I have a dog named Lucy. She is 3/4 lab and 1/4 shepherd and 9 yrs old. She has always been a predator in the past of wild animals. I got chicks that were 1 week old and raised them around Lucy. There has never been a problem. I let them hang out together in the back yard and she has never been a threat. I think they all look at each as part of a family. The chickens are about a year old. Today I left all of them in the back yard and took off to do some errands. When I got home all was fine. A neighbor came over with his dog. We went inside to discuss something and left the dogs outside. His dog is about 3/4 chocolate lab and 2-4 yrs old. She has been over here before and had little interest in the birds but is very playful and loves to chase down toys and shake them. She has only been over here a couple times though with people around. They left after about a half an hour. Ten minutes after that I went outside and found one of my chickens dead. It had been torn to shreds. feathers all over the place, no head and body parts scattered. Lucy was over there looking at it when i walked out the door. The outer flesh had gotten cold but interior warm and killed not long before. I'm sure it was killed when both dogs were in the backyard. I know both of us feel that our dog would never do something like this. I do find it interesting that there was no problem all day with Lucy and the chickens. Then when the neighbors dog was here the incident occurred. I should not have left his dog in the backyard so I am at fault. Who was the predator? Could it have been something like a hawk? This is the first time I have had one die.
