Early this morning I went out back to open the poultry pens and found a dog and a suspicious trail of feathers in the side yard. The dog ran away, slipped through a small hole under the fence, & ran to the neighbor's house. I followed her there, knocked on the door, and asked the man of the house if that was his dog. He said yes, & I told him she'd been in my yard & I was concerned for my birds. He said I shouldn't worry, she wouldn't hurt anything. He said he couldn't catch the dog, when he called her she just ran the other way. I told him that dogs can kill chickens just in playing with them, and I was going back home to check on all my poultry (chickens, ducks & geese).
After checking everyone in every pen, I couldn't find anyone missing. Then I went back to check that trail of feathers, and found at the end...
our favorite Americana rooster!
Yes, I know about Murphy's Law of Chicken Depredation, it's always your favorite birds that get killed. But good grief, we've had Hawkeye for over 4 years now, he was a really good and handsome rooster, and one of the few of my many birds that my husband actually knew and loved. Hawkeye was "his boy".
His neck was broken and his back end showed signs of chewing, his beautiful tail gnawed down to the stub. He was still very warm and his joints were still flexible, and fire ants had not yet begun to crawl over him. It seems very likely that he was recently killed by a domestic dog, most likely the neighbor's dog who was in the yard.
I tried to phone him but got no answer, not on the house or cell phone. Then I picked up the dead rooster and began walking over there, but saw the neighbor driving away. I tried to wave him back, but he kept going. I got to the door and the dog is still loose in the yard.
I tried to coax her into their screened-in porch but she wouldn't go. I didn't want to open their back gate to try & get her to go in there, because they had another puppy in there & I didn't want it to get out too. The dog was really skittish, had her tail tucked far between her legs, and would not let me get anywhere near her.
I felt I had no other option but to call Animal Care & Control, for them to catch this dog. I would have preferred to settle it neighbor-to-neighbor, but they weren't available. I feared for my flock's safety, that since this dog had already discovered a yard full of fun feathery chew toys, and had tasted blood, that she would be back.
Amazingly, ACC came within an hour, and the officer was able to get a leash on the dog. She was terrific in her ways of handling the dog. She also couldn't get in touch with the owner. She took the dog, took photos of my dead rooster, and gave me a witness statement form to complete.
I noticed by early evening that my neighbor was back home, and had bailed his dog out of the pound. But I did not hear one word from him, of apology or complaint or assurance that the dog would be kept under tighter control.
Now what? I of course will be working to secure all the fences around the yard. But I am afraid this dog will try to come back, especially when no one is home to keep watch. I have ducks and geese that spend the whole day going all around the yard, I cannot keep them confined, nor should I have to. I also don't want there to be animosity between us & our neighbor. Should I wait until they contact me? Or try to contact them in a few days?
After checking everyone in every pen, I couldn't find anyone missing. Then I went back to check that trail of feathers, and found at the end...
Yes, I know about Murphy's Law of Chicken Depredation, it's always your favorite birds that get killed. But good grief, we've had Hawkeye for over 4 years now, he was a really good and handsome rooster, and one of the few of my many birds that my husband actually knew and loved. Hawkeye was "his boy".
His neck was broken and his back end showed signs of chewing, his beautiful tail gnawed down to the stub. He was still very warm and his joints were still flexible, and fire ants had not yet begun to crawl over him. It seems very likely that he was recently killed by a domestic dog, most likely the neighbor's dog who was in the yard.
I tried to phone him but got no answer, not on the house or cell phone. Then I picked up the dead rooster and began walking over there, but saw the neighbor driving away. I tried to wave him back, but he kept going. I got to the door and the dog is still loose in the yard.
I tried to coax her into their screened-in porch but she wouldn't go. I didn't want to open their back gate to try & get her to go in there, because they had another puppy in there & I didn't want it to get out too. The dog was really skittish, had her tail tucked far between her legs, and would not let me get anywhere near her.
I felt I had no other option but to call Animal Care & Control, for them to catch this dog. I would have preferred to settle it neighbor-to-neighbor, but they weren't available. I feared for my flock's safety, that since this dog had already discovered a yard full of fun feathery chew toys, and had tasted blood, that she would be back.
Amazingly, ACC came within an hour, and the officer was able to get a leash on the dog. She was terrific in her ways of handling the dog. She also couldn't get in touch with the owner. She took the dog, took photos of my dead rooster, and gave me a witness statement form to complete.
I noticed by early evening that my neighbor was back home, and had bailed his dog out of the pound. But I did not hear one word from him, of apology or complaint or assurance that the dog would be kept under tighter control.
Now what? I of course will be working to secure all the fences around the yard. But I am afraid this dog will try to come back, especially when no one is home to keep watch. I have ducks and geese that spend the whole day going all around the yard, I cannot keep them confined, nor should I have to. I also don't want there to be animosity between us & our neighbor. Should I wait until they contact me? Or try to contact them in a few days?
