Dog killed show breeding Golden Sebright cock

[cabumblebee]

I raise and sell Golden and silver Sebrights to 4-H kids. I have worked very hard to produce Standards quality birds. I won't sell if I dont think that it is a winner! My birds have won lots of awards. Here is my delimma. I had moved a rooster and two hens to a smaller cage because another hen had been sitting and chicks were starting to peep. The other 2 hens were started to peck at the eggs.. so I moved them. I had to go out of town and when my husband came home from work the rooster was missing. And the smaller cage was all bent up and smashed in. I had him look at the surveillance videos and the neighbors dog had pounced and pounced on the cage until the rooster actually got through and ran. Well the dog got it and killed it and took off with it. Sooo in my area you can not find good quality birds. I have people come for hours to purchase them. I only have two roosters that I breed with and now one is gone. How do I charge and how much should I charge for my bird??? She was like, "sorry, I'll buy you another bird". I told her that you can't just buy me another bird!! We will have to agree on a price.
I'm out the value of the bird and future birds that he would have produced!!
Any suggestions??!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

How much do you sell your chicks for? Say its $25 and you expected another 100 chick sales from him. Thats $2500 lost income, so now the value of the dead bird? You paid X for him, it cost you Y to feed and house him for however long you have had him. X+Y+lost income= damages

Do not let them off the hook, ask for their homeowners insurance information if they balk.

Sorry this happened.

Gary

 

[Sydney Acres]

Just offering to pay for the bird isn't good enough!! Absolutely not!

The dog has to go, or has to be declared a dangerous dog and subjected to homeowners insurance policy confinement requirements for dangerous dogs. What's to stop this casual owner from letting her dog loose again and it killing every bird on your property??

As Gary said above, make an honest determination of what the bird was worth to you. I like what Gary proposed, but it isn't likely to hold up in court, as Sebrights aren't a rare breed, and the bird can be replaced, although it might not be easy. Be prepared to be asked what a replacement cock of equal quality would cost. When you answer, be sure to include shipping to your area, including replacement cost if he dies during transport or during rehoming, plus the cost of setting up a quarantine coop, and a fair cost for your time to find and arrange the purchase of the replacement. If you have both options available, likely a court will accept one option or the other.

Once you have those figures, you can present them to the owner, and request that the bill be paid and the dog sent away or confined permanently within 2 weeks, or you will proceed to small claims court. Then do it!! If the owner seems unwilling to cooperate, be sure to call the sheriff and/or animal control and request that the animal be declared a dangerous dog, which has a specific legal meaning. Definitely get the dog owners
homeowners insurance involved -- they don't like having to deal with irresponsible dog owners, and will cancel a policy if an owner isn't cooperative. Mortgage companies require homeowners insurance, so that's a big deal to most people.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It must have been terrifying for the birds.

 

[cabumblebee]

How much do you sell your chicks for? Say its $25 and you expected another 100 chick sales from him. Thats $2500 lost income, so now the value of the dead bird? You paid X for him, it cost you Y to feed and house him for however long you have had him. X+Y+lost income= damages

Do not let them off the hook, ask for their homeowners insurance information if they balk.

Sorry this happened.

Gary

Yes I charge $25 to the 4-H kids. More to other people. It's so frustrating and maddening too!
It's hard because she is also a friend. But I need to give her a price.

Thank you for your reply!

Serina

 

[cabumblebee]

Just offering to pay for the bird isn't good enough!! Absolutely not!

The dog has to go, or has to be declared a dangerous dog and subjected to homeowners insurance policy confinement requirements for dangerous dogs. What's to stop this casual owner from letting her dog loose again and it killing every bird on your property??

As Gary said above, make an honest determination of what the bird was worth to you. I like what Gary proposed, but it isn't likely to hold up in court, as Sebrights aren't a rare breed, and the bird can be replaced, although it might not be easy. Be prepared to be asked what a replacement cock of equal quality would cost. When you answer, be sure to include shipping to your area, including replacement cost if he dies during transport or during rehoming, plus the cost of setting up a quarantine coop, and a fair cost for your time to find and arrange the purchase of the replacement. If you have both options available, likely a court will accept one option or the other.

Once you have those figures, you can present them to the owner, and request that the bill be paid and the dog sent away or confined permanently within 2 weeks, or you will proceed to small claims court. Then do it!! If the owner seems unwilling to cooperate, be sure to call the sheriff and/or animal control and request that the animal be declared a dangerous dog, which has a specific legal meaning. Definitely get the dog owners
homeowners insurance involved -- they don't like having to deal with irresponsible dog owners, and will cancel a policy if an owner isn't cooperative. Mortgage companies require homeowners insurance, so that's a big deal to most people.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It must have been terrifying for the birds.

I felt horrible! And to see that dog just snap my little guy out of the air was horrifying!!

Thank you for your response!

Serina

 

[Sydney Acres]

If she's really your friend, she will understand that she owns a predator and take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from happening again. Show her the video and see if she understands how painful this is to you.

Do you live in a county with a leash law? If so, and she intentionally lets the dog roam, then that is illegal. If she's not cooperative, you should consider calling the sheriff or animal control, friend or not. Most counties without a leash law will immediately declare an animal dangerous if it kills livestock.

 

[YdogsflY]

I'm sorry to hear this happened, and a price should be set. Only you can really put a value on the bird. The advice above is good, but sometimes in these situations considering it a part of doing business in teh best approach. Could settle on a cash price, then write the rest off as a loss.

Also, overreacting about the dog is not gonna be helpful. It's not that dogs fault, it's the dogs owners who are at fault. Labeling it a Dangerous dog for doing what untrained dogs do is not fair to the dog.

Lets face it, it was only a chicken (I mean no offense as I know it was a prized bird) not a child or mailman who was mauled by the dog.

 

[Revan]

Lets face it, it was only a chicken (I mean no offense as I know it was a prized bird) not a child or mailman who was mauled by the dog.

True, the dog shouldn't be punished (euthanized) like it would be had it bitten a person, but I can see where the OP is coming from. It's not just a chicken, it's the OP's livelihood. They make their living from selling these chickens.

The owner should be held responsible and should secure her dog better and not allow it to run loose. There are ways to secure a yard, even for dogs that are highly adventurous.

 

[YdogsflY]

True, the dog shouldn't be punished (euthanized) like it would be had it bitten a person, but I can see where the OP is coming from. It's not just a chicken, it's the OP's livelihood. They make their living from selling these chickens.

The owner should be held responsible and should secure her dog better and not allow it to run loose. There are ways to secure a yard, even for dogs that are highly adventurous.

I understand and agree that the neighbor should be held responsible, but there is a limit and a point when dealing with neighbors who are friends. Securing the yard/dog is a great step.

If the chicken is the means to the OP's Livelihood, then writing off the loss on top of satisfying the debt with the neighbor, is the way to go. Business, regardless of the industry, comes with gains and losses. Sole source of income or not, losses are inevitable.

 

[3riverschick]

Check your state dog law .there's usually regulations in place that cover dogs killing livestock. chickens are livestock. go to your State website and check the state regulations to see what they say you can do, what happens to the dog, and what those people's responsibility is to you. in Pennsylvania , there very definite actions and results.
If you follow the dog law, that means the state is responsible for the problems your neighbor is going to have... and maybe you'll have less chance of damaging your friendship. Because the regulations ( not you )are responsible for problems arising from their dog:s actions.
Best,
Karen