➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[Conan]

Well guys, I think I have confirmation on what killed all my birds. A neighbor two doors down just lost her entire flock of 25. But this time she caught the culprits: a pair of German Shepards. They went into her run through a weak spot in the roof, slaughtered the birds, then couldn’t get out.

I didn’t consider entry from above amidst all the structural damage to my run walls. But the dogs might have been able to get into my run that way. The damage to the walls could have been them breaking out from inside afterwards. My poor birds never stood a chance

I hope those dogs get put down, and I hope those idiot owners have to pay your neighbor a small fortune for her flock and the damage done to her property.
Poor birds.

 

[Conan]

Update: the dogs have been surrendered (by the owner) to animal control. They will not be returning to our neighborhood.

GOOD NEWS!!

 

[Conan]

I'm so sorry.
I'm getting seriously tired of people and their uncontrolled bratty dogs. Leash laws should be stricter and enforced with a .22. My chickens are worth far more than their pampered mutts. I keep them on my property, so they should not be accosted by dogs that should be on their OWN properties.

Well said.

 

[littleprairieheartsfarm]

I posted in the duck forum as well. Miss Lydia agrees with my assessment of it being a hard moult. This is my first yr with it though. I swear she dropped her feathers in 1 day, it seems like. It was just like, BOOM! And then gone. The poor girl. She told me to up their protein by giving some cat or dog food with their duck feed, but that it has to be a quality feed. Not one with a bunch of fillers.

Our ducks are doing the same. Total feather dump then it took a little bit to come back in. Delilah, our evil Cayuga, took 5 months to molt and feather back in.

Dippy took a month, and Dottie is in hers now but still laying like a dufus.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I hope those dogs get put down, and I hope those idiot owners have to pay your neighbor a small fortune for her flock and the damage done to her property.
Poor birds.

I agree with everything except the putting them down part. It was not the dogs’ fault and just about any dog would kill chickens if given half a chance so I don’t think they should have to pay for their owner’s mistakes. I hope they can find a home without any small animals and live a nice life. Wishful thinking maybe but I’m still going to hope for that.

I do think the owners should be punished to the fullest extent though.

 

[Conan]

I agree with everything except the putting them down part. It was not the dogs’ fault and just about any dog would kill chickens if given half a chance so I don’t think they should have to pay for their owner’s mistakes. I hope they can find a home without any small animals and live a nice life. Wishful thinking maybe but I’m still going to hope for that.

I do think the owners should be punished to the fullest extent though.

I kind of don't care. Not to sound contrary, but I don't buy into the whole "there's no bad dogs, just bad owners" BS. If people can be mental, so can dogs. I've definitely met a few straight up bad dogs. Doesn't help that almost all of them have been German Shepherds. I know it's unfair for me to judge the breed as whole based on personal experience, but hey, I never claimed to be sane!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I kind of don't care. Not to sound contrary, but I don't buy into the whole "there's no bad dogs, just bad owners" BS. If people can be mental, so can dogs. I've definitely met a few straight up bad dogs. Doesn't help that almost all of them have been German Shepherds. I know it's unfair for me to judge the breed as whole based on personal experience, but hey, I never claimed to be sane!

Oh no I actually totally agree that there’s definitely some truly bad dogs out there, it’s not all owners, but I guess that’s my point... I don’t think a dog is necessarily a bad dog just because he kills chickens.

I guarantee Libby and Franklin would do the exact same thing if given a chance and they are sweetest, most obedient, well behaved dogs in the world. But they have a high prey drive and go after little animals. They’ve killed and eaten baby rabbits before. But they are the sweetest dogs.

I guess that’s all I’m trying to say.

These dogs might not be “bad” per se.
They might just have a strong prey drive and be perfectly fine if put in a home without small animals. Plenty of dogs are great dogs but just don’t like small animals, kids, strangers, whatever it is.

Now, I’m not saying these dogs are great dogs or anything. They very well could be dangerous. I don’t know. I’m assuming they’re at the very least not trained since they’re out running around loose and were given up so easily. Maybe they really are bad dogs.

