Dog killed my chickens - can I do anything about it?

[nzpouter]

dog will come back from the same hole he dug.. put a leg hold trap on your side of the fence.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Electric fence, complain about the dog being in your yard, harrrassing and killing your pets--maybe, read the ordinances carefully, Small claims court probably won't look at whther the chickens are allowed or not. You need to document the "everyone has them" that the police told you. How many can you easily locate within a few block radius of your home?

 

[spottedtail]

Not much you can do about it.
You were not legal to have birds in the first place, so the law won't back you up.
It's a waste of time to even complain.

Remember, the police are there to enforce the law only.
Not to make it, or alter it, or make exceptions to it.
They made a mistake telling you "not to worry about it".

What you should do is work to introduce an ordinance allowing hens in your city.
This is happening everywhere nowdays.
Get together with other poultry enthusiasts and make it happen.
Have the law working for you instead of against you.
That's the right way to handle this.

Think of this loss as a positive and make it work for you!

Good luck,
spot

 

[greeneggsandham]

I would see if you can find out who else in your town has "illegal" chickens. If there really are several people like the PO said then I would make a report with the police about the dog killing your birds. I would also have a nice talk with the neighbor and ask her to please keep her dog off of your property or you will be calling the AC or police.

What if you didn't have chickens and it was your daughter or one of your other children that was bite? What would your neighbor do then?

 

[jjthinkagain]

Kristen, apart from whether or not the chickens were okay to have as pets if not as 'livestock', most places do have ordinances or laws against dogs running at large. Don't give up - check that angle. I have had citations given twice to a neighbor who just did not learn to keep his dog at home. One visit last year resulted in my sweet hen Ellie getting a dislocated foot and me getting multiple fractures in my hand (which will never be the same) when the dog knocked me down. Even after all of this, the dog's person let him loose again and he came back looking for more trouble (which we very narrowly and stressfully averted) so I had another citation issued. His lame defense was that if there weren't interesting things on my property his dog wouldn't be there. (I know, sigh.....)We must insist on getting back to a time where personal responsibility is the norm and not the exception and if it means having to get tough, then sadly we must. I had never before taken action like that against anyone.
JJ

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

Quote:

Well said.

 

[Splash Giants]

I'm lucky and dont have neighbors now for about 1 mile, but when I did I would always give the dog owners one chance to take care of the animal even if it killed one of my livestock. I think everybody deserves that chance, but the second time you come in my yard or bother my animals and this may be cold hearted you will never see that dog again. I will never have that problem with that dog again.

 

[rosco]

yeah, let the dog come back through the hole in the fence and somehow keep it there. hold it hostage. let a friend take care of it in a kennel. i'd muzzle it as it will bite. let the owner feel the pain before releasing it. nab all three if you can.

if one of these is a pit bull i've got another answer and it will work. this breed of dog is the only reason i'll ever carry a gun.

if the chickens are gone, you might want to call the police anonymously and ask if something could be done (call from a friend's phone and dont' bother dialing #69 to block your ID). animal control can issue many, many citations for things that would be ridiculous. check the barking ordinance there. usually you can nail any dog owner on this one. i'd check on it before you call so it would be a sneak attack.

before starting any retribution, watch the seinfeld episode, "The Engagement - Season 7 Episode 1." i think this is a legal link to it: http://www.watch-seinfeld-online.com/Watch_Seinfeld_Online_Season_7_Episode_1_The_Engagement.html