Drstratton - My Backyard Journey Journal

[drstratton]

I'm sorry. And you did so much trying to keep her safe, don't be hard on yourself.

Thank you! I did try, but I knew what needed to be done.

 

[drstratton]

I am sorry for you, that you did not clip her wing when she first started this escaping. Chickens are smart in some ways and totally unable to reason things out...so dumb in other ways.... Just because she was smart enough to get out, she was not smart or fast enough to stay safe. And although it was comical that she was so smart to figure how to "climb the vine"... it really was not something to be laughed at.
You probably should have put her in a pen that she could not get out of until you figured out a way to stop her antics.

So why not set a couple of traps for the dog/dogs? If you are feeling squeamish, set some large live traps... catch them and call the dog warden/animal control or whatever...
Jaw traps work good....
Personally, they would not live to go back home if it was here. I have gotten very hard against things that destroy my livestock......
In defense of the dogs, the hen would not stay in... fair game outside the confinement area... EXCEPT... if it was still your property... then no quarter given to the dogs.... Owners that allow their dogs to run loose are the problem... Sad thing is, the dogs will keep coming back, they have found a sport in chasing/killing and will never quit....
One of the reasons my 2 acres is getting fenced around the perimeter.... stop the dogs from getting in.... in the meantime, the chickens are in confinement pens with TOPS.... and I keep the live traps set.... and the .22 is loaded all the time.

Dealing with wildlife, possums, coons, foxes, even coyotes, is different. And the aerial ones, hawks and owls... is different. They are doing what comes naturally, including finding the easiest meals they can. I simply dispatch them. But I try to give my animals a fighting chance.
Losing those turkeys in the full daylight hours to a "probably mange infested" fox or a coon, was a bad deal.... and the ones that got killed on the road I would almost guarantee were because they were "running from" the fox 2 days earlier... hence fencing them in the electric netting enclosure... but it did not keep them safe enough... which was really sad for them and me... slaughter is not acceptable... If the fox had taken off one at a time then I could see it... and very possibly it was the big coon I caught shortly after that, as they WILL kill for sport and fun... and then a week later another big coon got killed on the road at the end of the property so possibly a mated pair... Have not had any problems since they were taken care of ..... and I would imagine the fox that the guys pounding in the posts saw, died, as he said it was really really horrible looking with the mange.

The dogs around here definitely kill for sport and we've sadly had to deal with many of them. We trapped a large Rottweiler that killed some of the rabbits we had in a pen we moved around in a lawn tractor. Dale was tired of dispatching animals. Animal control came and got him, we never saw him again. Coyotes take any they kill, dogs leave them. They would have to be trapped as we don't always see them. My husband was home when this happened. Any others I see will be taken care of. They would be put down at a shelter too. I don't think the people that live in our area would go looking for their dogs anyway. If they cared you wouldn't see the same dogs running around all of the time. Just a sad day, because I knew.

 

[SageHill]

OK - I'll say don't be too hard on yourself. This is why......... The only possible true way you could've fixed that the way it was would have been to take out trees and all vines. Yeah - not a gonna happen thing. Taking away the very stuff that makes it a nice area for the other hens. While you think that clipping a wing or both would have taken care of things, with the way she hopped from spot to spot on the vine in the video - more than likely she'd have hopped herself out again. Sorry it happened - and I feel bad you lost her as she was such a character and provided all of us with a little fun watching and reading of her antics.
Hugs

 

[drstratton]

OK - I'll say don't be too hard on yourself. This is why......... The only possible true way you could've fixed that the way it was would have been to take out trees and all vines. Yeah - not a gonna happen thing. Taking away the very stuff that makes it a nice area for the other hens. While you think that clipping a wing or both would have taken care of things, with the way she hopped from spot to spot on the vine in the video - more than likely she'd have hopped herself out again. Sorry it happened - and I feel bad you lost her as she was such a character and provided all of us with a little fun watching and reading of her antics.
Hugs

Thank you. She was a character and will be missed. That's kind of what I was thinking, she would have kept on hopping out. If I clipped her wings then she wouldn't have be able to get back in the pen at all. But, I should have tried that with her. The grapes are such a good food source for the wild birds, especially the quail.

 

[fuzzi]

Thank you. She was a character and will be missed. That's kind of what I was thinking, she would have kept on hopping out. If I clipped her wings then she wouldn't have be able to get back in the pen at all. But, I should have tried that with her. The grapes are such a good food source for the wild birds, especially the quail.

 

[drstratton]

 

[Baymule]

It it possible or feasible to fence your property? I'm rather adamant in keeping my animals IN and others OUT. I've warned my neighbors not to let their little dogs come over to my place. One field is partially fenced in field fencing, I hate it, it's crap fencing, but it was already up, keeps my dogs and sheep in. If someone's little dog goes through the wire, It's gonna die. My dogs will kill it. I don't have a gate across the driveway, but it is long and most animals don't want to be confined like that. The wire I use is sheep and goat wire, it has 4x4 inch "holes",

If not able to fence the entire property, can you fence a portion where the chickens roam?

 

[drstratton]

It it possible or feasible to fence your property? I'm rather adamant in keeping my animals IN and others OUT. I've warned my neighbors not to let their little dogs come over to my place. One field is partially fenced in field fencing, I hate it, it's crap fencing, but it was already up, keeps my dogs and sheep in. If someone's little dog goes through the wire, It's gonna die. My dogs will kill it. I don't have a gate across the driveway, but it is long and most animals don't want to be confined like that. The wire I use is sheep and goat wire, it has 4x4 inch "holes",

If not able to fence the entire property, can you fence a portion where the chickens roam?

We have our yard area and treelines fenced, about 2 acres, except where the driveway is. I've wanted a gate there for years. I don't know if it will ever happen. The chicken pen is 100'x50', I can't remember the exact dimensions. It would be hard to add more fence and I don't think it would make a difference, we have way too many trees. If they wanted to get out they would figure out how. So we'd be back to the same issue.