Paola Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I am so sorry to hear Goosey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 Thank you everyone for your kind words. There's been no sign of the dog today, the girls are all in their runs, most seem ok but the larger girls are very subdued. Hoho hasn't turned up so we are definitely down to 10 from 17. The garden seems large, empty and quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 That is so sad! When are your neighbours back? I'm just thinking that maybe they could let the dog out and see if it heads for a particular place where it can get through? Best to do it when they are there to grab it! It might have got through a much smaller gap than you could imagine it would! I hope your remianing ladies are all ok! xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bexter Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Have only just read your post & wanted to say how sorry I am,it must have been an awful shock for you. Losing girls is a horrible thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 So sorry to hear about this, it is sad to loose girls but I feel for you, to loose them this way is so sad. Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloss-Hen Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 poor you, our dogs are scared of our chickens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Goosey, have just read about this terrible event. Just terrible. So sorry to hear of it. Allix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Despite being assured by my neighbour that her dog could not get in to our garden again, it has. I am now down to just 3 hens from our 17. I don't know what to do. I can't make it any more secure than it already is. Do I try and rehome my 3 old ladies none of whom lay any more or do I try to keep them in an Omlet run? I have 5 cubes so would there be some way of taking the runs off the other houses and joining them to make one mega run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that.I think it's time that your neighbours took some responsibility for their dog tbh - I would be furious if I were you. I think your idea for using the cube runs as one huge run is a very good one. I have taken the run off my cube and attached it to the end of one of the eglu runs, and it has worked very well. You will probably need to get the bit that supports the extended cube run if you haven't already got one - in fact you may need 2 or 3 - but other than that it should be fairly simple to construct. Good luck with it - I hope you have no more problems with the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickichicky Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 How absolutely awful for you! I cannot even imagine how I would feel Sending many virtual ((hugs)) your way. Yes, I do think you could join the runs together. My cube with run has been attached to the wooden avery style run my OH built me - so they have a 12ft run within my WIR for extra security at times when needed. Just buy a bundle of cable ties and tie them together minus their end sections but leaving the domed top end bit as it gives it more rigidity. I do wish you all the best and hope you can get over this eventually. Kindest Regards Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh no, that is awful How are your neighbours reacting to this? The only way I can see around this is to get electric fencing/netting to keep your girls secure. If my dog had done this I would try my hardest to make sure the dog couldn't get out, replace the chickens and if I couldn't be sure the dog couldn't get out I would offer to help towards the cost of suitable electric fencing.netting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickichicky Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh no, that is awful How are your neighbours reacting to this? The only way I can see around this is to get electric fencing/netting to keep your girls secure. If my dog had done this I would try my hardest to make sure the dog couldn't get out, replace the chickens and if I couldn't be sure the dog couldn't get out I would offer to help towards the cost of suitable electric fencing.netting. Yes I quite agree - if my dog had done this I would be mortified and offer to pay for replacement chickens for sure! Just some people don't realise that our girls are so precious to us. I had this argument with someone who had their horse stabled near my house and let their Jack Russell run around even though it had killed my neighbours Abbacot Ranger duck. I said I would not be responsible for my actions towards the dog if I found it in my garden after my chickens (especially having been pre-warned). And her words were ''but they're only chickens''...... I was actually speachless.... but she regretted saying it once I re-discovered my voice But I do think the runs tied together would work whilst some solution is found. And would give you more opportunities to see where the dog is getting through without risking your girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Neighbours were shocked as I gave them back their dog, I was in floods of tears and probably incomprehensible. They came round yesterday with some tulip bulbs and a cheque for me and two small giftcards for ES and YS. I don't know how to keep the dog out. It easily clears my Omlet netting so I don't think electrifying the chicken area would work. I need to talk with OH about the practicalities. Our garden is huge, I'd easily need 100m to go round the boundaries. I have no idea how it got in. The end of the garden backs onto a field with stock fencing around it, apparantly he can't get into the field as the sheepfarmer would shoot him on sight but now I'm not so sure. Right now I'm seriously thinking of rehoming my remaining girls as even if they're in the run the dog could get in and terrorise them. Thank you all for your kind words. edited to say I've found a new home for them. I can't bear to keep them any more and run the risk of the dog getting in. Edited October 17, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chookingham Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I am so sorry Goosey. I read this with absolute horror. Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh my goodness, what a terrible thing to happen, I am so sorry From a dog's behaviour point of view, any behaviour that a dog finds rewarding (sorry to use that term), it will repeat if allowed and I think that it will return, if it can. I think it would be a shame to give away your girls though, particularly when they have had such a lot of change recently. As a dog owner myself, I would be horrified at what had happened and I would be doing everything I could to prevent it happening again. Dogs can escape, despite our best intentions, and the onus is on the dog owner to prevent it happening again. Sadly a 6 ft fence is not necessarily a barrier to a agile dog. Your neighbours really should be considering putting some trellis or similar on top of the fence but pointing in towards their garden at an angle. It will make it much more difficult for the dog to get over that way. I would also consider the electric fencing, as has already been suggested, to keep your girls safe and I would be asking the neighbours to pay for that or at least contribute to the cost. Several years ago my dog got into my neighbour's garden. We have a conifer hedge and there is a wire fence behind the conifers. A few doors down lived a cat who used to sit in my neighbour's garden, on the other side of the wire fence and hiss at my dog. Well one evening my dog (8 stone) lunged through the hedge at the wire fence, the bottom came out of the ground and he was under. The cat legged it, unharmed (although it never did taunt my dog again). As a rescue dog I knew he wouldn't go far. My hubbie ran round to next door and they let him in the garden through the side gate. In the meantime I had already called my dog to me and managed to squeeze him back through the gap under the hedge. Later we took a bottle of wine round as an apology for any plants that my dog had damaged and we were outside homebase as soon as they opened the next morning to get more wire fencing and stakes so that we would have a double row of fencing, either side of the conifers and he has never got back through since. I don't know what your relationship is like with your neighbours, and if you would want to do this, but if they refuse to try and alter the fencing or assist with costs, you could always have a word with the dog warden in your area. A visit from an official source may do the trick. I really am so sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Oh no, I have just seen your latest update that you have found a new home for your girls. That is very sad but I do understand how you must be feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 Thank you Majuka for your thoughtful post. I don't blame the dog. He has had a broken leg in the past so apparantly can't jump as high as he should be able to, he must be squeezing in/under/through somewhere. I will be sad to see my girls go but I can't put them through anymore trauma. The dog will always be next door. I will never be able to trust that the dog can't get in again. They are going to live on a lovely smallholding with acres of space and no dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I will be sad to see my girls go but I can't put them through anymore trauma. The dog will always be next door. I will never be able to trust that the dog can't get in again. They are going to live on a lovely smallholding with acres of space and no dogs. I completely understand. Thinking of you.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I'm terribly sorry Despite the fact that you've rehomed your remaining girls I'd now sit back and reflect on this seriously, you obviously loved your chickens and not ever having them again seems so sad, it seems a shame that your much loved hobby has been affected by your neighbours dog Dont panic sell the cubes yet, unless you need the money keep hold of them till you are 100% sure of your decision Consider one or two cubes in a smaller area maybe? a walk in run could be made of all of the bits of your cube runs attached to wooden battens or you could put up a 6ft high chainlink enclosure. electric strands run at 1ft and along the top offset from the fence by about a foot would keep most things out The cube runs can be made in to a mega train, Falkor made one several metres long with a cube on each end and doors along the side Another option is to run an electric strand fence outside the Omlet netting so you have a double fence (and even electrify both) I put up a 6 strand fence across my field by myself with only a bit of minor swearing so it can be done The dog may be able to clear the netting but a strand fence is much harder to judge - they also seem to know that the fence is electric, you could even invite the dog back (before new chickens go in) to encourage it to sniff the fence so it gets a shock, once they know they will stay well clear of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Also its worth looking up Janty's walk in run, its vast and has at least two cubes inside, its almost like an open barn, if you are worried about the colditz effect of electric fencing then a large walk in run would be a good alternative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 This is just so tragic, you must feel awful, I so hope you can find a way to continue with your hen keeping hobby ... a humungous walk in run sounds like an ideal solution, but don't rush into making any decisions just yet, see how you feel when you have recovered from the shock, but give yourself plenty of time. Thinking of you x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I agree with the electric strand solution suggested by Redwing. You could keep your hens permanently in a cube run/WIR with a strand of electric wire encircling the run (like this, but you can buy the bits separately much cheaper than buying a kit). One zap on the nose ought to make the dog think twice about pestering your hens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alet_chicken Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I am so so sorry for your tragic losses. Can't really offer advice above what others have already said, so will just say I am thinking of you in this difficult time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 edited to say I've found a new home for them. I can't bear to keep them any more and run the risk of the dog getting in. No, I am so sorry that it has come to this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 No, I am so sorry that it has come to this Me too but for my 3 lonely girls I think they will be happier with a few new friends. They have gone from being in a flock of 17 a fortnight ago to a trio today. I don't think it's fair to them to keep them in a run as they have been used to their freedom. The lady who is having them is lovely. I am going to think very carefully about where we go from here. Everyone's ideas have been very helpful, thank you. I'm not going to sell my cubes but will definitely not do anything until the Spring and I if I decide to get more girls I will put your suggestions into practice. I am just so sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
