What kinds of Predators have taken your birds?

[Poco]

Shooting is a permeant solution to an instance of a problem, but not the main problem itself. So you killed your neighbor's pet. Congratulations. I understand that it's the neighbor's responsibility to care for their pet, not yours. But what happens when another neighbor moves in with a loose dog? Or a stray dog roams by? Or if a usually responsible owner's dog slips out by mistake and attacks before the owner is able to recapture it? You have three more dead dogs and it might've not even saved your chickens in time. You're not always going to be there to shoot. The best thing is just having a really good defense. Yeah, it's annoying to pay for extra protection against your neighbor's carelessness. But it's a good idea to do anyway. Your chickens are safe, the others keep their pets, and the original owner's dog ends up flat in the road anyway.

Also, even if you are within the law to use lethal force, you'll gain the everlasting loathing of your neighbor. You can bet that they will watch meticulously for any little mishap that they could use to indict you and have your chickens taken away (If you are living in an area where the city has certain limits on raising chickens).

 

[Pin Feather]

I have a problem with bald eagles. A young opossum tried once but failed. I had to remove the plank to the door to stop that from happening again.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Shooting is a permeant solution to an instance of a problem, but not the main problem itself. So you killed your neighbor's pet. Congratulations. I understand that it's the neighbor's responsibility to care for their pet, not yours. But what happens when another neighbor moves in with a loose dog? Or a stray dog roams by? Or if a usually responsible owner's dog slips out by mistake and attacks before the owner is able to recapture it? You have three more dead dogs and it might've not even saved your chickens in time. You're not always going to be there to shoot. The best thing is just having a really good defense. Yeah, it's annoying to pay for extra protection against your neighbor's carelessness. But it's a good idea to do anyway. Your chickens are safe, the others keep their pets, and the original owner's dog ends up flat in the road anyway.

Also, even if you are within the law to use lethal force, you'll gain the everlasting loathing of your neighbor. You can bet that they will watch meticulously for any little mishap that they could use to indict you and have your chickens taken away (If you are living in an area where the city has certain limits on raising chickens).

I completely agree with you that it is important to protect your birds by fencing your property or building a sturdy coop. That must be a bird owner's first line of defense. I don't think anyone who is advocating shooting predatory stray dogs is suggesting otherwise. At least I'm not. I have spent more than 2 years and thousands of dollars putting in 6 foot tall perimeter fencing around 10 acres. In addition to the standard field fencing wire mesh, it has galvanized welded wire mesh trenched 18 inches below ground to prevent digging, one strand of electric wire 2 feet from the ground on the outside, and two strands of electric wire on the top, 6 inches apart, all in an attempt to prevent digging and climbing. There are multiple cross fences within the property, some made of traditional fencing and some 4 foot tall electronetting. That has obviously eliminated most of the coyote and domestic dog threats. But there is still a rare dog that figures out how to get inside -- usually Huskies that climb fences easily, have very thick fur that often insulates them against electric fencing, have a very high prey drive, and are very popular in this area of the country.

To expect your chickens to be safe just because they're on your property without a proper fence or coop is naive and unrealistic. That's like not stopping at an intersection when you see cross traffic about to come through, just because you have the green light and they have the red light. You may be in the right, but you're still in a wreck. With unfenced or uncooped birds, you might be legally right, but your birds are still dead. That's not the issue, at least not for me. The issue is what do you do when you've spent countless hours and a small fortune doing everything right and a determined dog still finds its way inside? What do you do when you hear your favorite pet scream and you run outside and see a stray dog on your property attacking your favorite hen, or cat, or small dog, and the attacker doesn't stop when you yell at it or shoot over its head? When the situation literally comes down to two options: if you don't shoot the attacker your pet dies, or if you shoot the attacker someone else's pet dies. And you have to make that decision in a split second, because if you don't the decision is made for you. Some people think that shooting a dog is horrible because someone's pet dies. But once the attack starts, it's inevitable that someone's pet dies. The attacking dog made that decision. It's just a matter of which pet dies, and that is the decision that you get to make.

 

[chynasparks]

...

