Particularly free range or pastured chickens.

The amount of carnage they can accomplish in just a few minutes is devastating.

Not the dog's fault- he was just doing what dogs do. The owner is a different story....

Dogs will kill them all.

I understand the coyote or fox are skittish around people and will probably run at the slightest noise, but why would the dog just keep killing?

So they aren't killing as a necessity to survive, but rather out of an instinctive urge to hunt.

Not all dogs will do this, but some will. I was raised on a farm with chickens and we lost many of them to people who just let their dogs free roam. Since we had lots of trees, many of the chickens could escape, but dogs would often kill every chicken they could catch and just leave them lying there.

My brother lives in a semi-rural area here in South California. Most of his neighbors have chickens and pigs, horses and goats. When the chickens get in his yard, his dog kills them quick. Happened the first day, as they were moving into their new home. The neighbor just walked over, asked for the dead bird back. My brother assumed it was that night's meal. Over the years, the scenario repeats itself, despite every effort my brother makes to keep his dogs under control. As you say, just an instinctive urge to hunt.

He always said they had a natural right to be there and his chickens didn't. He didn't blame the dogs, but would give the owners an earful if he knew where they came from. Mostly it was people who moved to the country from the city and were ignorant about the damage dogs could cause to livestock. Our neighbors had a cattle ranch and would shoot every dog they caught on their property after having a cow run to death by a pack of dogs.

Or maybe an emu. Cassowarys have killed people.



"Cassowary is one of most dangerous animals in captivity comparable to “big cats”. Its powerful kicks are fatal for humans."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary

Traditionally dogs are used.

Of a man's chickens. One of my customer's
neighbor's had just put out all 19 chickens and a fox got them all.

Husky type dogs are bad about killing chickens.

The few that were around were small and usually solitary, so they just didn't take that much. Some of them live in groups, so like coyotes they might take enough for the whole pack.

Although we had a coup for them to lay eggs, most of our chickens roosted in the trees at night, so we didn't lose all that many to predation.

She wasn't even a year old yet, but thrill killed a neighbor's special breed sheep (more than a dozen) within a couple hour period when she got out. She was put down at the request of the owner of the sheep. We were devastated.

you know that your neighbor has chickens it is important for you to make sure your dog is not left free to wonder.

And think it's ok to let their dogs run free.

It's not and the dog will get shot.

If not, he needs to go find it.