Not sure what to do own dogs killed our chickens!!!

[Littlecimarron18]

my dogs have all gone after chickens,
Usually i tie part of the dead bird around thier collar,
and leave it there for a while,
that works pretty well.
my jack russel thou didnt really care
she had to get physically punished while caught in the act to learn
now shes fine around them

 

[Faverolle]

Quote:
First of all I am sorry to hear about you loss.

Yes, I think you are being too extreme for putting the dogs down for killing your chickens. You probably don't want to hear it but the problem is that the dogs were never trained properly to begin with and if you are not good at training dogs which unfortunately many people are not then it becomes difficult. I would either always keep the birds locked up while the dogs are outside or keep the dogs locked up or on a leash while the birds are loose.

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

Oh thats horrible and very heart breaking i know. I would say get a shock collar watch him close and train him to stay clear of your poultry.Don't let him out unless you are out and then train him to stay with you not run around.It usually helps to train them on the leash and after they are obaying well then try them off of leash , only with supervission though.
If you are dearly attached to this dog i would not rehome him .Just find a way to train him ,all the time and hard work will pay off.

 

[EggGardener]

I am sorry for your loss! My dogs, a heeler mix and a lab, both have a strong prey drive.
When we got our first chickens, we turned our bathtub into the brooder. Anytime I was in there with the chicks, I brought the dogs in with leashes on and made them lay down while I handled the chicks.
Now, when they are up in the fenced garden area where the chickens roam, they sniff at them but back away--especially after they realized the hens will pull out their whiskers with a single tug!
We have a second batch of chicks, and the dogs are much less intense this time around. If the bathroom door gets left open, the dogs will sniff the chickens but walk away.
We've desensitized them to some degree, but I have no illusions about my dogs. If they were roaming the neighborhood and came across someone else's chickens, they might just snatch one up.
Chickens are universally recognized by all omnivores as good eatin'!! Part of the battle is teaching a dog, "Yes, they might be tasty, but they're MINE!"
Again, sorry for your loss. Teaching dogs to coexist w/chickens can be done, but its not easy, and its never 100% guaranteed.

 

[rocksmart]

I just found this forum and have been reading a lot of threads. This one caught my attention and I had to write.
I grew up on a farm and have lived a good part of my life with chickens, ducks, geese, goats, pigs, cows, etc.
I have seen this cure work many times when your pet dog has killed a chicken. Simply whip the dog with the dead chicken. I don't mean to beat the dog, just make it unpleasant for him. I have never seen this fail yet. The dog won't get around a chicken again!

 

[amazondoc]

Huskies are active dogs with high drives. They want to roam, and they want to kill prey. It is hard-wired into them.

A 30 x 30 pen is really not big enough for a pair of huskies. If possible, see if you can make their yard larger. The bigger, the better.

Then, run hot wires at both the bottom and the top of their fence.

Good luck!

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Bury some cement block and heavy gravel along their dog fence and run some electric wire along the top. That should keep them in.

Personally I wouldnt have mixed chickens and dogs together in the first place- especially knowing they were sent to the pound for killing chickens. Attachment is attachment, and if youre so attached you cant get rid of them you're going to haveto be very proactive about keeping dogs and chickens apart and embrace the thought of losing chickens to the dogs once in a blue moon.

 

[ChickenPalace]

Four years ago, my response would have been different, but I discovered the Dog Whisperer.

If you have never watched him, you should. If it wasn't for him I would not have trained my three dogs to roam the pasture with 15 chickens - together. I attached his website link and an article link (excerpt from article below). The article is actually about the owners of Marley - Marley and Me the book that was made into a movie - sound familiar.

John Grogan, Author of Marley and Me, on Dog Whisperer!

After the death of Marley, the Grogans' beloved pet and star of the New York Times bestselling book Marley and Me, John Grogan and his wife Jenny felt it was time to get a new dog. Enter Gracie, a Yellow Lab, just like Marley. And just like her predecessor, she has become a terror.

Gracie simply refuses to come when called. She has free reign of their large yard in Pennsylvania, but when its time to come in, only food can grab her attention. Gracie also ate one of the Grogans� pet chickens, Liberace. The family�s chickens now have to be put in a coop, whereas before they could roam where they pleased and eat the bugs from their garden. Cesar is called in to give Gracie some lessons in respect. Tune in January 5th to find out if the story of the Grogans and Gracie finally gets a happy ending.

Their second dog killed one of their chickens and Ceasar went to their home to train the people on how to deal with the dog and chickens.

It will not be easy, but if you listen to his methods - then you can with time and effort create a little more harmony. Not to say - that you could ever leave them alone together, but you never know.

His show airs on the National Geographic Channel usually on Friday nights. If you do not have that channel, he sells his shows on DVD. I am not sure which season the owners of Marley aired, but that is the show that made me believe it was possible.

NOTE: All my dogs have a high prey drive, pit bull/lab/boston terrier mix (BELLA), Shepherd/Shar Pei mix (DOZER), and a Malamute Healer Mix (ELLIE).

Ellie the oldest who was not brought up with Ceasar' method, can be problematic during cookie time. The chickens come to steal her cookie and she does not like it. I have to give the chickens, cracked corn at the same time. Now, DOZER and BELLA share their cookies. The chickens come up to them and steal crumbs and even large pieces - they do not mind, and Dozer has always been a challenge with food agression, but not with the chickens.

Just my thoughts and some ideas on how to not give up your dog family.

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/newsletter/archive/2007/200701.html

 

[little_grey_bantam]

I'd recommend that next time you get a dog, please check the breed and make sure it is right for your family AND your flock.

As you've heard, huskies have high prey drive and they LOVE LOVE LOVE killing smaller animals and will often run off to kill them. You will need to train! I just posted this on craigslist about huskies and they need to be trained, trained, trained AND if possible, something to do (like a job) to test their intelligence and use up their energy.

I believe that every animal you get, should be given every chance to be a part of the family, because you know that when you took it in, you became part of it's "pack" it's family, in other terms. Chickens on the other hand, you are their protector, so the two sort of clashes.

Just be aware of what animals you choose to bring into your home from now on.

I honestly whole heartedly believe if you bring home an animal with the intentions of just a "work" animal, two things can happen. It can go wrong or the dog will just be a work dog (you could get attached though lol). On the other hand, if you bring home a dog with intentions of it being part of the family and paying for its stay, you will have more desire to correct the animal and keep trying then trying to rehome it.

 

[Giddyup]

I'm surprised by the variety of responses!

Dogs are dogs. The huskies have not had an opportunity to learn or be trained so it is simply not their fault. They do not deserve to be beaten or put down or even re-homed. That part is up to your family.

We were lucky getting our hounds as pups, so I started right away having them around the birds so that I could teach them proper behaviour. At 3 months they learned not to chase. However, they are HOUNDS and I would never leave them unsupervised with the birds.

The birds have their yard and the dogs have theirs. They are only mixed under direct supervision.

I would never rehome my dogs because they killed a chicken. If caught in the act they would be disciplined as an alpha dog would, scolding and a short separation.

If it were a problem dog (as my friends' is), they simply cannot have chickens unless in a very secure pen, or, a very secure pen for the dog when outside.

Killing birds does not make it a vicious animal, only one that has drive and needs to be supervised PROPERLY.

I am sorry you lost your chickens and I'm sure you guys will find an answer for keeping them separated.