Jack Russell just got my hen

[becks77]

So glad she's on the mend.

[GrowingVeg]

Terriers will kill anything they can get to. I've seen a friends terrier which is a working dog and familiar with all livestock suddenly decide it disliked a huge ram and leap for it's neck, then hang off it whilst being battered against a barn door by said ram !
Terriers are completely mental !

[trinder]

It's not Zoe's dog so this is not relevant. But. For those of you who do have dog's and chickens it is very straightforward to train your dog that "this" or "these" are not fair game "they" are part of the family and you must not chase them. We all do it with our dog and cat! it is the same training.

[bill1953]

Glad she recovered.

[tizzy]

So glad your hen is on the mend, sometimes one can be a bit too hasty to neck something and end it's misery, it's always a judgement call.

Just a thought, but as the owner is your landlady, perhaps you could ask her to fence your place securely to keep her dog out? Do you have a good relationship with her?
If not, then a secure run for your hens is all I can suggest. It's not a bad idea anyway, you can still let them out to free range when you are at home.

[bonniethomas06]

She is absolutely fine now thankfully. They are still free ranging and we haven't had any problems since - the JR got a right rollocking and hasn't dared to return. So all is well.

[Durgan]

Went home to walk the dog this lunchtime, only to find that next doors' Jack Russel had gotten one of our hens

There were feathers everywhere, and the poor little thing has had a patch of skin ripped off her neck about the size of three 50p pieces. She was naturally very shocked and sat very quietly in a corner. I have put her in a little hutch on her own with food and water to get over the shock...what I am more concerned about is whether she will recover from this?

Is there anything a vet can do? Would it be kinder to put her out of her misery? Don't want her sitting there in pain but conversely, if it will eventually heal up and some peace and quiet will see her get better, would like to give her the chance.
What would you do?
Thanks
Bonnie

As a young person raised on a homestead we killed any wounded animal immediately, but now we have become civilized. It can become a emotional decision and what to do is subjective. Bear up and don't blame the dog.

[Rich.H]

Unless the JR is a working dog brought up around farm animals to know they are out of bounds, or it gets it's legs walked off at the back of a car every day then you can bet on something like this happening again in future. Simple fact all terriers are designed to kill animals often larger than themselves, they need exeptional authority in the pack to control them and are unsuited for house pets at all.

Your best bet is have a sit down with your neighbour and explain you can't take the risk to your livestock and so you are fencing off your garden completely.