All our chickens killed in the middle of the day!

[SN225]

We've been out of town for a few days and let our chickens free range during the day and had someone close them up at night. Yesterday a few hours before we returned home we found out from my mom who was watching our dog, that all the chickens had been killed. Must have occurred sometime between 12pm-3pm. We are just assuming a fox however my mom found 3 of our 4 chickens (2 in tact, 1 she only found part of). There are tons of feathers everywhere and each chicken was found quite a distance from each other. Is this typically what a fox would do? I just assumed they would take the entire chicken to eat it. Just trying to figure out what we are dealing with as this is our first time having to handle this! Our next problem is we had one chicken indoors as she was healing from an injury, and now she will be all alone. We are afraid she won't survive winter without having others to snuggle up with, and just be lonely overall. We are considering purchasing more babies and letting them grow up with her (she is 4 years old now). What do you think?

 

[iwiw60]

SO sorry for your loss! I realize you're traumatized at this point, but have you looked to see any tracks? Were any of your flock's heads off and the bodies left? If so, that is a-typical of a raccoon. If it just seems like it was random helter-skelter it could very well have been a dog and/or dogs. I hope you find the scumbag(s) that did this and deal with it accordingly, as in

S-S-S
Shoot - Shovel - Shut Up

 

[soydo]

Feathers and bodies everywhere- DOG. They kill mainly because it's fun and exciting. One squeaky toy gets silenced then it moves on to the next loud toy and so on and that's the result. Most either don't eat or just tear off random pieces- it's play with lethal consequences for them. That is why there is feathers everywhere- they run around shaking them like toys. Middle of day is also a clue. Other predators do attack during the day however dogs are normally out and about during days.

Is it possible it was your own dog? If it had access and was outside during that period of time, you will need to consider that possibility. If the dog was inside or does not have access then my bet is on a dog that either got out of their yard or allowed to roam free by irresponsible owners.

 

[SN225]

Thank you! I wouldn't put it past our neighbors dogs. They are huge burdens and think they can walk (and ****) all over our property. And they are never watched, just thrown outside all evening. One day my son was out talking to a little bird outside having a great time, and one of their dogs walked over and ate the bird right in front of him!! I felt terrible!! I talked to my mom to find out what the chickens looked like when she found them (her and my step dad buried them before we got home so my kids and myself weren't traumatized!). One was fully intact, one missing a head, and one was only half there.

 

[iwiw60]

Thank you! I wouldn't put it past our neighbors dogs. They are huge burdens and think they can walk (and ****) all over our property. And they are never watched, just thrown outside all evening. One day my son was out talking to a little bird outside having a great time, and one of their dogs walked over and ate the bird right in front of him!! I felt terrible!! I talked to my mom to find out what the chickens looked like when she found them (her and my step dad buried them before we got home so my kids and myself weren't traumatized!). One was fully intact, one missing a head, and one was only half there.

SAY WHAT??? I'd be marching my big butt over to that neighbor and telling them "look, you either keep your dog on your property and off mine or the next time he won't be coming home." Did you confront your neighbor whose dog did that in front of your son? How awful for him!

 

[The ChickenKing]

That's terrible! You should seriously talk to those neighbors about that! Hope everything works out for you and the remaining chicken!

 

[MeepBeep]

Thank you! I wouldn't put it past our neighbors dogs. They are huge burdens and think they can walk (and ****) all over our property. And they are never watched, just thrown outside all evening. One day my son was out talking to a little bird outside having a great time, and one of their dogs walked over and ate the bird right in front of him!! I felt terrible!! I talked to my mom to find out what the chickens looked like when she found them (her and my step dad buried them before we got home so my kids and myself weren't traumatized!). One was fully intact, one missing a head, and one was only half there.

Quote:

I second that SAY WHAT?

If a neighbors dog was in my yard attacking/killing things, especially in close proximity or worse directly in front of to any of my children, said 'nuisance' animal would no longer be breathing...

And if they attacked any of my livestock at any time, it would result in the same end result, as well as a bill being sent to the past owner of the dog for damages, all fully supported by law in Illinois...

 

[6of6chicks]

*Sigh* - stupid neighbors. There's loads of threads about exactly this - irresponsible neighbors who let their dogs roam, resulting in chicken killing sprees.

