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Pit Pet Thread

To celebrate National Puppy Day, here are the two new additions to the family. Jack and Finn.
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latest drama on my neighborhood's facebook page... a guy posted that he had been sort of led on by a lady who had a puppy to adopt out, but then she has not been responding to calls. Guy is sad that he can't have that dog. People start posting all sorts of animals available at area shelters and rescues.

Guy says "well I'm strapped for cash right now. can't afford an adoption fee. this dog was free."

A woman says (wisely, in my opinion): No dog is free. Pets are expensive. Vet bills, shots, food, etc
Another woman chimes in: Please don't get a dog if your strapped for cash. They need care and that cost money!!! Get a fish.
original poster: I've always had dogs. Just can't afford the 100.00 fee right now. I don't care for fish thank you. Dog lover. Just lost mine of 14 yrs..Mrs Jones you don't know me. I'm not stupid

It goes on like this. Those women have a point - if you can't afford an adoption fee, then it might not be a good choice to get a new puppy... yeesh.
 
I brought Nibbler home on Saturday. Looking forward to introducing him to Leela, my other kitty, tonight.

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I've got a pet related conundrum: I have pet chickens, 8 of them...they are completely awesome, beautiful and the eggs are delicious, but granted, the birds are a bit messy. Anyway we let them freely roam around our yard during the day time and lock them up after dark. We have a fence, so they are mostly contained, but they hop the fence and get in our neighbors yards so we give away some of the eggs to say sorry and thanks. It's a bit of a risk, because everything likes to eat chicken, e.g., last fall a red tailed hawk killed one of them. But last week our neighbor's cocker spaniel came into our yard and attacked our birds. The dog tried to grabbed Hermione, our oldest hen who we've had for 7 years, cornered her in my carport and started dragging her home while she squawked loudly for help. She had numerous puncture wounds and lacerations from the attack, you could see right down to the muscle and organs...we tried to nurse her back to health (my wife is a vet) but she died three days later. I have approached our neighbor in person and over email to complain about the fact that they just let their dog out to roam unsupervised in the neighborhood, and while they say they are sorry about our chicken, they also say that dogs are dogs and there really isn't anything they can do to stop her killing things but they will try. So what do I do about these people who just don't seem to care that their callous approach to dog supervision led to the gruesome death of my pet? Any thoughts?
 
Just call animal control next time you see the dog outside. Sure they'll be pissed off, but there's really nothing you can do if they think they have the right to let their dog roam the neighborhood.
 
does the dog belong to the same neighbor whose yard your chickens go into? Can you run wire or fencing along the top of wherever you keep your chickens so they can't get out, or reinforce your fence? It sucks that the dog killed your chicken but if your chickens leave your yard then something like this is likely to happen (though it wasn't outside of your yard). but all that said, the dog obviously shouldn't be roaming free.
 
No the dog lives two houses away and the hens don't wander that far, they don't like being too far from their egg laying spot and the roosting box. I'd be upset if she was killed in their yard but would also understand that it's my bad for letting the chickens trespass. But this happened in my yard just a few feet out side my fence. I could extend the fence I guess, that wouldn't look particularly pretty, but it would he safer. We could also clip the chickens' wings to keep them from flying, but then they are more susceptible to hawks and raccoon depredation. If these asshole would just put up a fence of their own and keep their dog under control...

I guess animal control is the answer, but it kind of sucks to have to resort to legal interventions. Anyway, thanks, mostly just wanted to vent.
 
Did they offer to buy you a new chicken at least?
 
Do they let their dog roam around the neighborhood all the time, or did it get out of the yard? Your neighbors sound like jerks.
 
also, i'd love to know more about your chickens - we're getting a coop and 3 birds at the end of April.
 
lbE08 said:
Did they offer to buy you a new chicken at least?
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Nope. They didn't offer but I told them that we weren't looking for compensation though. You can get a new chick for just a couple $, baby's are about $1.50, in AL anyway.
 
avalon said:
Do they let their dog roam around the neighborhood all the time, or did it get out of the yard? Your neighbors sound like jerks.
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Pretty much. They said the dog is only outside when they are out side and that she never leaves their yard...which is obviously no true since they weren't around and the dog came into my yard. Plus, Ive seen the dog across the street shitting in another neighbors front lawn. Kind of jerky, I agree.
 
lbE08 said:
also, i'd love to know more about your chickens - we're getting a coop and 3 birds at the end of April.
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Owning chickens is awesome (but, I guess, risky). We've been keeping chickens for a few years, the eggs are just the best eggs you'll ever eat, and the chickens can be really endearing and fun. My daughters love them and especially love collecting the eggs and taking them right inside to cook. We've got several different breeds: Buff orpingtons, Barred Plymouth rocks, Austrolorps, an Easter egger (she lays blue eggs), a sliver-laced Wyandott, a couple bantums, and we had (until last week) a female fighting cock. We rescued her from a place that was breeding fighting animals. We also had a Silkie bantum but she was killed by a hawk. Silkies are weird birds, genetic aberrants, but they are super cute and my daughter begged me for one. I'd be happy to tell you anything else, let me know how I can help.
 
