What to do now? (could get graphic...)

c2d2

Hatching
10 Years
Aug 14, 2009
1
0
7
Hi all. Hate for this to be my first post. I've been perusing this forum for a couple of years in the spring when i have thought about getting chicks, and have been a very frequent reader this summer as i was offered and accepted 6 Barred Rock chickens from a teacher friend who hatched and raised them as part of a summer camp - they outgrew the camp's resources and offered them to us. We decided to take the plunge, and its been a great 3 weeks till today.
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I came home to find them massacred today. 4 intact chickens lay dead in and around an outbuilding and 2 were further away in the yard with damaged bodies.

I literally just found them a 1.5 hours ago, so my first question should really be about disposal. I did some quick searches here and found nothing helpful right off the bat (i've spent more time reading about how to identify the perp amongst the suspects). Obviously burial is an option - what about fire? I'm not opposed at all to butchering under normal circumstances, i'm not entertaining that idea in this case due to unknown cause and time since death. Not to mention the emotional smackdown.

I really started getting attached to the chickens, was about halfway done with my homemade chicken tractor (awesome pics and suggestions here), and am now wondering about trying again or deciding to call it quits. I'll have some more questions to that effect later, and also about who to blame and what to do about it. Suspect number one is the Jack Russell Terrier named Wolf - who has actually been great with the chickens. Don't worry he is not going to get "disciplined" an any permanent or other way, but obviously i need to think about the compatibility of all our critters if i'm going to try raising chickens again.

Gotta go deal with whats left. Be back to check on disposal suggestions after that.
 
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So sorry your introduction to chickens has ended on such as sad note.
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Please don't give up, but think a lot, and research here, about how to protect your chickens, before you venture into them again. The Jack Russell sounds like a very likely suspect. If you have dogs around, the chickens should be kept in a dog-proof run, preferrably with hot wire around it and 6" and 12", and a dig-proof apron.
People try to train their dogs, or alternate free-run vs. dog out, and it works just great until that one day when it doesn't.
All the animals that I have considered pets were allways buried with a marker, but it really is up to you how you want to handle it.
 
I don't know your surroundings and all, but I'd think burial instead of fire. If you burn the bodies, it will definitely stink. Neighbors might be offended. There might be some local codes against it. But the main reason I'd say burial is that it would take a really hot, sustained fire to truly dispose of the bodies. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I'd be concerned that you would be left with scorched bodies to dispose of.

If you have trash pickup, there are probably rules against disposing of dead animals in the garbage.

If you bury them, I'd cover them with at least a foot of dirt, probably more, then put something over it so dogs, foxes, raccoons, something does not dig them back up. I have a 3' x 5' hardware cloth cage that I set over the burial site to keep critters from unearthing them. Grass can start growing back and the earth can settle, but it keeps critters away. A piece of 2"x4" welded wire would work well.

Your experience is why I don't free range my chickens. I really don't trust the neighbor's dogs. I am truly sorry this happened to you.
 
Go ahead and finish your chicken tractor (make sure you use hardware cloth and not chicken wire!) and then get more chickens. this is one of those live and learn experiences that hopefully you can grow and learn from.
 
oh geez, sorry. what a horrible find and i'm sure that you are really disappointed.

first - chin up...this will work out and death is part of having chickens, even tho each loss is hard

next - disposal - your options are:
1. get an auger and dig a deep hole on your property. then put some heavy rocks or wood over it. you do not want to advertise to every critter in a 3 mile radius that something stinky and dead is around.

2. the burn pile would have to be HOT - and i mean hot. we've done this but frankly, unless you build a burn pile they can see from the international space station it probably wont work very well. and you might have to burn it several times. and then you'll still have residue. ick.

3. depending on your garbage guy - you could double bag them and put them in the garbage. if you are in city or have a municipal service i wouldnt risk it. but out here i'm pretty sure the garbage guy knows what he's hauling.

last - reassess your situation. is that your dog? if yes you need to teach him to leave the hens alone and never, ever let him unsupervised with them. not even for a second. no dog can resist the flapping and squawking. folks tend to underestimate that their family dog is really just about 30 seconds from being a skilled killer. if its not your dog - march over there and tell them to keep their freakin' dog off your property. then go to TSC tomorrow and fence the hen yard.

go have a couple drinks, get some sleep, and keep marching forward.

sorry about all of this.
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i have came home to this before, a crafty coon got mine, but i am just as crafty and held back no mercy, kinda got even, rebuilt and have enjoyed them so far no more problems, if ya live in the sticks like i do the problem is always there, just gotta try and stay on top of it, sorry for your loss
 
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Sorry this happened.

I would agree with burying the bodies... at least 3 feet deep and use some plywood or boards with bricks or rocks to cover the gave. Keep it covered for at least a month (or more).
Trash collection would be another choice, not my favorite one.

Burning -as others have said- is VERY difficult. Unless you have all day and half the night to watch the fire and keep it burning HOT, there will be a lot of "leftovers".


PLEASE don't give up on chickens.
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My birds are so sweet, funny and have such wonderful personalities... I can't imagine my life without them in it any more.
Hardware cloth is the way to go when you're thinking of security for your feathered friends.

good luck
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Definitely dog. That's how our first four chickens ended up. I would advise going with chickenwire, as in tough metal chickenwire. It might be what everyone else is calling hardware cloth. Put it OVER what you have. Do not replace your current wiring. That did fine for our mid-size extremely obsessive mutt, so it should be fine for a Jack Russell. As for the dog, whenever it goes near your coop, smack it on the nose. That should teach it a lesson. You could also sprinkle ground up hot peppers around the perimiter. I've heard that will teach a dog a lesson.
 

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