NEED HELP WITH COSTS>>>>>Neighbors dog killed my whole flock ....

So sorry for your loss! it is devastating when you lose any of your flock. Monetarily I'd go with $10 a chicken. Aren't there any leash laws in your area? It's nice to let them free range but out here in herkimer county,NY I've got weasels and BIG racoons and the neighbor has 2 labs so I went all out with a predator proof coop w/attached run and a big fenced in lot. It was $250 in materials for the fencing and t-posts but now my flock is safe and with a 4 foot high welded wire fence will last quite a while plus i also use part of it to go around the garden. What's that famous quote "Good fences Build good neighbors. I'd even call the dog warden and turn them in for running around loose. If that fails you lure the dogs into your car and take them for a ride about 50 miles away and let them out. No more dog problems. Can you tell I'm a cat person. Growing up the farm down the road had 16(i'm not exagerrating)
german shepard/mutt mixed breeds running around loose and no one ever did or said anything about it.Us kids were terrified riding bikes by that place. The dogs would come at you from all different directions. We had to leave big sticks or old baseball bats in the weeds on either side of the farm to make it by safely. The same people had turkeys running around inside their house. My grandmother stopped by to collect donations for some church function and she said 2 turkeys strutted through the parlor like they belonged there and the lady acted just like it was normal. A couple big mean roosters are quite good guarding the flock. I had 2 beautiful americauana roosters that reached a year old and started attacking me.But if you want to get even w/the chicken killing dog owning neighbors a couple roosters will drive 'em nuts. Especially when they crow and they aren't in tune.It's neat they crow but after a week the novelty wears off quick and they can be rough on the hens. I have to get some of those chicken saddles to protect their back feathers.You can still order chickens from hatcheries like Myers and Strombergs. Good luck in the future. SMITTY

So I am curious to know what the outcome of your story was? After reading through the posts and hearing other horror stories of attacks and losses seems electric is the best answer, and not too expensive. Actually just electrified my coop last week with a Zareba solar box that was $150 and around $50 for the wire, ground rod, insulators etc. So for my set up since I don't have power down to the coop was $200. But we'll worth it to not face these kind of losses and heartbreak. As for what to charge your neighbor, can I suggest that you at least total up EVERY expense, including the cost of your chicks, feed, the work on the coop, maybe the cost of the coop and your time spent, pretty much everything you put into what you did to get set up and everything incurred while raising them, and then show the neighbor that cost, as well as the new costs of reinforcing your coop/run/yard so they can at least get a clue as to what you have invested in everything. And then to be civil and not have to live next to someone with major tension, charge them a fair price that you both can live with. But I do think they should be made aware of what you have put into everything. Or possibly charging them for a new round of chicks and the reinforcements necessary to keep their dogs from ever harming a new flock. As it does seem this neighbor has no clue as to the value you place on your flock. And hopefully having to pay you will make them think twice about letting the dog loose again! Best of luck with your new flock.

Triple Willow said:

Y'all do know that hex "chicken wire" will not keep predators from breaking in and killing your birds, right? All "chicken wire" is good for is keeping chickens in, not any good for keeping predators out.

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Repeating the above quote just in case you miss it the first time!

Y'all do know that hex "chicken wire" will not keep predators from breaking in and killing your birds, right? All "chicken wire" is good for is keeping chickens in, not any good for keeping predators out.

I am so sorry for your loss. It is unbearably painful I am sure. I live in a high predator area. I have an enclosed predator-proof pen connected to the coop for them to outside in when I am not home. I only allow them to free range when I am there to watch over them or have my chicken friendly dog out with them. I have an electric fence around my coop to keep bears at bay. I hope you start over with a new flock. Best of luck.

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. The neighbor can possibly be considered just naive after the first incident, as many people don't believe that their sweet pets would ever hurt a fly. But after that there's no excuses -- if a second incident happens then the neighbor just doesn't care.

You can ask for reimbursement, which may help you buy new chicks and some food, but you haven't solved the problem. You still have an irresponsible neighbor who owns a wandering predator.

If you ever want more chickens you have to make sure that they are safe Predator proof infrastructure is essential. Even if the neighbor is completely responsible in the future, there are hundreds of other stray/wandering dogs, plus wild predators, that can kill future chickens if they're not protected.

As far as dealing with that particular dog, are you familiar with the SSS method of predator control (shoot, shovel, and shut up)? It's very effective. If that's not your style, you can contact your homeowners insurance agent and ask if it would affect your rates if you file a claim for your losses, which would get passed on to the neighbor's insurance carrier. Insurance companies don't like to have to pay damages for people's poorly managed dogs, and they may require the neighbor to get rid of the dog, or post a huge bond to keep it while requiring it to be kept in an escape-proof run. Or if you prefer to go the legal route, most counties that have leash laws will have a dog declared a "dangerous animal" if it kills another animal more than once, and you've already got two incidences. Petition your county to have this dog declared as a danger to the community, which may affect the neighbor's homeowners insurance rates, and also bring other consequences. Be sure everything is documents in police reports as soon as it happens, and be sure that the officers actually see all the blood and feathers and dead birds -- it makes the language in the reports much more persuasive that something needs to be done.

As far as prices, you can either add up all the costs that you already invested in chick prices, feed, etc, or you can go on Craigs List or some other publication to document prices for birds of that type and age. I would also add in a fair cost/hour for clean up, plus the cost to repair any damage to your coop or fences or any thing else that was damaged. Essentially any costs that you would have to bear to return to having the same infrastructure and the same type of birds raised up to the same age. Depending on where you live, you may be able to be compensated for losses of any potential egg production, but that is uncertain. Unfortunately, you cannot be reimbursed for the time you've lost in raising them, or the emotional trauma of having your flock killed.

It just breaks my heart to hear of your loss...I love my chickens...but believe that the care you've given them, and the feed and bedding cost,keeping them warm, etc.....loss of the eggs and meat...I would talk to a lawyer, even if you don't hire him/her they would know how to figure it out.....can send a letter pretty cheap, as lawyers go

I am sorry for your loss. Here I have issues with raccoons, but this reminded me of a story I read of recently...A couple decided to keep a pair of endangered birds (they were supposed to hold them temporarily and then hand them over to a bird breeder but decided they wanted to permanently keep them) anyways, the neighbor's dogs got lose and killed the endangered birds.

Anyways, I want to remind people since lots of people are hatching chicks right now, keep an eye on your own dog(s) being around your chicks. Our last dog (miniature poodle) was deathly afraid of the adult peafowl, but would try to bite at peachicks and would probably kill or hurt one if she had the chance.