The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Eggcessive]

I need help, I had 19 chickens, 8 weeks and 19 weeks, I was an idiot, I'll deal with that later. I should not have left them to free range while I was gone, such an idiot.

Someone's dog came and just started killing them while we were gone, we came home while he was finishing them off, he was killing them, just to kill them.

10 are dead, some died just while we were looking for the others. A few are fine, thank God. They somehow flew away and hid.

I have an injured 8 week old polish now, I think she's in shock. I had six 8 week olds- Now I am down to this one and one is perfectly fine, she she got away.

The 19 week olds- I guess 6 of those are dead. everything is a blur, trying to remain focused here thru the tears, never thought I'd cry over a chicken, but here I am.

Okay what do I do with the injured, I know that dog bites are bad for anything, know I heard that before.

I have the one 8 week old polish in shock and 4 of the older hens with dog bites. What do I do?

Right now they are drying off, on top of all this it was raining.

Please help!

-Lynn

So sorry that this happened to your flock. You have been given a lot of good advice. When I have had young ones roughed up by our golden retriever before he was trained, they looked worse than they really were. The one that looked okay and had no marks died of shock. I hope they do well--don't beat yourself up.

 

[lalaland]

Lala...its a chicken..

honestly it looks like a very light colored Crested SFH

nah, Delisha, its a duck!

I laughed outloud reading your post.

and if you and leigh say its a sfh, well, hallelujah!!!!

Justine, I have nothing against mutts!

 

[NanaLynn]

My unhurt survivors are fine and in the coop, the remaining little 8 week old was actually welcomed by the bigger girls to the top roost. These 4 all got away in the woods, thank God. 3 -19 week old and 1 -9 week old, only 4
They are secured in the coop.

5 are wounded:
I have a Barred Rock, Google, with a hurt leg and missing skin on that side and puncture wounds, she seems the worse off, but the most alert and actually ate.

I have a Blue Cochin, Gizmo, that has a puncture wound on her back.

Another Barred Rock, Oreo, who had puncture wounds on her back as well. She can walk around and ate a little too.

A Buff Orpington, Big Mama, who seems in shock, she has a little blood by one ear, but I cannot find anything else.

The 8 week old Golden Laced polish, Elvis, seems in shock too, I saw some missing feathers on her back but nothing else. I put her under the Eco Glow.

They are all separate but together in the basement on towels and in or under laundry baskets depending on how well they move. I didn't want the better ones to bother the more injured. They are sleeping now.

I rinsed all the wounds with antiseptic wound wash and hydrogen peroxide and all I had on hand is regular antibiotic cream, so I applied that. They are all comfortable now. I'll access in the morning and I'll be going out to get some NuStock as well. I will also determine if some need to be put out of their misery then too, I've never done that before. I'm hoping that they pass in the night if they are really bad off, they don't seem to be in pain now and are just really tired. We'll see in the morning, I guess.

My 10 that did not make it:
(I see why people say that you shouldn't name your chickens, I think I still would be just as attached even if I didn't name them, most of these were starting to lay eggs too, Snow was my super layer, Maddie was an early layer for an EE)
Snow-White Leghorn
Maddie- Easter Egger
Dominique - Dominique
Fred- Columbian Wyandotte
Nemo - Silver Laced Wyandotte
Red- Rhode Island Red
Wilma - Welsummer (8 week old)
Izzie - Brown Leghorn (8 week old)
Lucy - Salmon Faverolle (8 week old)
Yahoo - Black Australorp (8 week old)

When we got home my husband saw the dog, we chased it away and after we were just picking up chickens from all over the place, he just ran around the garden killing them, they were scattered everywhere, none were eaten just killed, it is so senseless. The dog is still out running around somewhere. My coop and run are secured. We just went out to dinner and I left them out for not even 2 hours. I've been doing that since I got the chickens with no problems and they usually free range all day while I am home and I never leave for longer periods without putting them in the coop and run. Now it will only be supervised.

If we catch the dog, it will go to the pound, I do not know who the owner is.

Thank you everyone for your help, time to get some rest.

 

[FridayYet]

I'm so sorry for the loss of your birds - sounds like you did a great job with the survivors and I hope they pull through.

 

[Kassaundra]

Lynn, do not re-apply the peroxide. The inital cleaning is fine, but even on humans you should not treat w/ peroxide again it damages healing tissue. I have had awesome luck treating infection / skin breaks w/ a paste made of plain table sugar and betadine, packed in the wound area and bandaged.

All the suggestions I read were right on and good advise following any of them would be good.

