Dog pulled my hen's leg off!!

[Azriel]

I let the chickens out to free range this morning thinking they wouldn't go far with the 6" of fresh snow we got last night, but no they all went over to pick in the hay by the horses, I'm in the coop fluffing bedding, cleaning water, exct, and I hear a lot of noise an look out. My neighbors dog is chasing the chickens. I run over grab her and tie her to a fence post, get the chickens back in the fence, when I see one of the hens laying in the hay. I go over and pick her up, and her leg is gone, totally gone, just a hole where her leg should be. I have the hen in the basement in a box by the wood stove. Called the neighbor to come get his dog. He's all apologetic and offers to take the dog home and shoot her, the wife is crying, I'm mad, but this never happens. they live almost a mile away and are my closest neighbors, and she is their working stock dog, so I say no, just make sure she stays home, or next time she will be dead. He gives me $20.00 for the hen, but now what do I do with her. Can she live with one leg, or should I cull?

 

[brahmamomma]

not to be a *****, but who would offer to shoot their own dog? what the heck is the matter with people? do i have chickens? yes. would i shoot my dog if they did this? no. thats what rescues are for. i am actively involved in animal rescue of all kinds, and i know that there are good homes out there for dogs that are prey driven. people just need to be more responsible with their dogs. i am very sorry this happened to your chicken, and i hope it can make it through. but i would also question a person willing to kill their own dog? or any dog for that matter.

 

[indi]

I heard chickens with only one leg struggle to perch and it gets cold round where you live that might pose an issue. Could she ever be a house chicken? Sorry about what has happened.

 

[chickflick]

I've heard of people having one legged chickens. I guess I would "wait and see". Wait to see how the chicken adjusts to having the one leg.
Your neighbor is a moron. Things happen. You just don't shoot the dog!

 

[madamwlf]

It was actually a common practice in the old days. What good is a livestock dog if it is going after your livestock? Some say if the dog has had a taste of chicken that it will keep going after the chickens.

not to be a *****, but who would offer to shoot their own dog? what the heck is the matter with people? do i have chickens? yes. would i shoot my dog if they did this? no. thats what rescues are for. i am actively involved in animal rescue of all kinds, and i know that there are good homes out there for dogs that are prey driven. people just need to be more responsible with their dogs. i am very sorry this happened to your chicken, and i hope it can make it through. but i would also question a person willing to kill their own dog? or any dog for that matter.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I have read about chickens that functioned in the coop with just one leg. She will need some nursing to recover, so if you don't have the time for that then culling is an option. Chickens can heal incredibly well, but if there are any puncture wounds from teeth then a shot of Penecillin G from the feed store would be a good idea to prevent infection.

 

[EweSheep]

Yes I would SHOOT the neighbor's dog.

However it's the owner's right to do whats right for his own dog. If he wants to shoot it, fine. If he wants to rehome it, fine. If he wants to take it to the vet and put it to sleep, that would be fine. He is just being responsible but I think after he cools off, he can think rationally and do whats best for the dog. He reimbursed you for the hen for his dog right then and there.

If and when his same dog got out and killed the chickens, then the dog would suffer the conquences and the owner would face huge fines for having a dog at large, killing other people's livestock/pets.

All in all, he is being a responsible dog owner, it is NOT your duty to tell him what to do with his dog once it is on his property. You have your rights as a chicken owner to kill any predators or children or adults that the dogs did harm them by shooting them.

Its reality.

 

[theoldchick]

To be perfectly honest, I don't think the dog would have survived if it had come to my house and done that.

The dog would not have survived the horse attack.



He doesn't even like MY dog.

 

[Azriel]

not to be a *****, but who would offer to shoot their own dog? what the heck is the matter with people? do i have chickens? yes. would i shoot my dog if they did this? no. thats what rescues are for. i am actively involved in animal rescue of all kinds, and i know that there are good homes out there for dogs that are prey driven. people just need to be more responsible with their dogs. i am very sorry this happened to your chicken, and i hope it can make it through. but i would also question a person willing to kill their own dog? or any dog for that matter.

I live in an area of large ranches, thats what people do out here. If your dog kills any livestock, if the owner of the stock doesn't shoot it when its doing the killing, the owner of of the dog does when the're told of the action. I myself would not be able to shoot a dog, I don't think, but if it was after one of my $3000-$4000 Arabian foals, yea maybe I could.
I want to remain friendly with these people, so I'm not going to make them destroy the dog for 1 incident, but she best not come back.

 

[Moonkit]

Yes I would SHOOT the neighbor's dog.

However it's the owner's right to do whats right for his own dog. If he wants to shoot it, fine. If he wants to rehome it, fine. If he wants to take it to the vet and put it to sleep, that would be fine. He is just being responsible but I think after he cools off, he can think rationally and do whats best for the dog. He reimbursed you for the hen for his dog right then and there.

If and when his same dog got out and killed the chickens, then the dog would suffer the conquences and the owner would face huge fines for having a dog at large, killing other people's livestock/pets.

All in all, he is being a responsible dog owner, it is NOT your duty to tell him what to do with his dog once it is on his property. You have your rights as a chicken owner to kill any predators or children or adults that the dogs did harm them by shooting them.

Its reality.

She wasn't telling him what to do with the dog.. he was offering her to have a say in the dog's fate. The OP obviously values her relationship with these neighbors, and judging from the dog owner's reaction, I'd say they value their relationship with her in return (otherwise he wouldn't have offered to kill the dog). All in all, I would commend the dog owner for taking responsibility for the actions of his animal and trying to make up for what it did (offering payment for the injured hen and to permanently remove the dog.) How many times do we see posts on here of people who live in rural areas with neighbors who don't care what their loose dogs do? Or worse, turn on the stock owner for "threatening" their stock-killing dog?