Mysterious chick loses

[Hinotori]

Predatory behavior cannot be suppressed, it must be redirected and the need for predatory behavior must be met in an acceptable way.

Redirection is very effective - just think of how border collies arrest predatory behavior sequence at eye or stalk, or how catch dogs stop the predatory sequence at grab-bite.

Punishment just makes them avoid *getting caught.* There's a great little book on predation substitute training called Hunting Together by Simone Mueller. It works!

So because I encouraged my german shepherd to kill rats from a fairly young age, she made for a better chicken protector and safe with them.

She'd actually drop a rat rather than risk biting a chicken. Silkies are not as helpful to dogs as they think they are being.

I had to teach her to look up for hawks but she hated them. Hated the starlings and blackbirds as well. Would catch them in the silkie pens and eat them.

I've had to work with my aussies to ignore the chickens unless asked to help pen them. They have to have jobs to get them to not fixate.
 

 

[Chic Rustler]

the last pitbull i had killed a couple chickens. i whipped her with a dead chicken and she never touched one again. thats about all i know about dogs and chickens.

one of the new chicks died last night and another ia looking sickly. doesnt look good.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

one of the new chicks died last night and another ia looking sickly. doesnt look good.

OH no.... This is just weird!

 

[Chic Rustler]

OH no.... This is just weird!

at this point all i can do is hope for the best. maybe it was just a fluke. its normal to lose 1or2 out of 50.

 

[farmerjan]

@Chic Rustler ; Been another week... how are they doing?

 

[Chic Rustler]

@Chic Rustler ; Been another week... how are they doing?

doing well. we may have lost one or two but nothing out of the norm. sorry been in the hospital with a kid for a week. havent had much time lately but thats another topic

 

[Chic Rustler]

meat birds are in the tractor.

 

[akroberts]

I'm wondering how many chicks you have lost since your last post. I have a pit that will kill a chicken just presumably for fun. I have a male dog that does try to play with them but doesn't try to kill them. I'm now dealing with the delimma of possibly having to cull a BSL hen that I got this year because she tried to peck my hands but today she tried to bite me.