Possums and raccoons before we knew enough to put the chickens up at night. We started our chicken raising stupid! In the years following, a fox once, coyotes three times, and a stray dog once (didn't kill the hen; we got there in time). The neighbor's dogs four times until Animal Control told the owner we had the right to shoot and sue; no problem with her for a couple of years now. Occasional hawk taking babies; now we have separate coops/runs for raising families until the chicks are big enough to free range. Our own dogs once; killed three chickens. Twice snakes killing babies; beheading them cured that problem. An 8-foot alligator in our driveway once, but didn't get any chickens. The latest is two huge crows each taking an egg a day. Been told they chase Hawks, so two eggs a day is a small price to pay.[/quote

From you post I see that ANYTHING can get my chickens, anything. I posted recently about raccoons and Bobcats. We also have Hawks and they could have participated in the loss I suffered. I'm on my new flock bow. 5 babies are growing in the roost area of the coop. Today I'm going to teach them to come down the stairs and continue to grow in the entire coop. We are also building the door so they can go out into the chain link covered run we are working on. They aren't ready for that yet as they can squeeze right through. Try can't free range. Tried and failed with my last flock. So I'm going to Mae the nicest habitat I can. Raccoon has been coming up to the coop still! I've seen fresh tracks regularly. My coop is solid thanks to my husband's skills. Now he will apply this skills to a secure run.

 

[LadyFowler]

When I lived in the suburbs I had my chicken killed by a rat. Out in the country it has been mostly hawks I've been concerned with, and possibly someone's cat that loiters around out property.

 

[Chickville]

A hawk when my chicks were young. Just tore off her back and I had to deal with that. Terribly sad. ;9

 

[ConPollos]

If I warn the neighbor your dogs are coming over and attacking my livestock and they do nothing about it. What else can I do but make them go away.

According to the sheep herding book I read at TSC there are 15 or 20 ways to run a dog off and protect sheep from dogs, and not one thing on the list included shooting or harming the dog. If shepherds can run a dog off and protect their sheep without shooting the dog, and if I can run dogs off of my property without hurting them, so can you.

Shooting dogs is totally unnecessary!!! The shepherd's book recommended firing over the dog's head as just one of many ways to stop dog attacks and run them off. I have seen dogs so scared by the sound of one gunshot they bust right through a screen door to come inside, and twice busted right through the gate of their chain link kennel.

When I walk my dogs around the farm, my dogs will not even allow me to walk towards gunshots that I can barely hear.

Most Ag laws are passed bc corporate lobbyists push for the cheapest way of doing things even though it's the cruelest way! You could spend just a small amount of money to put hot wire around you chickens, or spend a bit more for electric poultry netting, a jenny, a llama, etc.

What happens to your chickens when you're not home to shoot the dogs??? You are morally responsible to make your chicken area 100 percent dog proof whether you're home or away, even if corporate cruelty Ag laws don't say you have to.

 

[mrballance]

According to the sheep herding book I read at TSC there are 15 or 20 ways to run a dog off and protect sheep from dogs, and not one thing on the list included shooting or harming the dog. If shepherds can run a dog off and protect their sheep without shooting the dog, and if I can run dogs off of my property without hurting them, so can you.

Shooting dogs is totally unnecessary!!! The shepherd's book recommended firing over the dog's head as just one of many ways to stop dog attacks and run them off. I have seen dogs so scared by the sound of one gunshot they bust right through a screen door to come inside, and twice busted right through the gate of their chain link kennel.

When I walk my dogs around the farm, my dogs will not even allow me to walk towards gunshots that I can barely hear.

Most Ag laws are passed bc corporate lobbyists push for the cheapest way of doing things even though it's the cruelest way! You could spend just a small amount of money to put hot wire around you chickens, or spend a bit more for electric poultry netting, a jenny, a llama, etc.

What happens to your chickens when you're not home to shoot the dogs??? You are morally responsible to make your chicken area 100 percent dog proof whether you're home or away, even if corporate cruelty Ag laws don't say you have to.

You are morally responsible to keep your dogs on your property. Nothing is 100% Dog Proof. They killed a Lamb too. We will have to just not agree. God Bless

 

[enola]

Your dog in your yard is your pet. Your dog on my property is a predator. Your dog chasing my poultry on my property probably will not come back home.....

 

[OnlyOrps]

Your dog in your yard is your pet. Your dog on my property is a predator. Your dog chasing my poultry on my property probably will not come back home.....

Beautifully said. I whole heartedly agree! If chickens had the ability to escape and kill the neighbors dog then maybe this would be a different conversation but chickens are not a threat to a dog it is a one way street...