimulation" need. He is also older and has wonky hips, which may have something to do with it.

There is nothing wrong with re-homing, as long as you do it correctly. Although the example given in this thread earlier (family dog of 10 years being rehomed) is not what I would consider "correct," it's not my place to judge. It seems like you guys really just didn't have the time or expertise to handle the Shepherd and moved him on to someone who was willing to try. That is commendable, much better than condeming him to a life in a crate or on a chain. I know that we don't have the time right now to train our foster dog, and I refuse to keep one in a 10x10 kennel for its life. It may work for others, but it's not the way I want to have a dog. They are like members of our family, and I don't keep grandma in a box. LOL!

Time will help with the hurt. Accept your part, and FORGIVE yourself. We all have to learn the hard way sometimes. I'm glad you still have Rusty, and that she has new friends.

 

[tawana]

Thank you for your kind words, and God bless ya! I agree as far as the rehoming part goes as well , as if we had had that dog for a long time it would of been different, but we got him at 5 monthes old and hes only 10 monthes old now. The guy that came to adopt him, has a wife in a wheel chair that has been begging for a dog ,for a companion to have while he works during the day. I wish them all the best as i know it was in his best interest to have the companions that he needs for his personality.

As far my my chickens go, well rusty" has adopted well to her new friends in the last 3 days, and she has also been more friendlier with us all well. A few days ago she started jumping on hubbys lap when he kneels down in the barn to talk with her, and also climbs on his shoulder which is a good thing as the other two pullets i got for her, are watching this behavior and are not as timid, mabye they see were trustworthy? I dont know, but i do know that they love having dandelions leafs as treats... its so cute" they all the sudden after being here 3 days, look for us when we come outside so its still a work in progress and will take time to heal ,though i have 'hope".

 

[ChickenPox]

Keep your hope, it's the only way to get through life sometimes! Give yourself your bad days (goodness knows yesterday was one of mine!) but keep moving forward. Chickens are heartbreaking and rewarding, hard work, but WORTH IT.

 

[SavageDestiny]

I still don't see any mention of the chickens' run or coop being reinforced to prevent this from happening again. As multiple people have said, if a dog can get in to kill the chickens, so can everything else.

 

[critterkeeper25]

I think that you have already stressed that point. No need to beat a dead horse.

 

[Papas Chickens]

I think that you have already stressed that point. No need to beat a dead horse.

But the horse wont run lol j/k.

 

[critterkeeper25]

LOL! Good one!