“Mom there’s a chicken with its head gone on the back porch”
“What?”
“There is a dead chicken on the back porch…well I’m thinking its dead. If it’s not that is weird!”
“Ughh, that *&%* dog!”
“I think she just wants to play with them.”
“Yeah by biting their heads off?”
“She’s just a dog, isn’t that what dogs do?”
This is the conversation I had yesterday with one of my kids. One of my very favorite chickens was laying decapitated just outside the back door. Yes no head to be found. If it wasn’t for the head thing I would have thought she was taking a nap, she looked so peaceful…again except for the head missing.
This is the 3rd headless chicken that has been laid (no pun intended, really) on our doorstep since we got Sugar from the Humane Society, a lab mix. She really is a good dog…well again except for the head thing. I have patched every hole in the chicken fence I can find. I have clipped their wings but still they are breaking curfew and sneaking out. Be warned my sweet chickens, the world is a big bad place outside your little run…there are racoons, coyotes, bobcats, and a playful black lab to avoid!
Did you know that chickens are escape artists? And that dogs like to chase chickens that escape? Yep that is the nature of it. The food chain I suppose…lucky for Sugar the camel is a vegetarian since he would be the next link in our chain!
I’m off to fix the chicken run…again!
Kim can also be found at the inadvertent farmer raising organic fruits, veggies, critters, kids…and a camel!
That is a great picture, she looks like she if full of xxo:$%$ and vinegar!
AWWWW, what a cutie chiots! We got our Lucy from the pound as well, she’s been fantastic (besides a few health problems). As much as we try to get her not to chase the feral cats she just can’t help herself. I guess they are animals after all, as much as we like to see them as family members.
The pup is adorable, but if it wouldn’t break any hearts too much, perhaps would be better with a different wonderful family, one who doesn’t keep chickens and doesn’t live too near anyone who does.
Labs are bird dogs, after all. She’s just catching them and bringing them to her people like her genes tell her to do! Maybe a nice herding breed–I’m sure our corgi would have thought the chickens were his to PROTECT DARNIT.
In all honesty we would give away the chickens before the dog. I always have people wanting chickens but i could never ever give away the dog…my kids’ hearts would be broken. After losing the last pound puppy to parvo I couldn’t put them through it.
Yes it is in her genes, that is why she gets scolded but then we love her anyway!
I am just going to have to be more crafty than the chickens and stay one step ahead of them!
We had an interesting situation in our neighborhood. We live in a subdivision where the lots are too big to be “city” and way too small to be “country.” Our county is too rural to have a leash law yet, so our adopted stray mongrel, who has some black lab as well as chow in his genes, is free to move as he pleases. Our neighborhood supposedly has a covenant with restrictions on livestock, but that didn’t stop one neighbor from getting chickens which also roamed at will. Well, our sweet mongrel, Blacky, with a little help from his cohort Snowy, a German shepherd mix who lives across the street managed to cull two of the flock right away. I thought we would be headed for trouble. But then Blacky got used to them – so used to them that he wouldn’t even chase them out of our yard when they were scattering mulch out of my flower beds and pooping on my sidewalk. In fact, one time one of the roosters was scratching near where Blacky was lying. Blacky got up and moved. Now that is backwards!
Hope things work out for you.
There is hope for your lab!! We’ve got a 3 yr old lab/pit mix and she practically snuggles with our hens. She does have a gentle disposition but I think once you pup calms down they might be great friends! He looks like he’s such a happy guy though!! It would be tough to say good-bye. Good luck!