But I don’t think chicken killing should be the measure of whether they’re psycho killers or not. Plenty of dogs kill chickens and most eventually learn not to. It can usually be fixed. Not like they’re out mauling a small child or something. And not to minimize the attack or the loss, it’s obviously horrible and I feel for the birds, for Critter, for the other owner, but chickens are also a prey animal so this is natural behavior to most dogs, and to me it’s different than aggression or attacking someone.

That said, these attacks also feel very strategic or planned or something and different than just an opportunistic fun accident so they very well could be “bad” dogs. They worked very hard to get into those pens and thought about it and even did it multiple times, multiple days, so that’s definitely a bit odd, and I’m sure in this case they probably are bad dogs but I guess my point is that we don’t know for sure and don’t know anything about the dogs other than the fact that they killed a lot of chickens and their breed.

Speaking of breed, a lot of GSDs can definitely be bad, yes, doesn’t help that there’s a lot of BYBs, but not all of them are. I am also curious though now if you would have the same opinion if it was another breed that had done the attacks? Say it was a Doberman or a Golden Retriever or something. Lots of people are scared of Dobermans too but plenty of them are great dogs. Just wondering if it’s also the dog’s actions or if it’s just the breed that you are basing your opinion on.

 

[Conan]

Oh no I actually totally agree that there’s definitely some truly bad dogs out there, it’s not all owners, but I guess that’s my point... I don’t think a dog is necessarily a bad dog just because he kills chickens.

I guarantee Libby and Franklin would do the exact same thing if given a chance and they are sweetest, most obedient, well behaved dogs in the world. But they have a high prey drive and go after little animals. They’ve killed and eaten baby rabbits before. But they are the sweetest dogs.

I guess that’s all I’m trying to say.

These dogs might not be “bad” per se.
They might just have a strong prey drive and be perfectly fine if put in a home without small animals. Plenty of dogs are great dogs but just don’t like small animals, kids, strangers, whatever it is.

Now, I’m not saying these dogs are great dogs or anything. They very well could be dangerous. I don’t know. I’m assuming they’re at the very least not trained since they’re out running around loose and were given up so easily. Maybe they really are bad dogs.

But I don’t think chicken killing should be the measure of whether they’re psycho killers or not. Plenty of dogs kill chickens and most eventually learn not to. It can usually be fixed. Not like they’re out mauling a small child or something. And not to minimize the attack or the loss, it’s obviously horrible and I feel for the birds, for Critter, for the other owner, but chickens are also a prey animal so this is natural behavior to most dogs, and to me it’s different than aggression or attacking someone.

That said, these attacks also feel very strategic or planned or something and different than just an opportunistic fun accident so they very well could be “bad” dogs. They worked very hard to get into those pens and thought about it and even did it multiple times, multiple days, so that’s definitely a bit odd, and I’m sure in this case they probably are bad dogs but I guess my point is that we don’t know for sure and don’t know anything about the dogs other than the fact that they killed a lot of chickens and their breed.

Speaking of breed, a lot of GSDs can definitely be bad, yes, doesn’t help that there’s a lot of BYBs, but not all of them are. I am also curious though now if you would have the same opinion if it was another breed that had done the attacks? Say it was a Doberman or a Golden Retriever or something. Lots of people are scared of Dobermans too but plenty of them are great dogs. Just wondering if it’s also the dog’s actions or if it’s just the breed that you are basing your opinion on.

