Texas

[Latestarter]

I would absolutely have accepted compensation for the losses her dogs caused and STILL told her if the dogs returned they would be shot!

 

[buggal]

I guess what he was thinking is that we have a lot of young chickens that will be laying eggs in the spring so the "void" will be filled as far as eggs go but I thought we should have taken the money too. This way she knows that we mean business. We are new to the area and he didn't want to make an enemy right out of the gate.
I just want my chickens back. We have only had chickens for maybe 5 months or so but I had no idea how much enjoyment I would get out of them. I should have had them a long time ago. Maybe I wouldn't have so many grey hairs.

 

[ChicKat]

I just needed to get something off my mind.
Over the last few weeks our adult flock of 25 hens and 2 roosters has been killed off to 18 hens and not by choice. Our neighbor's dogs, 2 properties over, has come onto our property and killed our birds. The first time they killed 3 hens and 1 rooster, and wounded another hen (2 weeks ago), 5 days later they killed another 2 hens, then yesterday we were pulling onto the property and saw one of the 2 dogs carrying off one of our hens. My husband chased him and screamed at him. The dog dropped the hen, we thought she was dead but she jumped up and ran back to our property. They did kill our other rooster and 2 more hens. My husband was able to talk with the neighbor and explained to her what was going on. She said that she would pay for the damages, my husband explained that we were not looking for her money, we want her to keep her dogs on her property so they will stop killing our chickens. He also explained that if the dogs do come back on our property that they will be killed.
Would you do something differently?

Once, on the ranch, our neighbors had a 'mutt' bull that jumped the fences between the properties. If that mutt bred any of the purebreds that we were raising, our excellent herd would have been steeply degraded. Talking to a judge, it seems that the laws (in all of TX or maybe just in our county) put the onus completely upon the property owner to have a fence that keeps out all unwanted animals.

Of course the more you know about animals, the more you know how tough that can be, and the bigger the property the more the expense.

Therefore according to my understanding of what the judge said -- it would legally become your requirement to protect the chickens from the dogs. (yeah, I know that stinks - but that is how it works according to my understanding - so dog-proof containment fencing). On the other hand, you are justified in my understanding to kill anything that is a threat to your livestock -- e.g. their dogs.

Dogs are a huge problem. Saw a couple of strays walking up the driveway here (I live far from any neighbors - and it isn't likely that their pets would travel that far - but a couple of times in the last few years I have seen stray dogs.) Luckily at that moment I was out there with my dog and she chased them away. -- Now I want to get a BB gun to smack their hides if they ever return (of course that means I would have to be out there holding the gun at that time. --- which is very unlikely). a dog proof fence would be a better bet for me. Yesterday my brother was telling me that a group of people put their dogs outdoors at night and said house-pet dogs grouped together and formed a pack and killed 12-sheep of a local rancher.

Just as an interesting sidelight -- an elderly friend of mine told me that a chainlink fence holding 9-hens and a rooster was ripped open - and all the chickens were killed. They now suspect it was a bear...and he told me that bears awake from hibernation around this time -- and feel hungry. I asked if bears are protected in TX - and my friend an old cowboy said you have the right to protect your livestock. -- It would be SSS as far as I'm concerned.

Meanwhile, a bit of research says that bears are becoming more plentiful in East TX....so everyone - be careful out there and read up on what to do if you encounter one.

So very sorry that you lost so many chickens to your neighbor's careless disregard for other people's property. Any stray predators on your property probably deserve to be shot.

Now that I have been a voice for doom and gloom -- though -- on a lighter side -- Have happy Holidays one and all. It's that happiest time of the year -- right?

 

[kajira]

Once, on the ranch, our neighbors had a 'mutt' bull that jumped the fences between the properties. If that mutt bred any of the purebreds that we were raising, our excellent herd would have been steeply degraded. Talking to a judge, it seems that the laws (in all of TX or maybe just in our county) put the onus completely upon the property owner to have a fence that keeps out all unwanted animals.

Of course the more you know about animals, the more you know how tough that can be, and the bigger the property the more the expense.

Therefore according to my understanding of what the judge said -- it would legally become your requirement to protect the chickens from the dogs. (yeah, I know that stinks - but that is how it works according to my understanding - so dog-proof containment fencing). On the other hand, you are justified in my understanding to kill anything that is a threat to your livestock -- e.g. their dogs.

Dogs are a huge problem. Saw a couple of strays walking up the driveway here (I live far from any neighbors - and it isn't likely that their pets would travel that far - but a couple of times in the last few years I have seen stray dogs.) Luckily at that moment I was out there with my dog and she chased them away. -- Now I want to get a BB gun to smack their hides if they ever return (of course that means I would have to be out there holding the gun at that time. --- which is very unlikely). a dog proof fence would be a better bet for me. Yesterday my brother was telling me that a group of people put their dogs outdoors at night and said house-pet dogs grouped together and formed a pack and killed 12-sheep of a local rancher.

