Compensation for a killed hen?

[Campine]

Had a dog kill a buff brahma pullet today, a real nice young hen. I called animal control, they came and got it and called later to tell me they found the owner and did I want to work out some compensation for the chicken?
I thought about it for awhile and decided not to call her back. My reasoning was essentially letting the owner pay me for the hen might have given them the idea that it's all cool now and if it ever happens again they just have to pay for the chicken.
By not taking them up on the offer, I feel like it's still more of an open question as to what I will do next time.
What do you guys think?

 

[bugglesmommy]

I would worry they would think they didn't have to worry about consequences.

 

[UrbanChickenSF]

I agree with bugglesmommy. Perhaps the owner may feel embarrassed because of the phone call but I would question whether or not he learned a lesson from the event.

 

[gg706]

I would make them pay for the hen. I would say $75.00. Unless she was a breeder bird or some special breed then I would say more. It takes alot of effort and feed to get a chick to age to lay eggs as you know. You lose the eggs she would lay as you are raising another chick to replace her...not that she can be replaced. You also cannot raise just one chick by itself so now you may be short a bird or end up with more birds than you wanted. They owe something for the bird! I would certainly let them know the next time something happens...I am assuming it was their dog. That the dog will be shot and they will be in small claims court. That should send the message you mean business. However some people NEVER take it seriously...and small claims court is where they end up. I am very sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[redsoxs]

It's a tough situation, no doubt. I'm not sure what adequate compensation is - but I bet to the non-chicken owner (like your neighbor), they would think "fair" compensation would be whatever a chicken costs in the grocery store. Of course, "fair" would be far more. I like your idea of not trying to set something up, but I would let the neighbor know that it had better not happen again or something will have to be done about their dog. Good luck to you!

 

[Campine]

I'm sure ACO charged them for uncontrolled animals (there were 2 of them actually a mama and a pup), so financially he got a kick in the guts already. I also told the ACO that if it were more than 1 chicken, she probably wouldn't have gotten a call.

 

[luvmychixandducks]

I had a neighbors dog worry a rabbit so badly that it broke its back running inside the hutch- and I handled it much the same way.
Neighbor offered to replace the rabbit- I said I'd settle for never seeing the dog in my yard again.
The neighbor has his own small farm and the dogs in question protect his goats and chickens from coyotes.
They just never were exposed to rabbits in hutches and were fence chasing.
Predators in his yard get shot so he knows he got off easy, and we remain good friends.
That probably wouldn't be the case if I had demanded payment for the rabbit.
His friendship is worth more to me than the cost of a rabbit.

 

[gg706]

I can see that side of the problem. If your neighbor is also your friend it does make it more difficult. A situation like your's I would have probably done the same thing. My neighbors don't care about peoples livestock and they think "they are just chickens". I have seen my neighbors dog attempting to dig under my fence to get at my chickens. I called the neighbor and let them know....I was told by my neighbor "IF my dog gets into your yard...he WILL kill your chickens". So I guess I am supposed to keep my chickens locked up to keep their dog from killing my chickens. The next time I saw him trying to get in and called them they told me to shoot the dog if he was a problem.....So MY neighbors would be paying for my chickens at the maximum amout I could get. The relationship and previous experiences with your neighbors definetly change how one may react.

 

[bugglesmommy]

It really does come down to what kind of person your neighbor is. Only you know that. The only reason my coop is safe from my neighbors dog is my dog hating guard horse.

 

[waltja02]

I went through this about 8 months ago. If you neighbor is a friend and true neighbor then make sure they aware of what happened. On the other hand if the neighbor is on of those people that just don't get it and is always causing problems in the neighborhood I say stick it to em.

When the dog killed my hens I requested replacement cost including shipping at the time they were killed. The neighbor offered new chicks. I ended up filing in small claims court and now I am receiving monthly payments for the dead hens and loss of eggs.

To me it all comes down to what kind of person the neighbor is.