Sad news

My sweet, darling Junior was killed yesterday by our heeler mix. Of all of my birds, Junior was everyone's absolute favorite. I'm sure he died trying to protect the rest of the flock, tiny though he was. I was crying about it last night, and my FIL told me "Crying's not going to make anything better." At which point, I told him we needed to get rid of that dog since her only purpose in life was to chase our cars down the driveway and kill my chickens. He stormed off, and we haven't spoken since. I know that when it comes to livestock, getting attached is a bad idea, and truthfully, there are quite a few birds in my flock that I haven't gotten attached to. But Junior? He was an absolute darling, and will be sorely missed.

I am so sorry.

I feel your pain believe me. I lost my Buff Orpington hen that was a sweetheart to a hawk just the other day.

So so sorry.

Very sorry....I really do know how you feel.

I'm sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is. :(

so sorry Mev. These things that happens to everyones chickens is why I don't free range. I know I have a lot of hawks. We bring the free range to them. When DH mows we empty the grass into the pens. I buy reduced veggies and fruits to feed them daily. I have had my ducks for 4 1/2 yrs, some of my geese for 2 and now that I have chickens the coyotes are coming close enough down the dam I can hear them from inside. I have never had coyotes before. Thankfully just going outside and firing off a few rounds has sent them running

Donna, they're not really free range - the chicken run is finally up, but I had some gaps at the base that Junior was able to squeeze through. I think the dog was harassing them, and he got out to take care of business. He was always too big for his britches. So I've been keeping them in the coop until I can fill the gaps and put chicken wire over the top. We give them grass clippings and handfuls of clover. We're going to start giving them garden greens too, since those are becoming prolific. Are there fruits and vegetables I should avoid with chickens?

No avocados. They are very toxic to quite a few animals. No chocolate...but who would share their chocolate with chickens?

Some people advise against citrus, but I have orange trees and the chickens eat the fallen fruit with no problems.

It's always difficult for me too. I just try not to think about it too much. The worst part for me, is when I believe it was my own fault, and it usually is in one way or the other.

I tie the dog up during the day and let the chickens free range in the yard. Well, the other day, I forgot I had one of the roosters in the garage, and turned the dog loose. I was about to go to sleep when I remembered the rooster. The dog had him and had pulled some feathers out of his back, but he is still alive. That was about five days ago. He seems to be recovering but, I feel so dumb for that. I hadn't intended to confess that to anybody.

I've done other dumb things too, like not realizing I should dust the nest for mites when I was hatching eggs. Half the chicks died before I realized what was going on. Zzz helped me in private mail. Ty Z.

It's always good to try and say "Thank God it wasn't something worse that happened" and be grateful for what we still have, and accept tragedies as part of living.

Still, I grieve. I guess it's normal.

oh Mev the dog went into your pen. I would tell FIL next time the dog goes in their cage you gonna shoot it. Once you close the gaps it will probably try to dig under.

We have ALL gone through this very painful learning curve. Raising chickens sounds soooo easy.. till you try it. !!!

I am still making mistakes. In fact, I just buried a dear Serama roo that got stuck behind the coop and I didn't see him till it was too late. That one hurt real bad.. It was totally my fault. I knew it was a possibility, but thought it wouldn't happen..

I'm sorry for your loss Mevnmart...

I've heard it's a good idea to make an L shape with wire or something. One foot down and one foot across, so when the dog or other predator digs they just keep running into wire, or just kind of slope it down and away from the edge of the fence, weigh it down and bury it. The other option is going straight down 1 1/2 feet.

The big problem in my plans for a new coop and run is, how much work that is to dig. I was even thinking of renting a trencher to dig down and just pour in dry cement and let it get wet on the first rain or snow. I guess putting big rocks or cinder blocks at the bottom might work too. Honestly I just don't know what to do.

My horse lot is in a low place and when it rains the water just pours into my lot from the surrounding area. I have rubber boots to get in there. What a mess! So, there are these other issues to deal with as far as drainage goes first. Do I haul in dirt, or dig some trenches and put in gravel, or both, or what? I have no idea. Sounds like it could be expensive too.

For now, I'll just make smaller pens for the roosters and put hardware cloth on the bottom, until I can do something better.

One day at a time..... is all I can deal with.

For some people, chickens aren't "real" pets, like dogs (I say this as a person who does not make pets of my chickens, but I understand and accept that other people do). So possibly your FIL has no idea how you feel because, after all, it was just a stupid chicken to him. And maybe he felt guilty that you were crying because of something his dog did, but also annoyed that he was feeling guilty for it, and so he said something stupid.

I hope you get things sorted out with your FIL and his dog. Cyberhugs to you.

Well, FIL and I have gone on as though that encounter never happened. I'm still ticked, but it looks like MIL is trying to find a home for the dog anyway (I didn't mention it to her, but she was just as upset as I was about Junior). I can't look at that dog now without seeing an evil predator (I know she's not evil, but that's how I see her). My son gets upset ever time "Rooster" crows because it makes him miss Junior. :(

Turns out, the dog didn't get in, Junior got out. In most areas, we've got hardware cloth going a good 6 inches or more into the ground, but there, it goes to the board and there's a 4-5" gap underneath. We're going to trench it out and add some more to it. Then, I think we're going to cement the whole outer rim. Hopefully, the dog gets rehomed, the run proves to be safe and all will be as well as it can be. I understand that I will likely lose more birds along the way to disease, accidents or predators, and I can tell you, had she run up with just about any other chicken, I would have been pissed, but not so devastated. Junior was a doll.

So. That's the deal. My FIL and our neighbor built a beautiful door for the coop today, so we're one step closer to being ready to let the girls out. And in between, I need to prune and tie to the stakes 240 tomato plants, weed the whole garden and find a job. Hubby has all but lost his (he's on FMLA, but they denied his short term disability) because his knees are shot. I also have higher earning potential, but man, I'm not looking forward to leaving the farm for a regular job. You do what you have to, I suppose.

Anyway, thanks for listening and for the sympathy - I knew you guys would understand.

Eileen