- Mar 28, 2014
- 38
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I apologize for having to vent my frustrations, but I hope I find at least understanding among Backyard Chicken lovers.
My neighbors through the woods (who I have enjoyed) have a nine-month old border collie mix that they let run wild. And I mean manic wild.
Twice this week, the dog has made a B-line for my free-range chickens and guineas. Today, the dog grabbed one of my ten-month old Americanas (one of only three chickens laying right now), and bit off ALL of her tail feathers. How she escaped, I do not know, but thank goodness, she did. She is traumatized but ok and safe now.
My question is not about her, but about what to re: the dog being allowed to run wild. Now this dog has a taste for the birds and my fear is that she will come back and kill as many as she can. And no doubt she will because the owner won't keep her on leash. She has no training whatsoever, and I cannot handle her when she is flying around the way she does, chasing every bird and trying to grab each one.
These neighbors are renters, so I called the owner/landlord and told her the story. We are friends so that's the good part. She said she would talk to the, but my concern is that the dog will be back. Won't really matter what the LL says.
I'd like to hear others' experiences with this kind of thing and what to do. I did tell the LL that I would have to call Animal Control if it happened again, but that doesn't protect my birds. Our county leash law is pretty lenient and all my birds could be killed before the county does anything about it.
I'm really upset. For one thing, the owner of the dog got angry at ME for being upset. Do dogs take precedent in the animal hierarchy? His off the cuff remark was "I'll compensate you for the loss" which made me even more upset. I told him straight out that I don't put a price tag on my animals, and I tried to tell him that my birds are as important to me as his dog, but the look in his eye was not convincing.
I cannot fence in my entire farm, and my animals are on the farm, nowhere near where he lives. The biggest problems I've had with poultry loss haven't been with coyotes, foxes, raccoons or opossums, but dogs. And more to the point, dog owners.
My neighbors through the woods (who I have enjoyed) have a nine-month old border collie mix that they let run wild. And I mean manic wild.
Twice this week, the dog has made a B-line for my free-range chickens and guineas. Today, the dog grabbed one of my ten-month old Americanas (one of only three chickens laying right now), and bit off ALL of her tail feathers. How she escaped, I do not know, but thank goodness, she did. She is traumatized but ok and safe now.
My question is not about her, but about what to re: the dog being allowed to run wild. Now this dog has a taste for the birds and my fear is that she will come back and kill as many as she can. And no doubt she will because the owner won't keep her on leash. She has no training whatsoever, and I cannot handle her when she is flying around the way she does, chasing every bird and trying to grab each one.
These neighbors are renters, so I called the owner/landlord and told her the story. We are friends so that's the good part. She said she would talk to the, but my concern is that the dog will be back. Won't really matter what the LL says.
I'd like to hear others' experiences with this kind of thing and what to do. I did tell the LL that I would have to call Animal Control if it happened again, but that doesn't protect my birds. Our county leash law is pretty lenient and all my birds could be killed before the county does anything about it.
I'm really upset. For one thing, the owner of the dog got angry at ME for being upset. Do dogs take precedent in the animal hierarchy? His off the cuff remark was "I'll compensate you for the loss" which made me even more upset. I told him straight out that I don't put a price tag on my animals, and I tried to tell him that my birds are as important to me as his dog, but the look in his eye was not convincing.
I cannot fence in my entire farm, and my animals are on the farm, nowhere near where he lives. The biggest problems I've had with poultry loss haven't been with coyotes, foxes, raccoons or opossums, but dogs. And more to the point, dog owners.