Argh! Unknown dog keeps killing my hens!!

[diana_of_the_dunes]

I just had another one killed tonight.  The first was on Christmas Eve (nice Christmas gift, huh?).  I have a friend who hunts, and he showed me how to skin and carve off the breast meat.  He did the first hen, and I took care of the one tonight.  I'm grateful that I can at least have some meat out of the deal, but I'd much rather have my chicken!  This was my favorite Australorp.  She's squat whenever I came near, so I would always pet her and pull her tail a bit to make her fluff up her feathers.  I raised them from chicks this spring, and they are my first ever chickens.  Now two out of the four are dead. 

I really want to free-range my birds, but that's not really looking like an option now.  They've been roaming the "neighborhood" since July or August, and I've never had a problem.  Now that there's snow on the ground, I've lost two.  Grrr....

[limette]

That sucks. In most places you can't truly free-range chickens. There are just too many animals that find chickens an easy, tasty meal. We rotate ours through fenced paddocks which I plan to plant up with trees and bushes for them.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

I don't have the space here for separate "paddocks" for them.  We have been planning on making them a tractor in the spring, but that doesn't help in the snow right now!  I liked for them to be able to come out and hang around the driveway or porch; I feel bad for them when they're stuck in the coop.  But in the coop I guess they'll stay.  I wish I knew whose dog it is so I could go talk with them about it.  I completely understand that it's just being a dog, so I wouldn't make a scene or anything, but maybe they don't realize it's wandering around.  It just stinks, since we've been able to free-range them for so long without any problems.  Our neighbors all liked seeing them wandering around, and they've been asking where they've been!

[annethcz]

Grr, that's tough.  My dreams of free-range chickens were also killed by wandering dogs. 

[mattemma04]

Sorry for your loss!

I would invest in some fencing or a large havahart to trap the dog. I prefer the fence since there will always be dogs that get loose. You could also install a game cam to take pics day/night. That way you can chit chat with neighbors and ask if they know who owns the dog you caught on cam.

Only other option is to be outside with the hens when they are out.Maybe you will get lucky and catch the dog.

I have a yard fence and then a dinky plastic fence for the run.I have to stay with my hens otherwise the hawk will eat them.Amazing all the critters that will eat chickens.