Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bumpercarr]

Oh Bumpercarr, I'm so sorry. That is just horrifying!! Domestic dogs running loose are more dangerous that all the other predators. If you know who owns the dogs they are responsible for the cost to replace your flock, including whatever high price you might have to pay for a silkie mix, but nothing can compensate you for the loss you've suffered. Hopefully you were able to "take care of" the dogs in a way that prevents them from ever doing this again.

Have you contacted a veterinarian to ask for a prescription of anti-inflammatories (pain medications) and antibiotics for the survivors? If you don't want to take the birds in to the hospital, some vets will prescribe them without seeing the bird (they're not supposed to, but it never hurts to ask). Those injuries sound severe, and painful.

Yes, my vet was out of town but his office referred me to another avian vet about 30 miles away. I ran up there this morning and got pain meds and some antibiotics (although I was already putting some duramycin in the water). They didn't ask me to bring in the birds, which I wouldn't have done. I don't think either of them could have handled that. Fortunately, I'm in farm country with mostly large animals so most of the vets are pretty good about treating over the phone and giving you meds. The older pullet in particular is having a really rough time and is in some serious pain. I really thought she would pass, but so far she's sticking with it. She'll drink from the eyedropper and will take food that is put in her mouth but she really can't move her neck to eat/drink on her own right now. The younger one is eating and drinking on his/her (I suspect pullet) own.

The police found the dogs (did I mention that I have a game camera) and cited the owner for violating the leash law. I was a little disappointed in that, but I told the police that the next time the dogs are on my property, whether they are after my now non-existent chickens or not, they will be dead dogs. They said that they would prefer that I called them, however, make sure that I shoot in a safe direction (we have a no shooting inside village limits ordinance). I wanted to make sure that there was a police report so that if I did get cited for shooting in the village limits, I would at least have an excuse why.

 

[MargaretYakoda]

Yes, my vet was out of town but his office referred me to another avian vet about 30 miles away. I ran up there this morning and got pain meds and some antibiotics (although I was already putting some duramycin in the water). They didn't ask me to bring in the birds, which I wouldn't have done. I don't think either of them could have handled that. Fortunately, I'm in farm country with mostly large animals so most of the vets are pretty good about treating over the phone and giving you meds. The older pullet in particular is having a really rough time and is in some serious pain. I really thought she would pass, but so far she's sticking with it. She'll drink from the eyedropper and will take food that is put in her mouth but she really can't move her neck to eat/drink on her own right now. The younger one is eating and drinking on his/her (I suspect pullet) own.

The police found the dogs (did I mention that I have a game camera) and cited the owner for violating the leash law. I was a little disappointed in that, but I told the police that the next time the dogs are on my property, whether they are after my now non-existent chickens or not, they will be dead dogs. They said that they would prefer that I called them, however, make sure that I shoot in a safe direction (we have a no shooting inside village limits ordinance). I wanted to make sure that there was a police report so that if I did get cited for shooting in the village limits, I would at least have an excuse why.

bumpercarr, did the police tell you whose dogs they were? Because you might want to go after them with a civil complaint. Small claims court, perhaps? At the very least you should be able to reach out to them to ask for compensation.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Be very careful. Almost all counties have laws that allow people to shoot dogs that are attacking, or even excessively worrying, livestock. But if you shoot dogs that are simply trespassing, regardless of past wrongs, you could be charged with animal cruelty, which is a felony in many states. Do you know about the SSS method of predator control (shoot, shovel, shut up)? It's very effective, and the first s can be replaced with any number of other options!

I would contact my homeowner's insurance agent. Ask him/her if they file a claim against the dog owners, will it affect your policy in any way. Obviously, your birds aren't covered by your own homeowner's policy. But all damage done by someone's dogs are covered by the dog owner's insurance policy. And insurance companies don't like having to pay claims for irresponsible dog owners. So either their rates will go up, or the policy may get cancelled, or the company may require that the dogs be kept in an escape proof run. If you can contact your local animal control or county prosecutor to have the dogs declared dangerous animals (because this was more than just a leash law issue, these dogs killed multiple animals), that could put further restrictions on the dogs. If your insurance agent advises you that your own insurance rates could go up, or that filing a claim could cause you any problems, then just take the dog owners to small claims court. Some people would ask them to pay your expenses before filing the suit, but why? Any responsible dog owner, when being told that their dogs killed someone's chickens, should be right over to your house with profound apologies, promising to never let their dogs roam free again and offering to thoroughly clean up the mess so you don't have to go through the emotional trauma of picking up the bloodied remains of your dead pets. They should be paying all your vet bills, even if the birds need to go to a specialist, and they should be offering to replace all the birds in your flock, even if they have to drive out of state to find you another silkie mix. They should be buying all the feed and other supplies necessary to get the new young flock up to the point of production that your lost flock achieved. They should be helping you medicate your injured birds, or paying for your time for you to do it. And they should be repairing your coop, or paying someone else to do it. It's bad enough that you have to go through the loss of birds that you care about, but a responsible dog owner would make sure that you don't have to go through any other losses, and would fully replace what the dogs took from you, both in time and expense. If the dog owner isn't stepping up on their own to make that offer and provide sincere apologies, then they're not honorable people, and deserve no considerations.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
You should be able to get a copy of the citation to the owners, since it involved your birds. If not, appeal to an animal control officer, or go to the county clerk's office, or file a request under the public information act. It might take some searching if the police won't share the information, but you should be able to get it.