 

[Fryze]

I am so sorry Lynn, If I could I would give you a blue laced red wyndotte roo (at least I think that is the bread, I have 5 of them. they came in the pan fry mix and they are just soooo beautiful and so friendly) check the myer hatchery thread tomorrow I will post pics of them. oh and my husband recommends 12 gauge therapy for the dog. will be thinking of your babies and hoping they all pull through this tragedy.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Lynn - just reading this. So sorry. Hope you have encouraging news in the morning.

 

[Alaskan]

I need help, I had 19 chickens, 8 weeks and 19 weeks, I was an idiot, I'll deal with that later. I should not have left them to free range while I was gone, such an idiot.

Someone's dog came and just started killing them while we were gone, we came home while he was finishing them off, he was killing them, just to kill them.

10 are dead, some died just while we were looking for the others. A few are fine, thank God. They somehow flew away and hid.

I have an injured 8 week old polish now, I think she's in shock. I had six 8 week olds- Now I am down to this one and one is perfectly fine, she she got away.

The 19 week olds- I guess 6 of those are dead. everything is a blur, trying to remain focused here thru the tears, never thought I'd cry over a chicken, but here I am.

Okay what do I do with the injured, I know that dog bites are bad for anything, know I heard that before. 

I have the one 8 week old polish in shock and 4 of the older hens with dog bites. What do I do?

Right now they are drying off, on top of all this it was raining. 

Please help!

-Lynn

It really is NOT your fault.

Dogs are just evil.

I had a dog squeeze into a not completely shut pop door, in the middle of the day, when the entire family was home. Most of us were outside working on a vehicle.

And....we didn't hear the ruckus until the dog was completely done.

We were HOME! All of us! (Family of 7)

There are high perches in that coop. NONE of my birds flew up and stayed on the perches.

They did run, and they did try to hide, but on the ground, where the dog got each and every one, lost almost 40 chickens.

I am STILL heartsick over it, and it was months ago.

 

[Alaskan]

I hate dogs, just hate them

Ach!

Ok....wounded chickens..... I had one hen almost killed by an eagle once. I stitched up (with regular thread and needle soaked in vodka) the big skin flap. She also had a deep puncture that I left alone (thinking it needed to heal from the inside out, and stitching it closed might make it fester). She stood in a trance like state for a few days, I put food and water directly in font of her ( just regular layer feed and regular water) and she ate and drank a bit.

After about three days she started moving around, and walking to the regular feeder and waterer on her own. She slowly kept improving and recovered completely.

Since her feathers completely covered her wounds (nothing to attract other chickens into pecking at her) I never even removed her from the flock. She stood under a table in the chicken run, with a little food and water dish in front of her, when she was in the trance state.

I am still amazed she made it through that, she had impressive wounds.

 

[aoxa]

Totally agreed..

Speaking of pre cooked eggs.
I had a friend who's broody was going on day 40 of nesting. She lost a ton of weight and refused to break her brood. I gave her eggs I had in the incubator that were on day 18(4). They hatched today. I drove 2 hours to meet at a mutual friends and she drove an hour home. Those eggs were not incubated for over 6 hours, scrambled a bit with my driving, and I am sure with her driving. I just had them in an egg carton...It was an experiment. I had no idea how it would work out.

I hate dogs, just hate them

Ach!

Ok....wounded chickens..... I had one hen almost killed by an eagle once. I stitched up (with regular thread and needle soaked in vodka) the big skin flap. She also had a deep puncture that I left alone (thinking it needed to heal from the inside out, and stitching it closed might make it fester). She stood in a trance like state for a few days, I put food and water directly in font of her ( just regular layer feed and regular water) and she ate and drank a bit.

After about three days she started moving around, and walking to the regular feeder and waterer on her own. She slowly kept improving and recovered completely.

Since her feathers completely covered her wounds (nothing to attract other chickens into pecking at her) I never even removed her from the flock. She stood under a table in the chicken run, with a little food and water dish in front of her, when she was in the trance state.

I am still amazed she made it through that, she had impressive wounds.

Don't hate all dogs for just one bad dog.

A dog on it's owner's property is a pet, a dog on someone else's property is a predator.

My dogs are amazing with the chickens and would never hurt them. I trust them COMPLETELY around the chickens. I could leave Koda in the barn with them locked up all day without a worry. (Save Henry right now, he enjoys carrying chicks around in his mouth - hasn't killed any, we are working on it, but he is just a pup.)

I will not let any other dogs on my property period. Not even my brother's dog Carrie - even though I love her.

PS: So sorry to hear about this one bad dog though. That is something I would be so angry about.

Free ranging does really save birds in these situations. Not all of them of course, but it will save some.