Dog destroyed our coop.

[Stayc]

I have a more "Vanilla Ice" kinda mission statement. I live & let live outside the boundaries of my property line.

While I can appreciate the perspective previously given that you should find out who owns the dog that wreaked havoc on your property and your coop, I am wondering what the next step would be?

What are you going to do when you find out? Ask them nicely to not let their stupid dog roam? Tell them what happened because of their stupid dog and THEIR carelessness & complete irresponsibility? Wait for them to apologize, offer compensation & a neighborly hand at helping you rebuild your coop & flock?? Demand some of the above, all of the above, none of the above??

I submit that if the animal's owner gave a flying farthing about the damage or trouble that their dog or cat could get into/be responsible for, then you wouldn't be in this unfair situation, looking for your missing flock & hoping that they're ok. You did nothing wrong & the chickens most certainly didn't either.

Inside the boundaries of my property, well "if you make it my problem, yo, I'll solve it."

 

[Emberfalls]

Thsnk you for the tips.
We spent the entire day looking for them. In the fields. In the woods.

We have identified piles of feathers to the cream rooster, a partrige rock hen and the blue laced Wyandotte hen. No other feathers or signs of struggle.

I put treats out. Corraled the roosters so they can't get out of the secondary coops and opened the run up.

I'll be building a better house for them this week. The run is a repurposed dog kennel. Dirt floor. Fencing. Thick posts, and backed up to a shed.

I understand now that racoons and snakes aren't my biggest worry.

It was a neighbor's husky. Apparently he gets loose when they don't walk him 3 times a week.
I mean. It's a dog. I'm mad, and I'm sick to my stomach with guilt, but ultimately this was human error. They didn't walk the dog, or secure him.
I didn't do enough to make sure thier house was foolproof. Ive been going out every so often to see if anyone has come home.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Now that it is dark, no one will come home till dawn, or the next day.
I had a rooster escape during a mink attack. I saw him racing across the field in the morning. He was gone for 4 days and may not have come home till I retrieved him.

 

[BarredRockMom]

Ya know, being that night means it's time to hunker down, you might give searching another try...They may be close.

 

[Emberfalls]

I just went out. I didn't see them, but I did hear some sleepy clucking from under the bushes. That is hopeful.
I didn't want to spook em either.

I took a picture of the coop as well. All of the bedding had been torn out as well. It's a mess.

 

[lazy gardener]

I would approach the neighbors, and ask them to make financial restitution. Not doing so IMO is enabling them to continue their irresponsible management of their dog. If they did not make things right, then I would be filing a police report and calling the ACO. This dog is a killer, there needs to be a paper trail. No amount of money can make up for the terror of the animal being murdered. But, at the very least, they should offer compensation for building repairs and purchase price of birds at POL.

 

[lilmillefleur]

That looks awful! I'm sorry for your loss. Hopefully you will fortify your coop to keep out predators and neighbors' dogs. I would recommend hardware cloth around the run, much harder to destroy, small predators can't get in, or reach in and grab. A skirt of hardware cloth around the edges will also keep digging predators out. I hope you find any missing chickens!

 

[Folly's place]

The dog owners are legally responsible to pay for damages. Do they know what happened? I think there's a difference between a responsible animal owner who tries hard to contain the critters, and someone who can't be bothered to make the effort. Escapes happen from the best managed places, but rarely, and any damages are paid for with apologies.
I would let them know, and file that police report if they can't come through with apologies, money, and much better pet containment immediately.
Mary

 

[BarredRockMom]

Yes you can approach them. Yes they are liable. Yes you can file a police report. Yes, you can take them to small claims court & yes you can probably win.

And assuming that they are decent people and that it doesn't need to go so far as court before you're ok with the solution, cool. My neighbors aren't worth approaching, let alone creating hostile feelings with. So I solve my problems a different way. My laws & statutes put me in the right. I'm not going anywhere & neither are the neighbors.

Predators go into the light.

You handle your situation as you see fit. In this day and age, people being who & what they are now, the chances of everyone getting together and singing KumbaYah are slim & none, and Slim's outta town.

Now, if they were fellow livestock keepers and chicken people to boot, you might have a better chance of a neighborly approach. Tough to mend fences once "they're in the wrong" gets to a certain point, though.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree, but I think that approaching them is worth trying, once. The OP may already have an opinion about them, and be able to judge how useful it will be to try the 'neighborly' approach, or not.
Mary