Our first predators and it's eye opening.

[drdoct]

Came home Friday to a dead rooster and a dead 7 mth old hen and 2 missing hens. Looked on my cameras and found out someone's 2 dogs were wilding on my chickens. 4 out of 12 lost. The worst is my poor rooster. He was awful and always having to watch him to keep from getting attacked. But video showed him running and fighting 2 dogs for over an hour. He valiantly did all he could to protect his girls. It sucks because after 1.5 yrs of free ranging them, now I have to come up with a way to protect them on my property because some dog owner can't control their dogs.

So every hour I'm at home, I'm strapped and waiting on these dogs to come back for more. Spent all weekend trying to get them a safer place in a hot fence. Hopefully one of the 4 chicks we have is a Cockrell.

 

[nuthatched]

I'd put the video up on your local group Facebook to see if anyone knows who they belong to. The owners of dead dogs don't pay for dead chickens.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Yeah but dead dogs don't come back to kill more chickens. People of the mind set that let their dogs wander are not of the ilk to pay for the wrongs the dog did.

Where I grew up the town constable was mainly animal control. As dogs packed up to cause trouble he'd get notified and drive to that field to take them out. If you start with the slowest dog and work up the line you won't have to lead the shot as much.

 

[laboroflove]

Oh man, I’m so sorry! I personally think the owners should be aware what their dogs are doing. Otherwise they may think their dogs just ran off and may get more and the cycle starts all over again. Try to get them to replace the chickens you lost (hatcheries sell pullets for $125 that I’ve seen, maybe that will teach them??). If they don’t comply with controlling their dogs let them know the consequences! No more doggies. I hate this for you.

 

[Perris]

Came home Friday to a dead rooster and a dead 7 mth old hen and 2 missing hens. Looked on my cameras and found out someone's 2 dogs were wilding on my chickens. 4 out of 12 lost. The worst is my poor rooster. He was awful and always having to watch him to keep from getting attacked. But video showed him running and fighting 2 dogs for over an hour. He valiantly did all he could to protect his girls. It sucks because after 1.5 yrs of free ranging them, now I have to come up with a way to protect them on my property because some dog owner can't control their dogs.

So every hour I'm at home, I'm strapped and waiting on these dogs to come back for more. Spent all weekend trying to get them a safer place in a hot fence. Hopefully one of the 4 chicks we have is a Cockrell.

You have my sympathies, having suffered similar trauma here with dogs and foxes. From that experience, I suggest you don't give up on the two missing hens, as they may return in a day or two or three. And in the horror of the losses, don't lose sight of the fact that at least 66%, and maybe 80%, of your flock evaded the predators; you don't have to confine them to save them. A free ranging flock gets better at it with every attack, as they gain experience, and luck and natural selection work on their individual choices. Mine are in their 6th year of free ranging now, and we lost none, not even a single chick, to predation last year. It helps to have multiple roosters I think (we have 5 in flock of 20).

 

[laboroflove]

You have my sympathies, having suffered similar trauma here with dogs and foxes. From that experience, I suggest you don't give up on the two missing hens, as they may return in a day or two or three. And in the horror of the losses, don't lose sight of the fact that at least 66%, and maybe 80%, of your flock evaded the predators; you don't have to confine them to save them. A free ranging flock gets better at it with every attack, as they gain experience, and luck and natural selection work on their individual choices. Mine are in their 6th year of free ranging now, and we lost none, not even a single chick, to predation last year. It helps to have multiple roosters I think (we have 5 in flock of 20).

I wish my last flock would have learned. I lost so many chickens and ducks due to a pair of foxes…almost my entire flock (I have a rooster left, two drakes, and a duck hen) was picked off one by one over a short time span. My new flock stays in their coop with the last few hours free roaming supervised after I get home from work at the end of the day. Weekends they get almost the whole day out, but they are still very much protected/guarded.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm so sorry! I'd file a complaint with Animal Control and/ or the sheriff's department, with pictures, and posting that video is also a good idea. Someone knows where those dogs belong. If they were my dogs who accidently got loose, there's be no problem getting replacement costs and an apology! That's what ethical people do, and critters do escape sometimes. If the owners just don't care, there's proof, and AC, and the owners are responsible for costs.
I also agree with eliminating those dogs if necessary.
Electric fencing is your friend too!
Mary

 

[Geena]

Free ranging always works out great until it doesn't. If it wasn't the dogs it would have eventually been something else, foxes, raccoons, coyotes etc. I too had to learn that lesson the hard way.

Unless you are prepared to keep losing chickens and shooting everything that comes onto your property you are fighting an uphill battle. It's always best and easiest in the long run to make the necessary changes that will help protect your chickens from harm to begin with. The hot fence is an excellent choice

Yes, some people can free range successfully and without experiencing too many losses, but they are in the minority, by far.

 

[drdoct]

We had a few tornadoes in our county last month with one a direct hit over the house. I assume those dogs are from that. But none of my neighbors up and down in the area knows who they belong to. I'm going to work on fencing a large area that is wooded but thinned a lot from the tornado. Around 350 ft around. Then let them out on weekends when we're around. They're finally coming out of shock and not bolting when we get close. Once the puppy gets grown it will help as well. I'm sure my old dog protected them many times even though I didn't see it.

Thanks for the encouragement. It's quiet now without the rooster. Hopefully one is in the new group coming up

 

[mcdze]

over the years ive developed 'zero tolerance' policy for any predator in my yard .. get a good pcp and get familiar with it .. keep a shovel handy and some heavy duty yard waste bags ...