 

[bumpercarr]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The police have actually been very helpful, and have promised to call me when they go to court. I guess the lady of the house said that they wouldn't pay the fine (and thus avoid court), which is about $200 per animal so it would be $400 for the two dogs. I think we are going to file a small claim, it's only $35 here so that is so much less than what I lost. I may lose the claim, but maybe it will teach them to keep their dogs penned up. My husband says that it would be very difficult to prove that it was THEIR dogs that killed the chickens, they could claim that they belonged to someone else. But, I have the video from the game camera, so I think they would have to come up with someone who also had a german shepherd and a black pit mix. And, my neighbor saw the dogs leaving the yard. Of course, the camera wasn't inside the coop, so I can't prove that they actually were the ones in there. Fortunately, the level of evidence required for a civil suit is much less than that required for a criminal trial. But, like I said, even if we lose it would cause them a major inconvenience.

The way I figure it, I had a LF partridge brahma rooster killed, his babies over the next 8 months before I grow another one up would have been 12 eggs/week X 32 weeks X 95% fertility....so about 364 chicks. If I hatched all of those eggs, I would have had 182 pullets and 182 cockerels. So, that comes to 91 trios which sell for $300 each (at least that is the cheapest I've found for good stock, which mine was). So, that alone is a potential loss of $27,300. Then, there is the potential meat from the 91 cockerels that I didn't sell in a trio....let's say that they would have been $5 each in a grocery store. Or, let's just talk about the trios that the dogs actually killed. I had an 8 month old trio and then another trio that was 6 weeks old. So even just those two were $600 loss. Then the silkie mix, I would need to hatch eggs....I just can't even imagine how I would replace her. They did over $500 worth of damage to the coop. As well as killing off the other potential that I had.....it is really hard to put a number on the loss. That $35 to file a claim is looking better and better!

The police (they also are animal control) said that the police report would be ready in a few days. I think I'll get a copy and draft up my small claim. I think the max that you can claim in magistrate court is $2500. That is a nice number.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The police have actually been very helpful, and have promised to call me when they go to court. I guess the lady of the house said that they wouldn't pay the fine (and thus avoid court), which is about $200 per animal so it would be $400 for the two dogs. I think we are going to file a small claim, it's only $35 here so that is so much less than what I lost. I may lose the claim, but maybe it will teach them to keep their dogs penned up. My husband says that it would be very difficult to prove that it was THEIR dogs that killed the chickens, they could claim that they belonged to someone else. But, I have the video from the game camera, so I think they would have to come up with someone who also had a german shepherd and a black pit mix. And, my neighbor saw the dogs leaving the yard. Of course, the camera wasn't inside the coop, so I can't prove that they actually were the ones in there. Fortunately, the level of evidence required for a civil suit is much less than that required for a criminal trial. But, like I said, even if we lose it would cause them a major inconvenience.

The way I figure it, I had a LF partridge brahma rooster killed, his babies over the next 8 months before I grow another one up would have been 12 eggs/week X 32 weeks X 95% fertility....so about 364 chicks. If I hatched all of those eggs, I would have had 182 pullets and 182 cockerels. So, that comes to 91 trios which sell for $300 each (at least that is the cheapest I've found for good stock, which mine was). So, that alone is a potential loss of $27,300. Then, there is the potential meat from the 91 cockerels that I didn't sell in a trio....let's say that they would have been $5 each in a grocery store. Or, let's just talk about the trios that the dogs actually killed. I had an 8 month old trio and then another trio that was 6 weeks old. So even just those two were $600 loss. Then the silkie mix, I would need to hatch eggs....I just can't even imagine how I would replace her. They did over $500 worth of damage to the coop. As well as killing off the other potential that I had.....it is really hard to put a number on the loss. That $35 to file a claim is looking better and better!

The police (they also are animal control) said that the police report would be ready in a few days. I think I'll get a copy and draft up my small claim. I think the max that you can claim in magistrate court is $2500. That is a nice number.

So the dog owners have already refused to pay the fine and want to go to court?? When your neighbor saw the dogs leave, did he/she see feathers or blood on the dogs? If so, that should be enough to prove that those are the dogs that did the damage.

