Dog attack, three birds dead, how to legally proceed?

[drinkoj]

Before I call animal control, I don't know if we were suppost to do any sorta of "registration" when it comes to us keeping chickens. IF so, we haven't. Would calling animal control put the whole flock at risk?

Yes.

 

[Phantom_k9]

I think you need to follow your Mom's wishes. The guy sounds like he wanting to do the right thing if he has already said he'd pay for your chickens, most jerks don't offer to do that so fast. And you're not going to get a fence from the guy, that's a little too much. Just take a deep breath, it's painful and frustrating but things will work out I'm willing to bet.

Well in that case, i'm not sure how to proceed.

 

[drinkoj]

Before I call animal control, I don't know if we were suppost to do any sorta of "registration" when it comes to us keeping chickens. IF so, we haven't. Would calling animal control put the whole flock at risk?

As a parent, I am going to say it again, listen to your Mother wishes. You're almost an adult, but it's her home and you need to respect that.

 

[Phantom_k9]

As a parent, I am going to say it again, listen to your Mother wishes. You're almost an adult, but it's her home and you need to respect that.

I'll take your advice. It just sucks. With every other incident, I tend to be the one to deal with it. However if my hands are tied then my hands are tied.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

I agree with respecting your mom's wishes, not calling animal control, taking this guy's money and replacing your birds.

Some hatcheries have pullets for sale, the price is steep right now, but hey if he's willing to replace pullets, I would go for it. He is a lawyer, he can afford it, trust me.

Try to have a nice sit down chat with him and your mom, so it can all be worked out civilly. It's better to have a nice neighbor than an enemy. I would also ask him to please do the right thing, and keep his dog under control.

 

[Phantom_k9]

I agree with respecting your mom's wishes, not calling animal control, taking this guy's money and replacing your birds.

Some hatcheries have pullets for sale, the price is steep right now, but they if he's willing to replace pullets, I would go for it.

Try to have a nice sit down chat with him and your mom, so it can all be worked out civilly. It's better to have a nice neighbor than an enemy. I would also ask him to please do the right thing, and keep his dog under control.

I think it would be best if we waited a bit before looking him in the eye again, but you are right it is better to have a bunch of good neighbors than a bad one. I can't confirm this, but supposedly this dog has gotten out before and he said he doesn't know where the dog could be getting out from. Soo... still a bit worried...

 

[Acre4Me]

I think it would be best if we waited a bit before looking him in the eye again, but you are right it is better to have a bunch of good neighbors than a bad one. I can't confirm this, but supposedly this dog has gotten out before and he said he doesn't know where the dog could be getting out from. Soo... still a bit worried...

tell him to assess his fence and latches. If the fence has a high vegetation corner or area, the dog may have dug a hole, or the fencing mayhave deteriorated enough that there is an open area. Maybe the fence isn’t so high and dog uses something to get on top of to jump out.

Id present him with a sheet explaining costs you have incurred with the dead chickens (cost to buy, to feed, etc) and the cost to buy more chicks and raise them or to buy pullets.

are your chickens in a run or are they free range, and can they get into his yard?

 

[Araucana Nest]

Yes, I turn 18 in a month. Just talked with my mom, she doesn't really want to do anything about this. Regardless, I am going to call animal control, see what else I can do. The guy said he would "buy us more chickens" but I think he might need to "buy us a new fence"

These birds are not livestock to us, they are our pets.

Many neighbors wouldn't do as much as your neighbor has already done. This is very sadly, all too common with chickens. Ask him for the cost of replacing the hens you lost to his dog. That means the cost of what adult hens would be for those breeds and the shipping. You can use the money on chicks and the extra for feed to bring them up. Let him know they were pets and that it has hurt you to lose them. Let your mother know your intentions. you are not starting a neighbor battle you are keeping a neighborly relationship. Taking car eof this fairly now, will help prevent it from ever happening again.

 

[Phantom_k9]

tell him to assess his fence and latches. If the fence has a high vegetation corner or area, the dog may have dug a hole, or the fencing may have deteriorated enough that there is an open area. Maybe the fence isn’t so high and dog uses something to get on top of to jump out.

Id present him with a sheet explaining costs you have incurred with the dead chickens (cost to buy, to feed, etc) and the cost to buy more chicks and raise them or to buy pullets.

are your chickens in a run or are they free range, and can they get into his yard?

I was thinking about offering to help look for holes, we've had to do it to keep our birds in our yard and if it helps protect the flock...
The dog is a Jack Russell, meaning he either dug a hole or will dig a hole to get out. However, he did give us a flyer for a place that sells birds this late in the season, and has offered to pay for 4 birds. We do free range our birds, and this is a risk we have had to deal with many times, but we can't bring ourselves to sentence these birds to a life in a cage / fenced off yard. He lives several doors down, and i'm honestly surprised that the dog ran this far from home.

The hatchery he has offered has some fairly pricey birds, and he has been very clear that he would only replace the birds his dog killed, so I think it would be best not to push my luck by making any list...

 

[Phantom_k9]

Many neighbors wouldn't do as much as your neighbor has already done. This is very sadly, all too common with chickens. Ask him for the cost of replacing the hens you lost to his dog. That means the cost of what adult hens would be for those breeds and the shipping. You can use the money on chicks and the extra for feed to bring them up. Let him know they were pets and that it has hurt you to lose them. Let your mother know your intentions. you are not starting a neighbor battle you are keeping a neighborly relationship. Taking car eof this fairly now, will help prevent it from ever happening again.

He gave us a flyer for a hatchery, with some fairly pricey birds (but this late in the season its the best we will probably get). Like I said above, I don't think it would be wise to push any further. He understands the pain his dog caused, and seemed sincere that he was sorry. My mother was in tears when he showed up...