I don't know what your relationship is with your neighbors, but are they aware their dogs are roaming? It never fails to amaze me how people are genuinely shocked when they find out their dogs don't stick to invisible property lines. Seems like a no-brainer, but people can be stupid when it comes to their pets. If you haven't spoken with them about it before, maybe try a gentle conversation first.

If they are already aware of it, and still let the problem happen, then you basically have three options (as I see it). 1. Fence your yard to keep the dogs out. 2. Confront the neighbor (like iwiw60 said) and hope they cooperate. 3. Take the matter into your own hands. But before you shoot the neighbor's dogs, call animal control and document this incident. Since you've already buried the birds, take down your mom's statement about what she found. Then take pictures of the dogs IN your yard the next time you see them. Those two things give you a legal leg to stand on if the neighbors kicks up a fuss about you shooting their dogs. In most places you ARE legally allowed to shoot dogs that are attacking your livestock, but you need to be able to prove it. A documented history will help CYA.

That said - everyone's got their opinions on SSS. I'm on the side of the fence that is generally against it unless extreme measures call for it, such as your chicken hanging from the dog's mouth. But to each his own. Just be aware that if you don't already have a neighbor war going, then shooting their dogs will almost certainly start one. In the long run that unpleasantness might actually be worse than losing your chickens. Neighbor feuds can get ugly, fast. Just something to consider.

If you don't want to shoot then trap & let animal control deal with it. If the dogs are friendly, tie them up and call animal control. If they're aggressive do NOT try to handle yourself - call animal control. Depending on the dogs, their temperament & breed, age, aggression, etc. - they may get returned to your neighbor, they may get rehomed (if they are lucky), or they may be euthanized. Once an animal has a history of attacks (people OR animals) they are almost always euthanized.

If you document & call the police, then you may be able to have your neighbors held responsible - IF you can prove it was their dogs (again - pics of them IN your yard will help a lot). The police will fine your neighbors each time you report the dogs roaming. You can also present the neighbors with a bill for damages. Yelling at a neighbor rarely gets you any satisfaction, but attacking their wallet sure does.

Anyway - good luck and I'm SO SORRY this happened. It just isn't fair.

 

[MeepBeep]

In most places you ARE legally allowed to shoot dogs that are attacking your livestock, but you need to be able to prove it. A documented history will help CYA.

In most places, documentation in not necessary under the law but it's always a good idea if circumstances permit...

In Illinois I only need to 'see' the dog injuring livestock to have justification under law to not only kill the dog but bill the owner for damages...

If the dog is unsupervised and on your property when you shoot it, it's going to become your word against your neighbors obviously... But the mere fact that the neighbors dog was 'illegally at large' and 'trespassing' with no owner supervision on your property when you shot it, is almost always going to provide sufficient justification for the actions without any further documentation...

 

[6of6chicks]

In most places, documentation in not necessary under the law but it's always a good idea if circumstances permit...

In Illinois I only need to 'see' the dog injuring livestock to have justification under law to not only kill the dog but bill the owner for damages...

If the dog is unsupervised and on your property when you shoot it, it's going to become your word against your neighbors obviously... But the mere fact that the neighbors dog was 'illegally at large' and 'trespassing' with no owner supervision on your property when you shot it, is almost always going to provide sufficient justification for the actions without any further documentation...

I live in Texas (people REALLY like their guns here), and I talked to a police officer about it (because I have a nuisance neighbor dog as well) - and even in this state he advised me to have documentation in place just to protect myself. Yes, I can legally shoot a dog on my property, but I might be asking for a headache I don't want, especially if the dog's owner decides to file their own complaints in retaliation. Word against word is always dicey, no matter the situation.

Let's say this neighbor's dog wanders onto her property next week and the OP kills it. She can say that something killed her chickens last week, but without pictures, evidence, or proof that THAT particular dog is responsible - then the only justification she has for killing it is that the dog was on her property. There's no proof it attacked before and no evidence that it was dangerous this time. If no-one has EVER documented those particular dogs as being a problem, then it is harder to justify shooting them. All the OP has is her word against the neighbor's. Is the law going to be on the OP's side? Yes, most likely, depending on her local laws. But it's a gray area. All I'm saying is document (through police and/or animal control) to CYA just so that the neighbor won't have a legal leg to stand on.