Just as an interesting sidelight -- an elderly friend of mine told me that a chainlink fence holding 9-hens and a rooster was ripped open - and all the chickens were killed. They now suspect it was a bear...and he told me that bears awake from hibernation around this time -- and feel hungry. I asked if bears are protected in TX - and my friend an old cowboy said you have the right to protect your livestock. -- It would be SSS as far as I'm concerned.

Meanwhile, a bit of research says that bears are becoming more plentiful in East TX....so everyone - be careful out there and read up on what to do if you encounter one.

So very sorry that you lost so many chickens to your neighbor's careless disregard for other people's property. Any stray predators on your property probably deserve to be shot.

Now that I have been a voice for doom and gloom -- though -- on a lighter side -- Have happy Holidays one and all. It's that happiest time of the year -- right?

If you kill the dog while it's attacking yuor birds, you are 100% with in your right in TX to protect your property, family and livestock.

The other option, is get a lifestock guardian dog who will protect your birds.

We had a dog that would bite our goats in the face through the fence. She didn't chase our birds, but she harassed our goats non-stop. Our livestock guardian dog, would grab her by the back of the neck and pull her away from the goats. I know if she'd attacked or harmed one of our birds, family dog or not, my great pyr would have killed her in an instant.

she trained our barn cats, that she'd kill them if they messed with our birds, too. Our barn cats might still go after a baby chick if it wanders away from safety, but they don't go after our chickens anymore.

I have NO doubts she'd kill a stray dog, as she'll kill any other animal that doesn't belong to our family... and she tolerates animals she thinks belongs, to a point. If they do too much damage to the other animals, they are a goner if they can't be trained to leave them alone.

 

[needlessjunk]

 
I just needed to get something off my mind.
Over the last few weeks our adult flock of 25 hens and 2 roosters has been killed off to 18 hens and not by choice. Our neighbor's dogs, 2 properties over, has come onto our property and killed our birds. The first time they killed 3 hens and 1 rooster, and wounded another hen (2 weeks ago), 5 days later they killed another 2 hens, then yesterday we were pulling onto the property and saw one of the 2 dogs carrying off one of our hens. My husband chased him and screamed at him. The dog dropped the hen, we thought she was dead but she jumped up and ran back to our property. They did kill our other rooster and 2 more hens. My husband was able to talk with the neighbor and explained to her what was going on. She said that she would pay for the damages, my husband explained that we were not looking for her money, we want her to keep her dogs on her property so they will stop killing our chickens. He also explained that if the dogs do come back on our property that they will be killed. 
Would you do something differently? 

Once, on the ranch, our neighbors had a 'mutt' bull that jumped the fences between the properties.  If that mutt bred any of the purebreds that we were raising, our excellent herd would have been steeply degraded.  Talking to a judge, it seems that the laws (in all of TX or maybe just in our county) put the onus completely upon the property owner to have a fence that keeps out all unwanted animals.  

Of course the more you know about animals, the more you know how tough that can be, and the bigger the property the more the expense. 

Therefore according to my understanding of what the judge said -- it would legally become your requirement to protect the chickens from the dogs.  (yeah, I know that stinks - but that is how it works according to my understanding - so dog-proof containment fencing).  On the other hand, you are justified in my understanding to kill anything that is a threat to your livestock -- e.g. their dogs. 

Dogs are a huge problem.  Saw a couple of strays walking up the driveway here (I live far from any neighbors - and it isn't likely that their pets would travel that far  - but a couple of times in the last few years I have seen stray dogs.)  Luckily at that moment I was out there with my dog and she chased them away. -- Now I want to get a BB gun to smack their hides if they ever return (of course that means I would have to be out there holding the gun at that time. --- which is very unlikely).  a dog proof fence would be a better bet for me.  Yesterday my brother was telling me that a group of people put their dogs outdoors at night and said house-pet dogs grouped together and formed a pack and killed 12-sheep of a local rancher. 

Just as an interesting sidelight -- an elderly friend of mine told me that a chainlink fence holding 9-hens and a rooster was ripped open - and all the chickens were killed.  They now suspect it was a bear...and he told me that bears awake from hibernation around this time -- and feel hungry.  I asked if bears are protected in TX - and my friend an old cowboy said you have the right to protect your livestock.  -- It would be SSS as far as I'm concerned.  

Meanwhile, a bit of research says that bears are becoming more plentiful in East TX....so everyone - be careful out there and read up on what to do if you encounter one.

So very sorry that you lost so many chickens to your neighbor's careless disregard for other people's property.  Any stray predators on your property probably deserve to be shot. 

Now that I have been a voice for doom and gloom -- though -- on a lighter side --  Have happy Holidays one and all. It's that happiest time of the year -- right?
 

Unfortunately my dad has also ran into the problem with stray dogs injuring his alpacas. It pretty much came down to him being told he needs a better to fence to keep out unwanted dogs. He could shoot anything that was harming his livestock and be covered but he was responsible for keeping out anything that could hurt them. Sucks! Those stray dogs went through 2 fences nonetheless.

