Our Babies Died a Terrible Death

[kmart60]

I'm sorry for your loss and horrified by what you must have experienced. They were your whole flock, weren't they? I've only been a chookie mum for a month, but I'd be devastated to lose my girls, especially in such a horrible manner.
I do hope you can recover from this, reinforce your chicken habitat, and start again. Chicken soup may be good for the soul, but living chickens bring joy to heart and mind!

 

[McChooky]

Hi everyone,
It is with a very heavy heart, that we lost our 6 leghorns to a very aggressive dog. The dog was so aggressive that he literally tore the chicken wire out in order to get to our hens. Our hens didn't stand a chance.
I shot the dog and the owner was so out raged he threatened me and my wife. No concern for my babies.
He will no longer be a menace(the dog). I put him away.
By the way, he was not interested in what his dog did as I tried to show him. He wouldn't even look!
Saluda Chickens, RIP!

Sorry for your loss but unfortunately many dog owners are irresponsible and why millions of unwanted pets are put down every year.My advise is to not be discouraged by the actions of others and be the better person.Chicken wire won't protect chickens from most predators it only slows the down so please put up hardware cloth and try to use welded or reinforced wire over top of it. (Coons can reach right thru chicken wire and dismember their heads.)I rescued a pit bull once that chewed thru the metal siding on my mobile home and did a $1000 damage before I ever got her tied up.I also had big vet bill because she cut an artery doing it. I built a chain link kennel for her but she eventually chewed it to pieces so we had to put up a rubber barrier along the sides to keep her in. I hadn't had her long before she hung herself climbing up and over the side of the kennel trying to get out.(She was a registered dangerous dog that couldn't be loose under any circumstances)If you don't use better fencing your chickens won't be safe from dog attacks as they can rip that stuff to pieces when they're motivated.I recommend hardware cloth 1/2"

 

[Vacman]

Sorry for your loss and to some degree for the dog owner's loss. It wasn't really the dog's fault but the fault of the irresponsible owner who didn't contain his dog. Being both a chicken, dog, & cat owner, I wouldn't want any of them killed. This does point out a good lesson though...don't trust chickenwire fencing to keep your flock safe. Almost everything but chickens can get through it. I have an electric net fence which has taught my German Shepherd a lesson or two.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Guess what? The dog owner had me arrested for animal cruelty. Now I have to hire an attorney to fight for my rights. Can you believe this?
Saluda Chickens

I keep trying to find words to reply to this, but cant think of any. Only one question: Where do you reside, where its ok for another to come on your property and destroy it, & you have no right to defend yourself? (Yes i completely understand your chickens meant much more than mere "property" to you.). I'm aghast, & very sorry.

 

[50-45-1]

There is a mentality that some folks have that say Hey, I am in the country, and my dog deserves freedom.
Well I am in a country setting with close to 100 acres. I free range my chickens and have three guardian dogs. MY DOGS are trained to stay in the yard and immediate house barn and outbuildings area, and they only stray to the back forty when chasing off preditors.
A loose chicken killing dog will meet with lots of resistance here.
I usually fire a warning shot the first time and that has been sufficient a couple times.
My neighbor quarter mile away thinks his beagle should freely roam and hunt . It has shown up to chase our chickens one time, at which our german shepherd pinned it to the ground with a death grip on its neck. We collected the dog back to the neighbor with a warning" keep it home because next time we are shooting it" two weeks later that beagle was killed being hit by a car. His next beagle was lost in the woods and was probably eaten by coyotes. He now has a third beagle and I heard it had something treed in our woods last week. more trouble to come unfortunately.
This guy will continue to burn through beagles because he refuses to change his mindset.
i Love my dogs enough to spend time training and watching them. I like my chickens too, and I have not put all this time and effort into this to have some irresponsible dog owner distroy them and then say" Oh well, dogs will be dogs, that's their nature. Sorry about your luck".
Loose dogs get into all kinds of trouble of every sort. its ultimately the dog owners responsiblity.

 

[SaludaChicken]

I keep trying to find words to reply to this, but cant think of any. Only one question: Where do you reside, where its ok for another to come on your property and destroy it, & you have no right to defend yourself? (Yes i completely understand your chickens meant much more than mere "property" to you.). I'm aghast, & very sorry.

Thanks for your comments. I live in Saluda county, South Carolina. Most of my neighbors cannot believe this is happening. This is so unnecessary and wrong. The dog was a nuisance in the community and some of the older folks are afraid to come out when this dog was around. He was large and aggressive.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Thanks for your comments. I live in Saluda county, South Carolina. Most of my neighbors cannot believe this is happening. This is so unnecessary and wrong. The dog was a nuisance in the community and some of the older folks are afraid to come out when this dog was around. He was large and aggressive.

I cant believe it either. Were the "older folks" afraid of the dog because the dog roamed off-leash? Hopefully your neighbors will rally around you and you can quickly get the charges dropped without too much expense. And i also hope you dont give up on having chickens. Your loss was tragic, & this pours salt on the wound.

 

[SaludaChicken]

There is a mentality that some folks have that say Hey, I am in the country, and my dog deserves freedom.
Well I am in a country setting with close to 100 acres. I free range my chickens and have three guardian dogs. MY DOGS are trained to stay in the yard and immediate house barn and outbuildings area, and they only stray to the back forty when chasing off preditors.
A loose chicken killing dog will meet with lots of resistance here.
I usually fire a warning shot the first time and that has been sufficient a couple times.
My neighbor quarter mile away thinks his beagle should freely roam and hunt . It has shown up to chase our chickens one time, at which our german shepherd pinned it to the ground with a death grip on its neck. We collected the dog back to the neighbor with a warning" keep it home because next time we are shooting it" two weeks later that beagle was killed being hit by a car. His next beagle was lost in the woods and was probably eaten by coyotes. He now has a third beagle and I heard it had something treed in our woods last week. more trouble to come unfortunately.
This guy will continue to burn through beagles because he refuses to change his mindset.
i Love my dogs enough to spend time training and watching them. I like my chickens too, and I have not put all this time and effort into this to have some irresponsible dog owner distroy them and then say" Oh well, dogs will be dogs, that's their nature. Sorry about your luck".
Loose dogs get into all kinds of trouble of every sort. its ultimately the dog owners responsiblity.

Thank you for your insight 50-45-1. I am not fortunate enough to have that big a space, but my chicks are in a coop/pen with most of the yard protected with heavy gauged wire, except for several places. This dog is aggressive and waited for us to leave as he tried the day before to get to them and my wife had to throw sticks at him, with him trying to jump on my wife. When the owner came to get his dead dog(at least I thought he was dead), all he could do was scream and tell me I shot his dog. He didn't even acknowledge my massacred birds. He said they were just chickens.
Saluda Chickens

 

[oldhen2345]

Hi everyone,
It is with a very heavy heart, that we lost our 6 leghorns to a very aggressive dog. The dog was so aggressive that he literally tore the chicken wire out in order to get to our hens. Our hens didn't stand a chance.
I shot the dog and the owner was so out raged he threatened me and my wife. No concern for my babies.
He will no longer be a menace(the dog). I put him away.
By the way, he was not interested in what his dog did as I tried to show him. He wouldn't even look!
Saluda Chickens, RIP!

S sorry for your loss. Glad you put the dog down.

 

[SaludaChicken]

I'd be adding an electric fence before you and your neighbor fall out over the chickens because it'll eventually show up without her.they always do.

Guess what? The dog owner had me arrested for animal cruelty. Now I have to hire an attorney to fight for my rights. Can you believe this?
Saluda Chickens