Calendula - Son may have Tourette's

[pinkfox]

hopefully then the cops caught them and hauled them off.

wandering dogs is a huge pet peve of mine and while im an animal lover id have no problem shooting dogs that became a danger to my self, family or livestock...
i dont like bb guns just because while itll generally solve the problem for a little while (once they get over the pain they do typically come right back) but also because theres a large risk of unnessicary suffering, infection is highly common in bb cases...personally if im shooting at something i plan to hit it and KILL it.

but if there comming back after being chased off (always give em a good swipe on the back end if you can) then you do whatever you need to to keep them safe.

if possible my first course of action is to round them up/leash them/whatever into a secure place where they can be picked up by animal control. if i knwo where the dog lives and its a first time offence ill return the dog...but if its a repeat offender thats it...off to ACC...id rather a dog be in the hands of a shelter that MIGHT put them to sleep than in the hands of owners who dont give 2 flying monkies about their saftey, or any respect for the people around them.

i hope your hen pulls through, its such a shame that you and the hen have to suffer because of someone elses ignorance...
not the dogs fault...

 

[calendula]

In hind-sight, I probably should have tried to contain them until the cops got there--though I have no leashes and am not sure where I would have put them. I also wasn't sure if they were friendly or not. My adrenaline was through the roof, so I just acted right away and chased them off. I am trying to give the owners the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this is the only time their dogs have ever gotten out, they just managed to sneak out somehow, and perhaps the owners were at work and had no clue. But, then, I look at my poor hen with her eyes swollen shut, and it makes me so mad I know it's not the dogs fault if the owners are being irresponsible, and I'm hoping that this was a one time thing and there will be no need to get the bb gun out.

 

[pinkfox]

in those situations instinct can save your life...
many a well meaning person has tried to leash up strays only go get bitten.
im just glad your ok and realy hope your hen makes it...

im just one of those odd people that always has a leash in her purse and treats in her pocket lol. guess thats what comes of living with 6 dogs LOL

 

[Marianne]

Please be careful around dogs you don't know, especially if you're thinking about giving one the boot. I have permanent nerve damage in one hand from a nasty dog bite. I'm somewhat paranoid now. :/

Back to chickie - I used some fencing to make a round shape cage to keep the others away from an injured hen. She was still able to be in the coop, had her own food and water, easy to keep an eye on her. A couple days later I had to put a top on it as one of the other hens decided to jump in with her.

 

[Farmfresh]

The cat food will also work well. Basically it is just a quick source of protein, vitamins and grains that is easy to stuff down.

My D1, the vet tech says it is amazing how many dogs and cats come in to get X-rays or scans and show multiple BB's in their butt.

 

[lorihadams]

Could you try some yogurt or cottage cheese? That might help her along some and mine love yogurt! I hope she gets better!

 

[savingdogs]

I have a stray dog that comes around and kills my chickens and we use the BB gun. We could legally shoot here, but I don't want to kill this dog, it isn't its fault. I just don't want it to come BACK. I have seen many dogs with BBs inside them and they were just fine, one of my own dogs has a BB from somewhere (I'm not her first owner). That is what I've chosen to use because it makes me more comfortable.

While I am a person who catches stray dogs, I do know what I'm doing and I also do not catch dogs behaving in certain fashions. Instead of catching them, try taking their picture on your property, that should end the dispute of which dogs are coming onto your property at least and most people have cameras on their phone all handy now too.

We did hear a YIP! one time when my hubby shot at the stray dog who had been killing my pullets one by one last year, and he has not returned after that. We had been shooting BBs at him earlier but that was the first time we hit him (hubby is a great shot) and he nailed him on the butt and the dog high-tailed it outta here. Since we have no idea who it belongs to it is pretty hard to confront the owners, if there even ARE owners, so that is how we chose to handle it.

Good luck with your bird.

 

[Denim Deb]

If you want to shoot, but can't use a gun, and don't want to use a BB gun, try a paint ball gun w/red paint balls. Just might freak out the owners if they think their dog is injured.

 

[Marianne]

Might give them an idea of what 'could' have happened, huh!

 

[calendula]

Excellent idea SD, I had my phone in my pocket, I should have taken their pictures! Hopefully, they don't come back, but if so, I'm going to do that next time. Chicken is still with us, and I think she's been improving. I'm still hand-feeding her, but she's been moving around more now. Thank you so much for all the kind thoughts sent my way everyone.

Well, we used our last jar of home-canned spaghetti sauce last night, so I guess that means tomato processing time is near. Our romas are ripening, but all the Big Boys are still green--the plants are full of them though, so I'm thinking we're going to get a big harvest this year!

We bought something like this:

Hubby tried it, and says it works well, and saves a lot of steps. You don't have to blanch and remove skins, or seed the tomatoes. It removes the skins and seeds for you, and just gives you the sauce. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, so I'll have to see for myself.