I don't know how to say this gently... my chickens were found dead this afternoon-- 13 of them. Broken necks. Long story short, it was deliberate and a report was filed with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. We have our suspicions and MCSO/Animal Cruelty Team is still investigating, but have little hope the responsible party will be caught. We are heartbroken! We loved our goofy girls.
Now I have a dilemma-- I have one lone survivor, an 11-month old Ameraucana in moult. We raised her from a fluffball and she's very sweet, if a little skittish from being at the bottom of the pecking order. I know a solitary chicken isn't good, so... Do I keep her and get a few more adult hens, or give her away and start with a new batch of chicks? One thing is certain: we're not giving up and refuse to be bullied out of raising perfectly legal chickens!
Does anyone have a few hens that would like to share a 6 ft x 6 ft coop with an attached 250+ square foot run? Shade, misters, predator proof, with a shiny new lock on the gate.
I'm open to adopting her out, though I'd rather keep her. If anyone has the perfect home for her, let me know.
If anyone has suggestions for this bizarre situation, I'd love to hear them!
Thanks so much!
~~Laura
Replies
This may be off the subject of chickens, but...
I recently rescued a pregnant female Lab mix that had been dumped in the desert when the temperatures dropped below freezing before the holidays. I have her in foster right now and her pups are going to their forever families this weekend. The foster father is a single dad that works long hours and doesnt feel it is fair to keep the Mama dog sequestered for long periods of time and we are looking for a forever home for her.
(Foster Dad wanted to keep her but she appears to NOT be cat tolerant and sometimes he is gone 15 hour days.)
SHe loves children and seems fine around other dogs (at the park, etc).
If anyone is interested in adopting an older dog (about 5 years old). SHe would need to be spayed). I recently gave her her vaccinations and wormed her. She had a recent vet check also. She also loves to go for walks.
Her facebook page is:
Merry Queen of the Desert.
(All pups have homes, just Merry is available)
WOW. I am so sorry!! This is horrific, and I'm finding it difficult to type a reply to this without using the numerous four letter words that come to mind. My sincere condolences.
I don't have any further suggestions aside from a security camera.
I'm with Rachel on the four-letter words. A huge moat with hungry crocs and alligators would be nice thought for the horrid creatures that infected your coop. I hope you can soon find your four-legged family member from the rescue shelters you've contacted.
I have some ladies that are four years old, so their production isn't quite up there where you might prefer. Perhaps two or three 4-year old Americaunas, and then some young birds, about a year old now, who appear to be a cross between a Leghorn rooster and some banty hens of some type. The latter lay very light brown eggs. I'd be willing to give them up to you, knowing that they'd be going to a very good home. I've owned them all since they were chicks. If interested, please send me a message through the VPA if you're interested.
Wow! I'm so sorry to hear that! I hope they do catch the person.
Before you get more chickens, and until they catch the person, I'd definitely encourage you to get protection. Yes, a dog might be all you need, and is probably the best choice. Start with one old enough to protect right away, but young enough to chicken-train. We have one Basset who is a fantastic bird catcher, so any poultry entering the back yard is history. We haven't been able to train her, so we trained the chickens & turkeys to stay out of the backyard.
I'm sorry about your dog, too. We put our 15 year dog old down a couple weeks ago. We still have the two Bassets; I'm not sure if Bassets can count as real protection, but they have a good bark.
Another choice might be to hot wire fences, gates, or any area that a person would have to cross to access your birds. We've used it to keep cattle & horses in, and to train dogs to stay away from the chicken coop. You just need to remember to turn it off during the day if you free range your birds.
I wish you the best, and again, am so sorry to ear about this!
Im so sorry.
Perhaps a large dog is in your future...one that loves chickens, of course.
Where do you live? Keep us posted on the investigation.
Peace.
We're out in the Desert Hills area north of Carefree Hwy.-- it's a Phx. address, but technically we're in a county island. I have an acre and a quarter with plenty of space and no one has ever made a complaint about my chickens, either to me or to the authorities. I'm even registered with AZ Dept. of Ag. as a nest-run egg producer, so I'm all legal.
Funny you mention a dog... We lost our dog due to old age a couple of weeks after Thanksgiving-- she would have been 14 this week. Maybe it's time to start scouring the rescue shelters... Something to think about.
We are stunned. It's sad when you realize your chickens need to be locked up to be protected from wackos. I miss my birdies.
I'm so sorry to hear about your birds. It's simply baffling and heart-wrenching to hear.
Unfortunately I can't be of any help on the chicken front, but if you decide to get a dog, I highly recommend looking at South West Collie Rescue. It's a great organization - they're nice, easy to work with and totally committed to their dogs. And a collie, while not a big dog, would be great for guarding hens. They're gentle, very intelligent, easy to train and loyal. And they have HUGE, loud barks!
We got our collie/border collie mix through SWCR (he's not a working dog but could be!) and couldn't be happier. Just thought I'd float the idea!
Good luck and blessings to you!
Ruth
http://www.nmcollierescue.com/
Wow. Talk about coincidences-- our girl was a Sheltie. A very large Sheltie at 47 lbs., so she was very much like a small collie. Couldn't have asked for a better dog-- I would have cloned her if I could. She was large enought okeep up with our active family, and small enought o take everywhere.
I registered with AZ Sheltie rescue, and don't they work with a collie rescue? I'm looking for a puppy or very young dog. Fourteen yers wasn't nearly enough and I just don't think I can give up years (especially puppy years!) of a doggie relationship. Do you think SWCR can help? I'd be open to discussing options...
Yes they do work with the collie rescue! It's a small world!
I'm sorry you lost your girl. I know how hard it is to lose a beloved dog. When you are ready to adopt again, SWCR is a great option. They don't have as many puppies as they do adult and senior dogs, but they do get them. I believe they have a puppy right now, actually. But if it's not time yet they will get more in the future. You just have to keep an eye on their website or facebook. They're good at keeping it up to date.
Best of luck to you!
Laura,
I am just so so sorry :( What an awful awful thing for some crazy person to do!!!! I really hope that whoever did this is punished.... I am sorry about your dog as well :( We lost (had to put down) our old girl at 15yrs as well. It is a heavyhearted thing to have to do. If you find that your last girl needs a loving home we have a family, a home and hens that would be thrilled to make her feel welcome and special :) We are just a little west of you. Hopefully you will find a way to keep her happy with you and make it all workout. How did she manage to survive? Good for her!!!! Again, I am just soooo sorry :(
Best wishes for brighter days :)
Blessings,
Kelly
walentiny@q.com
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