Dog Mauled Hen

Dewdropdeb

We have a lovely collie rescue dog that we've had for two years, she's always been extremely placid and lovely, never had any problems. I've started keeping hens for the last few months and while she was initially intrigued she generally ignored them... up until this weekend. I had a full house, 4 extra kids and their mother staying with us on top of my three and Flora (the collie) started getting really aggressive with the chickens on Saturday when they were here. We had to lock them up because she kept chasing and swatting at them. On Sunday she seemed fine with them again but I did notice her chasing them a bit. I went out to feed her at around 8pm and found her down the bottom with one of the hens who turned out to be mauled. I think she will be ok, I've gotten help with her but still it was awful to see and the girls were so upset.

My question is with the dog. She's allowed to roam as are the chickens (we're out in the country) but obviously she can't be trusted with them now. I don't want to chain her up or confine the chickens, so not sure what to do. Funds are tight, so professional training not an option. Is there anything I can do myself to dissuade her from going near them again? I am looking into building a run or maybe getting an electric poultry fence if funds allow which would hopefully keep them safe and keep her out.

I know it was just an instinctive thing with her, but I'm just not sure why it happened out of the blue like that. Any advice appreciated! Thanks!

Knine

The simple solution is to have the dog in a run. No dog should be free to roam no matter where you live. She could easily roam and worry livestock or cause a road accident.

I would have intervened the minute I first saw her bothering the chickens.

How much exercise is the dog getting?

I hope the hen makes a full recovery.

scudzilla

Knine wrote: »

The simple solution is to have the dog in a run. No dog should be free to roam no matter where you live. She could easily roam and worry livestock or cause a road accident.

I would have intervened the minute I first saw her bothering the chickens.

How much exercise is the dog getting?

I hope the hen makes a full recovery.

What???? I beg to differ on that, our dogs have complete run of our gaff and never an issue

bluecherry74

I hope your hen will be ok! I have hens too and my dogs are generally fine around them, but I wouldn't leave them unsupervised together. There have been a few chasing incidents where I've had to intervene before things got out of hand. If a hen gets startled by a dog it will run and the dog's natural instinct is to chase. It would take a huge amount of time and experience to train this natural behaviour out of a dog.

My solution is to allow the hens and the dogs to take turns in the garden. So when the dogs are out, the hens are in their run and when the hens are out the dog are in the house with me. It's the only foolproof way of making sure they're all safe and happy.

I would also second Knine's recommendation to invest in a run. If she's bothering your hens there's a good chance she'll bother someone else's hens at some point too.

Knine

scudzilla wrote: »

What???? I beg to differ on that, our dogs have complete run of our gaff and never an issue

You can beg to differ all you like. However I'm sure farmers with mauled livestock agree with me.

Dogs should be confined to their owners property.

bluecherry74

scudzilla wrote: »

What???? I beg to differ on that, our dogs have complete run of our gaff and never an issue

If the dogs are only roaming your own land that's not an issue! I think Knine was referring to dogs being allowed to roam freely around the countryside, which is illegal and potentially dangerous.

Knine

bluecherry74 wrote: »

If the dogs are only roaming your own land that's not an issue! I think Knine was referring to dogs being allowed to roam freely around the countryside, which is illegal and potentially dangerous.

That is exactly what I mean. The dogs should not be able to leave the property.

My friends hens and ducks were all killed by a dog who according to his owners never wandered off their property.

mymo

I could just be she was stressed out with all that was going on, and the hen attack may have been a once off, but for now I would stick to the taking turns in the garden idea, then try walking her around on the lead around the hens to see how she reacts. Gauge it from there, it may well be a once off, it happened to a friend when the dog was very stressed upset but they didn't notice due to what was going on.
They got a dog pen and use it alternatively for dog or hens.
The dog has since been out with hens and ignores them.

aonb

I have dogs and hens. My dogs are pretty reliable around the hens at this stage (they have co-habitated for 8+ years) but I dont think I would still 100% trust the younger dog... their instinct will kick in and the hen(s) wont survive the one time the dog goes into hunter mode.

If you dont have a run for your hens, it might be worth cobbling something DIY together at the very least - then put the hens in there when the dog is in the garden - and let them free range for a set time in the evening or afternoon.

Does your dog live in the house? Shouldnt be too hard to let the hens out then for a free range while the collie is kept indoors. With the prolifiration of foxes about at the moment (and the young foxes are going out on their own now) it makes sense to have the hens in some sort of a run in any case.

Your poor dog was probably stressed by the visitors and lost the plot on saturday but she probably cant be trusted to not do it again now.

mitosis

scudzilla wrote: »

What???? I beg to differ on that, our dogs have complete run of our gaff and never an issue

There's never an issue until the first time. The OP's dog never had an issue until now. The most common remark when a dog attacks a child, for example, is there's never been any sign of this aggression before

almighty1

Id section off a sizeable piece of the garden for the chickens and either make that secure or use a radio fence to ensure the dog doesn't break in.