 

[Quailsong]

Thanks everyone for the advice. The police have actually been very helpful, and have promised to call me when they go to court. I guess the lady of the house said that they wouldn't pay the fine (and thus avoid court), which is about $200 per animal so it would be $400 for the two dogs. I think we are going to file a small claim, it's only $35 here so that is so much less than what I lost. I may lose the claim, but maybe it will teach them to keep their dogs penned up. My husband says that it would be very difficult to prove that it was THEIR dogs that killed the chickens, they could claim that they belonged to someone else. But, I have the video from the game camera, so I think they would have to come up with someone who also had a german shepherd and a black pit mix. And, my neighbor saw the dogs leaving the yard. Of course, the camera wasn't inside the coop, so I can't prove that they actually were the ones in there. Fortunately, the level of evidence required for a civil suit is much less than that required for a criminal trial. But, like I said, even if we lose it would cause them a major inconvenience.

The way I figure it, I had a LF partridge brahma rooster killed, his babies over the next 8 months before I grow another one up would have been 12 eggs/week X 32 weeks X 95% fertility....so about 364 chicks. If I hatched all of those eggs, I would have had 182 pullets and 182 cockerels. So, that comes to 91 trios which sell for $300 each (at least that is the cheapest I've found for good stock, which mine was). So, that alone is a potential loss of $27,300. Then, there is the potential meat from the 91 cockerels that I didn't sell in a trio....let's say that they would have been $5 each in a grocery store. Or, let's just talk about the trios that the dogs actually killed. I had an 8 month old trio and then another trio that was 6 weeks old. So even just those two were $600 loss. Then the silkie mix, I would need to hatch eggs....I just can't even imagine how I would replace her. They did over $500 worth of damage to the coop. As well as killing off the other potential that I had.....it is really hard to put a number on the loss. That $35 to file a claim is looking better and better!

The police (they also are animal control) said that the police report would be ready in a few days. I think I'll get a copy and draft up my small claim. I think the max that you can claim in magistrate court is $2500. That is a nice number.

I hope you get all the info/help & money that you deserve from such a huge loss. That's crappy the owners wouldn't take responsibility of their dogs.

Also I want to thank you for adding in all that info about the TRUE monetary loss of the birds. Some people just think they're 'dumb/cheap chickens' that anyone could replace by a trip to the grocery store for meat/eggs. But there's SO MUCH MORE going on. Eggs, meat, yes, but also trios, wasted time (which is really big if you live in colder climates), lapses of selling also cause a loss of repeat customers (since people don't want to wait a whole year for restarts) and so on.

Please hang in there. Crossing my fingers for you!

 

[Scrambles55]

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's experiences with their broodies. My broody, Winnie, was killed along with the almost all of the rest of my flock two nights ago by dogs. It looks like they got into the coop, then wreaked havoc, killing everything that they saw. I have one 8 mo old LF brahma pullet that looks like she MIGHT make it and one of her 6 week old offspring that I'm pretty sure will make it, although she'll be blind on one side. The older pullet is in pretty rough shape. Anyway, I'll probably unsubscribe to the thread since I don't have a broody anymore and probably won't get one for while.

The upside is that I have 10 in the brooder and 30 in the incubator, so perhaps it won't take me as long to rebuild my flock as it originally took me to build it the first time. The bad thing is that my silkie mix broody was the best, and they are very difficult to find. I'll start working on my search for another broody and then I'll come back.

I am so sorry for your loss. That just bites!! Do you know the dogs that did this?? Your 8 month old could go broody this year. My 8 month old Ameraucana is broody and setting on 7 eggs.

 

[Scrambles55]

Yes, my vet was out of town but his office referred me to another avian vet about 30 miles away. I ran up there this morning and got pain meds and some antibiotics (although I was already putting some duramycin in the water). They didn't ask me to bring in the birds, which I wouldn't have done. I don't think either of them could have handled that. Fortunately, I'm in farm country with mostly large animals so most of the vets are pretty good about treating over the phone and giving you meds. The older pullet in particular is having a really rough time and is in some serious pain. I really thought she would pass, but so far she's sticking with it. She'll drink from the eyedropper and will take food that is put in her mouth but she really can't move her neck to eat/drink on her own right now. The younger one is eating and drinking on his/her (I suspect pullet) own.

The police found the dogs (did I mention that I have a game camera) and cited the owner for violating the leash law. I was a little disappointed in that, but I told the police that the next time the dogs are on my property, whether they are after my now non-existent chickens or not, they will be dead dogs. They said that they would prefer that I called them, however, make sure that I shoot in a safe direction (we have a no shooting inside village limits ordinance). I wanted to make sure that there was a police report so that if I did get cited for shooting in the village limits, I would at least have an excuse why.

Please read the thread "HELP, chicken got beak bit off". If you see the damage done to that bird, you will have hope for yours. It is an amazing story.

 

[Scrambles55]

bumpercarr, did the police tell you whose dogs they were? Because you might want to go after them with a civil complaint. Small claims court, perhaps? At the very least you should be able to reach out to them to ask for compensation.

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