Pack of dogs destroys hatchery layers!

[Bossroo]

I just talked to the lady at Belt Hatchery in Fresno, Cal. as I wanted to place an order for Cornish X for Oct. She said that a pack of dogs broke through the side wire on one of their 400foot barns and killed over half of their laying chickens .Therefore they will be very hard to find the Cornish X chicks this year. They will sell their birds to Feed stores for resale only.

 

[speckledhen]

That's awful! It's what happens when dogs pack up, though. They'll go crazy and do things that one or two wouldn't normally do. I find it odd that a hatchery doesn't have really secure facilities, though.

 

[LynneP]

I agree about the security, very surprising and disappointing. I worry about people whose biosecurity is questionable, especially places that claim to do a lot of business. I want a bear to bounce off a place like that, and rats to need a jack-hammer to dig up to the chicks.

 

[Bossroo]

The wire is 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth set at 3 ft from the ground and @3feet high and running the 400 feet on 2 sides of the barns. The sides are all wood otherwise. no runs. Corogated steel roofs. The birds are all inside these barns They have used the barns for over 20 years with no problems until recently. These were some REALLY BIG dogs.