Chickens attacked by dogs...financial loss and sadness

[SeansMom]

Let me first say we've raised these hens since they were chicks and I'm attached to my girls. I don't know if I left the pen open or if a dog pushed it's way in, but one hen is dead, one is injured to the point I'm not sure she'll make it, and another was traumatized and has far fewer feathers but seems to be doing okay.

While looking for my chickens this AM the dog that I believe attacked them literally came up to me to be petted (thought I was calling it, not the chickens I presume). I chained it up and called animal control (actually got a police officer as animal control was not on duty yet) and that dog was taken to the shelter. I talked to the shelter, and they took my name so the owner could contact me if they came to pick up their dog (is that likely?....I doubt it.) The shelter ladies also said they'd note he needs to go to a home without poultry (duh). Later today, while looking for the one remaining missing hen, two MORE dogs came onto our property. Again, I tied them up and animal control returned to owners and said he would site them. I wrote down the number from their tags, but not the address. Wouldn't you know it, the number is not working. GRRR. BTW, the dogs were on OUR property. All the piles of feathers were on OUR property, so obviously these animals are coming to us for their fun. I am sad and angry.

SO, I'm out at least one hen, possiblty two, and I am SO frustrated at the number of people who let their dogs run (yes we are in city limits so leash laws apply). I have no way to reach any of these people, and have no idea where the dogs came from. Honestly, we know most of our neighbors (and their dogs) and these did not just wander over from next door.

Buying the type of hens I have full grown would be about $25-35 each, depending on availability. Plus, loss of a layer means fewer eggs to eat and sell. I had a small flock to begin with, before today I had 6 hens of varied breeds, now I have 5 alive and possibly only 4 by the morning.

Anybody else have issues with other people's animals? And how would you deal with it?

 

[Planogirl]

First of all I'm sorry about your hens. I hope that the 5th one pulls through.

As for the dogs, all you can do is continue to call animal control when you see them. I don't know why people allow dogs to run lose - it just doesn't make sense. Around here people are continually posting lost ads for dogs. Many are attacked by coyotes and goodness knows what else.

 

[princess barbara]

I'm so sorry for your troubles. If you have a local newspaper, maybe write a letter to the editor. Not sure if it would help change irresponsible dog owners or not. Good luck.

 

[AlaskaMOM]

Am so sorry you lost one of your girls. Hopefully the injured one makes it.

I lost one of my girls (a New Hampshire Red) to a dog about 2 years ago. She was an escape artist.
We keep them in a fenced "chicken yard" when we are not at home, and let them out when we are. She always wanted out, I guess it was better being on the outside. We got home one day and her feathers were found all around the perimeter of the fence, not her, just her feathers LOTS of feathers! So I have to assume it was a dog. Luckily for us the dog we suspected moved (with the family), I don't know what else we could do to keep them safe except never let them out.

I've had 2 others die but nothing as traumatic as what appears to have happened.

If dogs are still running in your neighborhood you need to
Check your fencing very carefully, the birds can get thru some of the smallest holes!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm so sorry.

I hope there's a way to shore up your coop to protect them from other dogs; you could just have a runaway come by, they don't have to be *let out* by owners to wreak havoc, so the coop needs to be as impervious as possible.


When I was a kid we had hens until my dad (not a good guy back then) came over while we were out and let our malamutes into the chicken coop, on purpose... Rotten thing to do... And when you're used to freshly laid eggs...storebought eggs taste like rubber. Nasty things.

 

[cinabug]

I lost all but one hen last year to my cousin's dogs. They broke into the fence. They ripped all hens apart, and my then nine year old had to come home from school to the massacre. I spent about $150 replacing with full grown hens. It sucked. My cousin did not help with replacement costs, but he did move, so that was the end of that.

Another time, when I only had five hens, a bear broke into the house and left only one alive. He ripped the doors right off the house, so there really wasn't any kind of protection that would have worked. I caught him in the act, but really couldn't do anything but yell from the house.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing is one of the risks of having livestock. It's horrible when it happens.

 

[herdtoDisney]

OP, I'm sorry for your loss We lost two of our brave girls to a raccoon attack last year-they apparently were defending the coop. We have our girls fenced in completely but there was a little gap at the top-the horrible raccoon squeezed through..

I have not had dog problems here but if I did, I think I'd do what you're doing, calling animal control. The only other thing I could think of is to fence your whole yard (which is probably expensive) or fence the girls in really well, which is what we have to do where we live-ours just can't free range in the yard, they would all be dead before I got home from work I'm sure (animal predators, humans and vehicles, all danger for them).

 

[Celidh]

OP, I'm sorry for your loss We lost two of our brave girls to a raccoon attack last year-they apparently were defending the coop. We have our girls fenced in completely but there was a little gap at the top-the horrible raccoon squeezed through..

I have not had dog problems here but if I did, I think I'd do what you're doing, calling animal control. The only other thing I could think of is to fence your whole yard (which is probably expensive) or fence the girls in really well, which is what we have to do where we live-ours just can't free range in the yard, they would all be dead before I got home from work I'm sure (animal predators, humans and vehicles, all danger for them).

Fences don't necessarily work. My dd lost her pet rabbit to a neighbour's dog. This was at her dad's house. I have no idea how the dog got in the fenced in pen, but the rabbit didn't make it. There was even chicken wire over the top of it to ensure that no large birds of prey got the rabbit. If I still lived there I don't think the owners would have been happy to see me.

It is a small rural community where people think it is fine to let their dogs roam, including my ex. His dog doesn't kill animals at least.

