A wild pack of family dogs

Many of you have heard of the tragedy that befell the World Hunger Relief farm 2 weeks ago, when someone or something attacked, maimed, and left for dead nearly 30 chickens. It was a tragic loss, and our egg production has really suffered.

Be happy to know that this was not the fault of someone's negligence caring for our friendly chickens, no one forgot about them or left them out all night, NO! It was actually between 6 and 8:30 PM when the strike occurred, not even getting dark yet. Our chickens, unaware that they were in danger, were still happily free ranging, enjoying the evening warmth, and would not head into the coop for the night for at least a couple hours when, from nowhere, there was a massacre that befell them.

Coyotes don't kill for sport. Coyotes don't leave 30 uneaten dying chickens on the ground. This was a sad and pointless kill, a waste of the life, energy, and food that could have sustained many. This was a stupid and foolish act.
We surmise that this was the work of wild dogs. Dogs, reared outside the confines and bounds of the domesticated homes their preceding generations have known, they now have began a re-wilding process which has given them back the desire to kill but without the instinct and natural understanding to kill only what is needed, respecting the balance of what the earth provides. They do not kill to sustain themselves, they kill for the fun of it and it is terribly sad.






Yesterday I learned that a pack of dogs, similar to those pictured here, is the responsible party for this killing spree. And at about 6pm, after all my afternoon chores I spotted them. Prancing across the pasture headed straight for the fence surrounding our chickens were four HUGE dogs!! They looked so happy and free, excited about the wretched game they were about to play with our hens. I was hopping mad and so, with adrenaline pumping, hands waving and lots of hollering, I chased them in my skirt and flip flops through 8 acres of pasture, tailing them all the way to the end of the farm before they wriggled through the back fence and were free. The chickens were saved for another night! But so were the dogs.

Tonight me and my husband will be ready with the farm shotgun, hiding in the tall sorgum sudan grass. Is it worth the death of a wild dog to save our 80 remaining hens? I don't know. We're just planning to scare them off with the shots and deter them from coming back, but we'll see what happens.

Wish us luck,
Jessica Bullock, Livestock Intern