Neighborhood dogs keep killing chickens

[Jesusfreak101]

I am sorry but the problem with shelters is they also kill dogs. I hate killing animals buts its my job to protect my animals and if they arent safe and the only way i can make the safe is to shoot the threat you bet i will. We deal with stray cats that no one wants and the county wont do a thing about them or dogs so we do what we must. We have two cats that have kept strays away for the most part my female today chased off a much bigger tom cat today. Make no mistake that if he gets past our cats and trys to get a hen i will shoot to kill. I realize he just hungry but food is provided to the peaceful in the barn we live on 200 acres i am sure there is enough food. The line has to be drawn my livestock provides food for my children i am not going to allow themto be killed.

 

[calvertcounty]

As an alternative to killing the dogs (which I wouldn't do, but which I agree is your right (and their blood is on their owner's hands)) and to buying an electric fence (that strikes me as expensive), you can get a big cage to use for a baited trap. That way you can send them to the animal shelter and not have to shell a ton out or be directly responsible for the dead dog.

 

[pipAchick]

Could you try a pellet or bb? Warning&sting verses blood trail& angry neighbor.
You all have really great points, though.

 

[blucoondawg]

Shooting a dog with a pellet gun or other such as a means to sting can and will likely actually wound the animal which then runs off and is discovered by someone who then can raise the issue of animal cruelty for shooting dogs with pellet guns. Kill them in the act of attacking livestock, the law is on your side and the problem is solved

 

[seanengler]

Unfortunately predators are smart. I have actually read that coyotes have been able to pass along learned information to offspring multiple generations in a row. If a coyote can pass along info through multiple generations, surely a dog or a coyote or a fox or whatever is not going to stop coming to where they've found an easy meal. I am a dog lover, but I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on a dog on our property. Nor would I expect someone else to try and wrangle my dogs up without harming them if they got onto someone else's property and were freaking out their horses or livestock. They're not going to risk their horse getting so freaked out over a dog that it tries to jump a barbed wire fence etc, they're going to shoot the dog. I love my dogs but I also wouldn't want to be stuck footing the bill for the horse vet either. The same applies to neighbors dogs and and your chickens. They need to reimburse you for the cost of the chickens you've lost so far, or at least TOLD how much you're out on the chickens. It is also 100% their responsibility to keep the dog contained and whatever happens on your property is their fault. That being said, you really need to examine your chicken run and coop. You owe it to yourself and your birds to invest in some predator protection. I agree with others in saying that you shouldn't purchase anymore birds until you've got some protection in place. If it's not the neighbors dog, it will be a raccoon or a fox or coyote. Where I live we have mountain lions, hawks, badgers, foxes, coyotes, opossums and at the bottom of the list is the dogs. Check out an electric net system. As I said, predators are smart. Smart enough to know where a free meal is, but also smart enough to know pain. I've never seen a dog get shocked and then go anywhere near an electric net fence ever again.

Just my two cents.

 

[MeepBeep]

Shooting a dog with a pellet gun or other such as a means to sting can and will likely actually wound the animal which then runs off and is discovered by someone who then can raise the issue of animal cruelty for shooting dogs with pellet guns. Kill them in the act of attacking livestock, the law is on your side and the problem is solved

What he said, harming the dog by non-lethal means, even trapping can cause you a lot of legal issues, cost and even jail time with a permanent criminal record, while in most areas the law is fully on your side and will protect you if you shoot them dead in the act of harming livestock, ...

Fact is, if someone doesn't want to shoot the dog or feels strongly against it they won't just go out and shoot a dog because someone on a forum suggested that as an option...

Here is the law in my State...

510 ILCS 5/18. Killing of dog seen to injure, wound or kill domestic animals

Any owner seeing his or her livestock, poultry, or equidae being injured, wounded, or killed by a dog, not accompanied by or not under the supervision of its owner, may kill such dog.

Notice the law doesn't state that I may trap it, shoot it with a pellet gun, or use some other method to stop it, it clearly states my legal option is to kill it...

Sorry to be blunt, but I'm not going to risk being charged with a felony or even a misdemeanor animal abuse or cruelty charge protecting my livestock from a rouge dog, when the law protects me if I kill it...

 

[centrarchid]

I am in Missouri. Dispatching dog by me, legally, can only be done by me if offending dog is on my property and in the act of killing / harassing my stock. The dogs actions are usually of short duration and I am physically home only 12 hours per day and sleep a good 7 hours of those 12 so my odds of my being present to go after dog legally are low. I also live in a dog rich area. I have killed dogs, not just talked about it, and found that is generally not the best approach for a variety of reasons. First you tend to loose birds before dog dispatched and secondly you tend to develop poor relationships with neighbors regardless of legalities. What is generally more effective is to be proactive by upgrading your defense on the actual coop. Keeping chickens long-term is expensive so do your investing correctly. If you have dogs that tear apart your construction (I have dealt with that) then make it stronger. I have used horse panels that even a hyena can not chew through. Another approach is a little hotwire strategically placed around coop that zaps dog as it probes coop perimeter, A small, relatively low cost, solar charger of about 0.05 Joules will provide all the repelling power needed. Even the most determined dog will back off when it deals with a combination of a physical coop wall and a difficult to negotiate little wire you can not avoid touching when trying to defeat wall. I get by with really flimsy pens when they are also protected by hot wire, The setup stops other predators very well as an additional benefit. The hotwire stops diggers too.

 

[pipAchick]

I agree with the fact you should find out who it's owner is&send them a bill for your loss. They legally owe you at least that. Do you have small kids? Remember that zap intended for the stray may knock one of your kids off there feet.
Unfourtunately your gonna have to come up with something that works for you&a solution you can LIVE with.

 

[pipAchick]

Oh& just in case of you don't have a gun&think you may need that option good luck getting on a waiting list.Where I live everything's selling out because of democratic threats...just a side note.

 

[blucoondawg]

It isn't right to kill them. Whatever hangups you might have, please don't advise someone to shoot a dog that doesn't know any better.

Where abouts are you? No waiting lists for guns here in Wisconsin. A low impedance fence charger won't physically harm a kid or will hurt a little and scare the bejeezus out of them but that's about it. Farm kids regularly challenge the electric fence with their buddies, it's sort of a right of passage, I don't recommend peeing on it though lol