wow, after reading all of this post i am concerned that no one in NJ seems to read the laws on the books. or gets hired to do a public job without any knowledge of local laws/ordances that they are supposed to be in charge of.
in the last couple of years i have gotten to know most of our local agriculture ordances since both domestic, wildlife and farm animals seem to fall under the same section of the govt here. just have different dept heads and employees.
do you know if you local animal control officer(s) are a hired position (anyone can apply?) or do they require some law training?
many times local law enforcement will not give you the time of day unless you can quote scripture (laws/ords) to them. then they either feel dumb for not taking you seriously or will feel threatened and throw it back in your face.
regardless of if you were bit, heavily scratched or just slammed down by the dog, this is still a sign of possible rabies infection or serious agressive behavior.
rabies is transmitted through saliva and can still infect you through a small open scratch. animals lick themselves often and this is how many other animals can be infected with it. cats actually are highly suceptible to getting it and due to their cleaning habits can turn around and infect other animals quickly. (i took animal science while in high school and this was something highly stressed could happen.)
and if it was agressive behavior the dog still should be quarrantined for observance of other harmful behaviors. chasing/killing small animals is seen as agressive behavior.
i'm afraid i may have to eventually deal with the same situation sooner or later as both neighbors on the sides of me have 2 dogs each and no fence around their own yards, i'm working on putting one around mine. one has an akita husky mix that is very strong but has the drive to chase when he got loose the last time. the other side has a Manch terrier and Min Pin, the male i was told could be agressive but they weren't sure how it would be with the chickens. their female charges over to my yard when i have my corgi out but she stops just shy of attacking, she just scrapes and struts and then poops in my yard.
i found it sort of funny at first when the wife said to me 'we need to do something about this'. it seemed as if she was saying my dog was the problem when the female is never on a leash when out but the male usually is. i have not had a problem with my own dog in my own yard because i will walk him on a 20' lead to be sure he stays in my own yard (he knows his own boundaries without needing the fence there). the 2 times he's been able to escape from his collar he sits at the door to be let back in. he's a prissy dog that love humans to be with him at all times.
good luck with you and your hen's healing!