One of my friends has chickens that roam free and they have never had any problems during the day. Maybe the horses and barn cats and goats keep predators away when they are all roaming about the pasture, but if they forget to lock them in the coop at night then there is a 100% chance that at least one chicken is getting got. Sometimes there is a blood trail (likely one of the foxes they see around) and other times there is just a bunch of feathers in a pile (likely a hawk or owl). I think the most recent one to be returned to the foodchain was a Silkie.
 
About 2 years ago my BIL got a dozen chickens. After about a year he was down to zero. 11 foodchain related deaths and one murder. There are a lot of predators where he lives so he decided not to get more. The eggs were good though.
 
We've had fresh eggs from friends before and they're incredible; we go through a crapload of eggs between the two of us, so it seems like a sound investment. Plus, it's very #portland of us to have urban chickens.... and our duplex neighbors have two little boys that would love them, too (and they're vegan, so we don't even need to give them eggs- ha). We've got a pretty protected yard area, so I'm not as concerned about predators - there are definitely hawks and such around, but I don't know that our eventual birds will be the easiest targets.

We're still trying to figure out breeds and whether we want to get chicks or just go ahead and get some older birds that are already laying.
 
wfudkn said:
About 2 years ago my BIL got a dozen chickens. After about a year he was down to zero. 11 foodchain related deaths and one murder. There are a lot of predators where he lives so he decided not to get more. The eggs were good though.
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Every thing eats chickens, and at night they will pretty much just sit still and be eaten. As one of them is being eaten alive in the coop the other will just sit there hoping the fox doesn't notice them too.
 
lbE08 said:
We've had fresh eggs from friends before and they're incredible; we go through a crapload of eggs between the two of us, so it seems like a sound investment. Plus, it's very #portland of us to have urban chickens.... and our duplex neighbors have two little boys that would love them, too (and they're vegan, so we don't even need to give them eggs- ha). We've got a pretty protected yard area, so I'm not as concerned about predators - there are definitely hawks and such around, but I don't know that our eventual birds will be the easiest targets.

We're still trying to figure out breeds and whether we want to get chicks or just go ahead and get some older birds that are already laying.
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Like I said above, everything eats chickens so don't be too confident that your yard is protected! Locking them up securely at night really helps, and not having asshole neighbors with loose dogs.

The chicks only take about 4 months to start laying, but really the best part is having the kids to help raise them, so if you are kidless, it might not be all that worth it. Raising chicks is easy for the first week or so, but then they get bigger and bigger and they make a mess and it gets to be a chore. You also pretty much need to raise them indoors for the first few weeks (we kept ours inside for 8 weeks). The best part about raising them yourself is that when they are adults they are much less scared around you. My hand raised hens eat out of my hand and follow me around the yard, my hens acquired as adults keep a safe distance and never let me catch them. Austrolopes and the Barred Rocks are definitely the best layers in my experience and also pretty friendly birds. If eggs are your main interest, go with those breeds. Also living in #portland, you have to name at least one of them Colin.
 
birdman said:
Like I said above, everything eats chickens so don't be too confident that your yard is protected! Locking them up securely at night really helps, and not having asshole neighbors with loose dogs.

The chicks only take about 4 months to start laying, but really the best part is having the kids to help raise them, so if you are kidless, it might not be all that worth it. Raising chicks is easy for the first week or so, but then they get bigger and bigger and they make a mess and it gets to be a chore. You also pretty much need to raise them indoors for the first few weeks (we kept ours inside for 8 weeks). The best part about raising them yourself is that when they are adults they are much less scared around you. My hand raised hens eat out of my hand and follow me around the yard, my hens acquired as adults keep a safe distance and never let me catch them. Austrolopes and the Barred Rocks are definitely the best layers in my experience and also pretty friendly birds. If eggs are your main interest, go with those breeds. Also living in #portland, you have to name at least one of them Colin.
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perfect, thanks.
we don't have kids and i don't want them inside (too small of a place), so I think older birds make the most sense. The coop we're looking at does have a door, so we should be OK for nighttime security.
Names are TBD... Colin will be considered.
 
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