I think that any dog that goes onto someone else's property, destroys said property and kills deserves a bullet. Especially when they aren't even hungry. I think of them as worse than coyotes at that point, regardless of breed.
That said, different breeds do have different characteristics, as you pointed out. I've known a lot of bad German shepherds, Great Danes, pits, and Heelers. I've met a ton of golden retrievers and can't say I've met a nasty one. I'm sure they exist but I'll bet there are far fewer of them rampaging around killing other animals for fun than the aforementioned breeds. I'm also not saying that those breeds are all bad. I've met excellent counterparts to those bad dogs. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think dogs deserve limitless chances just because they're cute fuzzy mammals. I doubt anyone would think twice about shooting them if they were hideous creatures.
Again, this is just my personal opinion and as with all opinions, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Random musings of the day..... A few years ago, we were plagued by those Asian Beetles. They look like Ladybugs but aren't. They would be on the house, around the house and IN the house. Everywhere. For the past couple of years, this year being the worst so far, it is Stink Bugs. I mean, they are out in ridiculous numbers. All along the side of the house and yes, indoors. I see them out on and sometimes in, the chicken coops. Crawling and hanging out on anything they can. They are like an armored cockroach. I hate these things. And they will pinch if they feel like it. They are procreating profusely and are a nuisance. Anyone else having an issue with them? How to get rid of them? Are they the reason that the Asian beetles are no longer around. They've been replaced by them? Ugh! I hate these things!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I think that any dog that goes onto someone else's property, destroys said property and kills deserves a bullet. Especially when they aren't even hungry. I think of them as worse than coyotes at that point, regardless of breed.
That said, different breeds do have different characteristics, as you pointed out. I've known a lot of bad German shepherds, Great Danes, pits, and Heelers. I've met a ton of golden retrievers and can't say I've met a nasty one. I'm sure they exist but I'll bet there are far fewer of them rampaging around killing other animals for fun than the aforementioned breeds. I'm also not saying that those breeds are all bad. I've met excellent counterparts to those bad dogs. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think dogs deserve limitless chances just because they're cute fuzzy mammals. I doubt anyone would think twice about shooting them if they were hideous creatures.
Again, this is just my personal opinion and as with all opinions, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

I get it, I do, but I also don’t think it’s necessarily limitless chances for these dogs. They were only caught once and they were with a completely idiot owner before so for me, they haven’t even really had one chance yet. I think they at least deserve to be placed with an experienced, responsible person and given a real chance. And if they hadn’t been surrendered, they would still be alive anyway and likely be contained and trained and be good dogs, so I don’t really see how that’s different than someone else taking them.

That said, I’m aware that people probably won’t want to adopt them, even if they’re otherwise good dogs, so in this case it may be best for them to just be put down rather than rot in a shelter, but I do think they deserve a chance. Probably won’t be given one though.

All that said, I also, again, don’t think a dog has to be a bad or nasty or vicious rotten dog to kill chickens. Franklin probably would and he’s the best dog in the world. And I’m sure plenty of Golden’s would if given the chance. I know for sure my friend’s Goldens probably would. Maybe not intentionally though. They’re just giant flapping squeaky toys to them and it’d probably be a game. Maybe some dogs purposely want to hurt/maim. Idk.

I think I also come from a completely different perspective and world though. Maybe I’m too soft or too emotional or whatever but I think by loving training so much and wanting to become a trainer, I might possibly have more of a perspective of wanting to save them or fix them or whatever. Especially since I also studied behavioral science/psychology. This behavior stuff interests me and I guess I want to figure out why dogs (or people or chickens or whatever animal) do what they do and fix it/train them. I realize not everyone will agree with that but I do think most animals at least deserve a real chance. Most of them can be fixed.

But I realize that not every single one can be.

But anyways, the completely different world thing was also meant in that I live in more of a town/suburb rather than rural. If we have a problem here, we call animal control or the police. We also have pretty strict gun laws here and you need a license to carry and also can’t shoot within 500 feet of any residences so that effectively means we can’t shoot at all. Guns and shooting animals are not an option here.

But in addition to that, we also really have never had an issue with loose dogs or anything. Had the occasional one come through our property, yeah, but it’s not often at all and they usually are just passing through.

I am sure maybe I would differently if I had to deal with loose dogs all the time. I’m sure that would get old. So I get it.

But I still don’t think I would shoot them even if I could or if it was a common occurrence. Idk. Again, maybe I’m too soft, but I think I’d just call animal control and/or scare it off rather than kill it. If the same one came by multiple times I’d probably take stricter actions but I also know it’s likely the idiot owner’s fault and not the dog’s so I think I’d probably call the owner/bring them back and give the owner a chance to contain the dog. It could have just gotten loose by accident one time or something. But if it happened again, maybe I’d kill it. Idk. Never had to deal with that. I still think I’d probably do a warning shot nearby or an air horn or pepper spray or something though rather than a lethal shot but idk.

Anyway, sorry I keep rambling.