 

[marie1203]

I am sorry. Just today I posted in the community board because I am having problem with a neighbor's dog. She lives a few houses away and she doesn't have a fence, she let's her dog out and doesn't pay attention to were he goes. I came very close to running him over for the third time . she came out and I told her this is the third time I almost run over your dog and her answer was then run him over . Some people should not have pets. I hope you are able to contact those dog owners.

 

[seashoreCM]

Do you freshly kill a chicken for dinner every now and then? Perhaps you could have gotten to the dead one and the injured one fast enough so the meat could be saved.

 

[ThisIsTheYear]

I am so sorry, that is just awful!

 

[toystory1130]

I am sorry for your loss. I went through the same with my flock a few years ago. A dog came in my fully fenced yard and dug under their coop fence and we came hope to all my hens in shreds. We found out how the dog did it, he simply climbed our main fence, watched her do it- didn't know a dog could do that. That dog went to the shelter to be put down. Same owner got another dog who also came on my land and killed my cat-neighbor child watched it happen. I wish people would take care of their own animals or just don't get them at all. Sorry for the vent, I totally hear ya and hope the other girl pulls through.

 

[MissUndastood]

Sorry about your hens.


Dogs do what come naturally.
I blame the dog owners. I just hate when dogs are not leashed and supervised.

 

[DVCKev]

Sorry to hear about your loss. What about a chicken wire fence, might not be that expensive. I would try and find the owners of the dog(s) and make them pay too.

 

[rockyroad]

As a dog owner and a former chicken owner I would put up some electric fencing around your chicken area.

You can get some short fence posts that stick into the ground and run the wire at dog level,
then hook it up to a charger.
You can move the little posts and the wire easily and keep the dogs guessing.

It is not guaranteed, but it will train the dogs to stay out of that area.
I did it years ago when my own dogs would not stay out of the garden.

It won't injure them, but it will hurt like the dickens for a minute and scare the dog more than anything.
And the dogs will make a loud noise when they touch the wire and if you hear it you can run out and yell and throw stuff at them.
A litte bit of gravel in coke cans makes a scary noise and won't hurt the dog even if you hit it.

For dogs killing chickens is natural.
I know that you are upset about your hens, but I do feel sorry for the dogs that will be euthanized. The pound here has a kill rate of over 80%, so a dog left there is a gonner, you know?
We had a dog who would climb out of her pen, kill or harass our chickens, and then climb back in and act innocent.

Creatures from the woods eventually killed all our chickens... possums, coons, coyotes, rats, and weasels can get through small holes.

Anyway, good luck with your chickens.

 

[figment3258]

That is just awful I am sorry for your loss.

 

[JDX4]

I'm sorry for your loss. Last year all 4 of our backyard chickens were attacked at night, we think by either a racoon or coyote. We only found one of their bodies. I guess the rest were dragged off.

Our dog actually was very good about barking and alerting us if a racoon was in the yard, but somehow this time we missed it. I think the latch on the pen was either left open or loose, because the door was open in the morning.

We miss those chickens. They were our pets, and they were very loveable. We hatched them in an incubator, and they were very sweet. They even liked to be carried around the yard like you would carry a cat.

The neat part about their eggs was that the shell was a pale green color (they were a special breed), and fresh eggs definitely do taste better than store bought.

Again, I'm sorry that those dogs keep bothering you and your chickens.

 

[NotUrsula]

One thing you can count on is that they WILL be back -- once a dog kills a chicken he will move heaven and earth for the chance to do it again unless some very serious deterrence measures are taken.

The usual method of deterring dogs is penning the dog and tying the chicken carcass onto the dog's chest for however long it takes until the carcass completely rots off; they don't like the memory of being unable to escape the smell. However, it doesn't work for all dogs.

You can try a double course of fencing on the coop, including an electric fence and an underground block, but in my experience a chicken-tracking dog will be driven by instinct to eventually go right through those safeguards if there is any way to manage it, pain notwithstanding. I've seen dogs shock themselves repeatedly while trying to tear into coops.

 

[SeansMom]

I'm sorry for your loss. Last year all 4 of our backyard chickens were attacked at night, we think by either a racoon or coyote. We only found one of their bodies. I guess the rest were dragged off.

Our dog actually was very good about barking and alerting us if a racoon was in the yard, but somehow this time we missed it. I think the latch on the pen was either left open or loose, because the door was open in the morning.

We miss those chickens. They were our pets, and they were very loveable. We hatched them in an incubator, and they were very sweet. They even liked to be carried around the yard like you would carry a cat.

The neat part about their eggs was that the shell was a pale green color (they were a special breed), and fresh eggs definitely do taste better than store bought.

Again, I'm sorry that those dogs keep bothering you and your chickens.

Thanks...everyone has been so kind! It sounds as if you have gone through what I did, my hens are exactly like that, and the hen that was killed was an Arucana so I'll miss her eggs (they were such a sweet shade of blue/green).

UPDATE: My Maran is missing ALL her tail feathers, and her bum looks sore as heck, but after 2 days of hiding and limping around the inside coop, she is now out and about with the rest of the girls

I've been inspired by a fence in the neighborhood that may not be too expensive. It is framed by lovely wood, but wire inside, so not horribly ugly nor as expensive as privacy fencing. I would hope with double fencing the dog issue would be a mute point.

Thanks for the support...it is appreciated!

 

[MeekoB]

I'm so sorry for your loss. We had a similar thing happen to us once. Chickens are so vulnerable.