As many of you know, my flock of hens had grown to around 50 and I thoroughly enjoyed caring for them and selling eggs. I even had two hens, Scarlet and Carlos, that stayed close to the house all the time.
About a month ago a pack of dogs killed Carlos at the house (but it was not even the first attack) leaving me to work with Scarlet to integrate her within my flock of hens or finding a new home since they are social creatures. She would not fit into my flock and so Scarlet was relocated through the work of my friend, Debbie B. where she was accepted.
Immediately after that was done, the pack of dogs returned and this time broke into the chain link fence by pushing the gate hard enough to bend the latch. I can't tell you the devastation they left behind. I was in tears for days over the loss of half the flock as they were actually considered pets but also they were a $2,000 loss according to estimates. The horror of seeing the poor suffering hens with the flesh torn off their bodies and still alive was more than I could stand. We shot and killed one dog that was still in the pen and the others were tracked down but did escape. I needed a friend at that point and Debbie B. again comes to the rescue. We loaded up chickens and carried to the vet. Some were euthanized and others were treated and brought home.
Since then we have sunk a panel fence underground around the chicken pen so as to thwart digging and also put an extra chain wrapped around the gates hoping it would hold the next attack. For the past few days, now we have noticed that the fish food can near the pond was turned over and something was eating the fish food.
And now this morning, I was rudely awaken by Walter dashing into the bedroom making lots of noise getting a gun out as I said "Please, I'm still trying to sleep!" He said "the dogs are back!" With heart pounding as I sprang forth, I was hoping that our hens that remained were not attacked again.
He quickly jumped in the car in pursuit of the pack. They were so fast that he did not catch up to them until they made it back to the neighbors home panting on the porch. He went up to them and told them what their dogs had done and told them that if it happened again he was going to call the law. They said they would do away with the dogs today. I don't know what that statement meant and I hate to speculate but I wonder do they really care about their dogs anyway.
Walter also called a friend who is a game warden and he said that there has been a task force recently set up that may can help us and he said they would call us. And they did call us within the hour and will be coming out to check on the situation soon.
I am happy to say that the fence held this time, and my remaining flock is safe for now. My story about my chickens being attacked was the subject of of an article in the O-A News by Karlene Turkington as she is a writer on the subject of caring for dogs called Ruffly Speaking (scroll down to "A Loose Dog Problem") and it was also a post in my chicken pal friend Debbie B.'s blog called A Tragic Day for a Dear Friend.
About a month ago a pack of dogs killed Carlos at the house (but it was not even the first attack) leaving me to work with Scarlet to integrate her within my flock of hens or finding a new home since they are social creatures. She would not fit into my flock and so Scarlet was relocated through the work of my friend, Debbie B. where she was accepted.
Immediately after that was done, the pack of dogs returned and this time broke into the chain link fence by pushing the gate hard enough to bend the latch. I can't tell you the devastation they left behind. I was in tears for days over the loss of half the flock as they were actually considered pets but also they were a $2,000 loss according to estimates. The horror of seeing the poor suffering hens with the flesh torn off their bodies and still alive was more than I could stand. We shot and killed one dog that was still in the pen and the others were tracked down but did escape. I needed a friend at that point and Debbie B. again comes to the rescue. We loaded up chickens and carried to the vet. Some were euthanized and others were treated and brought home.
Since then we have sunk a panel fence underground around the chicken pen so as to thwart digging and also put an extra chain wrapped around the gates hoping it would hold the next attack. For the past few days, now we have noticed that the fish food can near the pond was turned over and something was eating the fish food.
And now this morning, I was rudely awaken by Walter dashing into the bedroom making lots of noise getting a gun out as I said "Please, I'm still trying to sleep!" He said "the dogs are back!" With heart pounding as I sprang forth, I was hoping that our hens that remained were not attacked again.
He quickly jumped in the car in pursuit of the pack. They were so fast that he did not catch up to them until they made it back to the neighbors home panting on the porch. He went up to them and told them what their dogs had done and told them that if it happened again he was going to call the law. They said they would do away with the dogs today. I don't know what that statement meant and I hate to speculate but I wonder do they really care about their dogs anyway.
Walter also called a friend who is a game warden and he said that there has been a task force recently set up that may can help us and he said they would call us. And they did call us within the hour and will be coming out to check on the situation soon.
I am happy to say that the fence held this time, and my remaining flock is safe for now. My story about my chickens being attacked was the subject of of an article in the O-A News by Karlene Turkington as she is a writer on the subject of caring for dogs called Ruffly Speaking (scroll down to "A Loose Dog Problem") and it was also a post in my chicken pal friend Debbie B.'s blog called A Tragic Day for a Dear Friend.
