Chickens

[Sonoran Silkies]

25 30$ a bird is a good price if its a show quality bird one of my silkies cost my 85$ for one bird! The other was 100$.But mine are show quality. do you know if her birds were show birds? If they were they likely costed a lot more than 35$. If they were hatchery birds then she likely got them for a whole lot less and
is over charging you. Do you know if they were show quality or hatchery? I'd find out and bring that up to her if she is over charging you. However if they were show quality your getting off cheap. Hope this helps. Best of luck

Your point is valid for show (or heritage) birds, but point of lay pullets are typically worth significantly more than are chicks. It was clear that the neighbor bought birds from a breeder, but not clear as to the type of birds (show, heritage, barnyard mix. Show birds ca be even more expensive than you mention. Cost for point of lay pullets is easily $25 in many areas.

As for letting the birds free-range in their own yard and not clipping wings, that really has no bearing and should not have been mentioned at all. It is up to the neighbors, who owned the birds, to determine how they plan on raising them. MANY people choose to let their flocks free-range in their own yards. Now if the birds had gotten into the OP's yard, and the neighbors upset about the dogs getting them, those would be pertinent points, and the OP would not have done anything wrong. But the fact is that the dogs were the ones who were not where they were supposed to be. It doesn't matter whether the pullets were out unsupervised or not; that was the neighbor's choice.

 

[kbh82310]

The birds weren't even 3 months yet so they still had another 2 months or so till they started laying yet. $30 is way too much for a non show quality RIR that is still months away from laying..

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The birds weren't even 3 months yet so they still had another 2 months or so till they started laying yet. $30 is way too much for a non show quality RIR that is still months away from laying..

RIR and New Hampshires start laying at about 4 months. The original post said they were 3 months old. That is pretty close to point of lay.

 

[Ohgrr]

I'm not sure where you are in WA but here in Yakima layers are about twenty bucks. Things like this happen, it sucks and I think you did a good job standing up and being accountable. In this day and age of passing the buck that probably did more good with your neighbor than any compensation. Legally, who knows? The courts are fickle. As long as you and your neighbor are okay with the deal and you can continue a healthy community relationship then you are going the right direction.

 

[kbh82310]

The OP has the 3 almost 4 month olds. The person who lost the birds had 2 1/2 months (hatched mid April) old so at the very best they still had a month and a half left till lthey laid. There is another post on here somewhere that someone's dog killed 20 of her chicks (4 month olds and a 1 year old) she took the person to court and got $15 each for rare pure breeds. RIRs are not rare and her birds were a month and a half older.

 

[Rich386]

First of all is your neighbor threatening to sue for monetary relief? It is your responsibility to have your pet under control. It is totally irrelevant as to whether it was play or attack. You have expressed your sorrow and are making adjustments to keep it from happening again. That is your responsibility. You have no way to tell what he paid for his hens nor have you considered his expenses to keep them. This is a sad situation for both of you. If it were me I would simply ask if they are satisfied with your hens. If they said no I would ask what would it take to make them happy. I would ask for some time to consider what they want. They may want nothing and you are just blowing this out of proportion. For either one of you it would be a mistake to go to court. Court is costly and time consuming in most cases you may win the battle but loose the war! Good luck to both of you I hope you can work it out.