We lost our first girl today.

[Taote]

Our sweetest girl Rosey never made it back in, so they got her too, though we found no evidence of her demise. We tracked the culprits to the property but did not confront the owner.

Still considering our options and I need to be able to address the owner calmly.

 

[Taote]

Howard E Will that harm your chickens?

This is what my 4 wire fences look like......

View attachment 1175875 View attachment 1175876

Will this harm the chickens?

 

[Jennifer Cappi Williams]

Yes, get rid of those strange dogs. Packs of strays kills all kinds of animals either for fun or survival. They could kill someone's kid just as easy. Tell the people that if they complain about you removing those dogs by any means necessary.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

I'm sorry for your loss....
My puppy ripped open one of our Barred Rocks, and almost destroyed one of our Black Australorps, but we saved her in time.

 

[Taote]

I'm sorry for your loss....
My puppy ripped open one of our Barred Rocks, and almost destroyed one of our Black Australorps, but we saved her in time.

Oh that would in some ways be worse. We were worried about our city dogs when we moved here and got chickens but we trained them not to chase.

 

[Taote]

Hope your puppy can learn. I'm sure he will with time. We still keep an eye on the one...

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Oh that would in some ways be worse. We were worried about our city dogs when we moved here and got chickens but we trained them not to chase.

Yeah, we didn't train her completely until around a few weeks to a month ago.... This happened when she was 1 month old, we just bought her (our puppy)

 

[christwodog]

Sorry for your loss, it is heartbreaking to say the least. I agree with the others here, electric fence is a good option. We had a pack of dogs (no doubt dump off dogs from people who are tired of them) who destroyed my babies' coop and killed them all. The next day we ran 4 strands of hot wire around the big coop, including one strand really low down, so if they try to dig under, it will get them. It's on the outside of the coop so the chickens don't come in contact with it, and if they are free ranging, the fence is off. Give it a try, ask your local feed store to help you pick out a system. We also keep firearms ready, one of these dogs is very large and aggressive, who knows what he could attack next.

 

[micstrachan]

I am so very sorry for your loss. I am only on an acre and my flock only gets “supervised” freerange time. Still a risk, I know. Would you consider a livestock guard dog, like Great Pyranees? Not sure how livestock guard dogs work when the predator is a dog, but might be worth looking into if that works for you.

 

[Taote]

I would not have believed I could love a little chicken this much. I would never have thought a chicken could be so lovable. I've cried several times today about her, especially this last time I checked to see if she had somehow come back to the coop after dark.

She followed us around like a puppy and always tried to get into the house with us. She nibbled gently on any party of you she could reach. She touched noises with Lila. She's the RIR nearest Lila the dog.