I'm sorry for the loss and would totally of taken compensation.

 

[kajira]

Unfortunately my dad has also ran into the problem with stray dogs injuring his alpacas. It pretty much came down to him being told he needs a better to fence to keep out unwanted dogs. He could shoot anything that was harming his livestock and be covered but he was responsible for keeping out anything that could hurt them. Sucks! Those stray dogs went through 2 fences nonetheless.

I'm sorry for the loss and would totally of taken compensation.

Depending on the judge you get, IF it goes to court - the owner can be held responsible for allowing their dogs to run wild/lose in farm country. Even though it's our responsibility to keep our animals safe, and we have the right to protect our land, wild dogs can still cause the owner to be fined if they don't attempt to keep them on their property.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I just needed to get something off my mind.
Over the last few weeks our adult flock of 25 hens and 2 roosters has been killed off to 18 hens and not by choice. Our neighbor's dogs, 2 properties over, has come onto our property and killed our birds. The first time they killed 3 hens and 1 rooster, and wounded another hen (2 weeks ago), 5 days later they killed another 2 hens, then yesterday we were pulling onto the property and saw one of the 2 dogs carrying off one of our hens. My husband chased him and screamed at him. The dog dropped the hen, we thought she was dead but she jumped up and ran back to our property. They did kill our other rooster and 2 more hens. My husband was able to talk with the neighbor and explained to her what was going on. She said that she would pay for the damages, my husband explained that we were not looking for her money, we want her to keep her dogs on her property so they will stop killing our chickens. He also explained that if the dogs do come back on our property that they will be killed.
Would you do something differently?

I had someone's dogs get into my yard, and my oldest rooster flew out of his paddock and led the dogs out of the yard, past the house and into the driveway to get them away form the other birds. I came home to find the driveway covered in feathers and these two dogs hanging around, before they ran off. I was sure he was dead, but about 30 minutes later (after checking on everyone else), I started to try to find the body, and I found him alone and huddled behind a thorn bush against a fence, badly plucked with several bites. I was upset enough that I took him to the vet the next day (he was a hero in my eyes, so he deserved it). The vet asked me if I knew the owner of the dogs (I didn't at the time). She told me that a dog that attacks/bites ANY animal or human is supposed to be reported to animal control (at least in San Antonio).

Later I observed this same dog bite a neighbor's dog during a walk (so the previous behavior was predictive). The owners were in front of my house talking about the altercation, and I came up and told them that that dog had almost killed my best rooster, and that he was a dangerous animal, that dogs that attack other animals should be reported to animal control, and that the owner better take care of it. Never saw that dog out again.

Obviously the situation may be different depending on where you live (esp. if more rural), but you can always check if that's an option. While one way to look at it is that it's a natural instinct of the dog, another way is to see it as aggressive behavior that can lead to attacking other pets and humans.

Quote: I'm afraid, in the end, fencing is the solution (but be sure to block digging under it, too). I spent a lot of money to get a big good fence put up. It hurt (financially) for quite a while, but I'm really really glad I did it - dogs roam all over the place, and indeed, domestic dogs out at night will hunt in packs - they take down the urban deer in our neighborhood. Happened right up against my house one night - it was terrifying.

I'm sorry you are having to deal with this - it's so stressful.

- Ant Farm

 

[jtn42248]

I just needed to get something off my mind.
Over the last few weeks our adult flock of 25 hens and 2 roosters has been killed off to 18 hens and not by choice. Our neighbor's dogs, 2 properties over, has come onto our property and killed our birds. The first time they killed 3 hens and 1 rooster, and wounded another hen (2 weeks ago), 5 days later they killed another 2 hens, then yesterday we were pulling onto the property and saw one of the 2 dogs carrying off one of our hens. My husband chased him and screamed at him. The dog dropped the hen, we thought she was dead but she jumped up and ran back to our property. They did kill our other rooster and 2 more hens. My husband was able to talk with the neighbor and explained to her what was going on. She said that she would pay for the damages, my husband explained that we were not looking for her money, we want her to keep her dogs on her property so they will stop killing our chickens. He also explained that if the dogs do come back on our property that they will be killed.
Would you do something differently?

We have a rule here on our farm. We have taken on the responsibility to provide for and protect our birds and all our other animals. Anyone or anything (and I mean anything) that comes on our property with the intent of doing harm or damage is subject to meet their maker in a hurry. We will fire a warning shot the first time, but after that they are at their own risk.

 

[TexasLisa]

We have a rule here on our farm. We have taken on the responsibility to provide for and protect our birds and all our other animals. Anyone or anything (and I mean anything) that comes on our property with the intent of doing harm or damage is subject to meet their maker in a hurry. We will fire a warning shot the first time, but after that they are at their own risk.

Excellent rule!! I totally agree with you.

 

[buggal]

Thanks for the input everyone. It is hard for me to wrap my head around having to kill to protect but that is part of living on a farm (so I am learning). It sux but it is now a fact of life.