uma_webb28•2mo agoProlific Poster

The day the neighbor's dog got in and my whole flock scattered everywhere

So I'm out back last Tuesday morning giving the girls their scratch and I hear this commotion. My neighbor's lab mix had dug under the fence and was running circles around the coop. I had 8 hens out free ranging and they just went ballistic, flying every which way. My best layer, a buff Orpington I call Butter, bolted straight for the road. I was panicking, chasing the dog with a broom while trying to round up chickens. Ended up grabbing the hose and spraying the dog to get him to leave, but by then three hens were hiding under the porch and two had flown over the back fence into the woods. It took me almost 45 minutes to coax them all back with mealworms and a lot of clucking. The dog's owner was real sorry and offered to pay for better fence repairs, but I'm stuck wondering if I should just keep them cooped up more or try to train them to stick closer. Has anyone else dealt with a loose dog like this, and did you find a way to keep your birds from scattering so bad?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica_miller2mo ago

Hens actually don't need training to stick close - they naturally want to stay near their coop and food source, so the real fix is just making sure the fence is solid enough to keep dogs out. That neighbor offering to pay for repairs is a good deal, so I'd take it and not worry too much about keeping them cooped up.

miles_jones392mo ago

Hang on, Jessica Miller, did you just say the neighbor is actually offering to pay for the fence repairs? That's wild, honestly. Most people would just tell you to deal with it yourself.

graceprice1mo agoTop Commenter

Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense. I used to think you had to train chickens to stay put, like with dogs or something, but what you said about them just wanting to be near their food and coop really clicked for me. @jessica_miller I think you're right about the fence being the main issue here, not the hens themselves. It's way simpler than I was making it, honestly. And yeah, taking the neighbor up on paying for repairs sounds like the obvious move. I'm glad you pointed that out because I would have been overthinking this for no reason.