Dogs attacking my chickens . . . again

[Bear Foot Farm]

I'm glad it's working out well.
You certainly did the right thing, and hopefully there won't be more

 

[centrarchid]

The Sheriff just left. They were completely understanding and told me I was well within my rights for what I did. In fact, he took one look at the dog laying in the run, with a mouth full of feathers, chuckled and said "You can't get any more incriminating than that!"

He spent 30 mins or so here, took a few photos (which I had already done as well), took down my contact info and left.

The owner's name and phone number were on both dogs' collars. The officer said he would contact his supervisor and ask what to do next -- I told him my preference would be to have animal control come out and pick up the dogs in the morning, and notify the owner then. He totally agreed and understood with me wanting to remain anonymous, so hopefully this turns out OK.

We have been through much the same since moving to current location. I use dogs to prevent what you are dealing with but took two years to get up to speed on dog side. If you are into this long-term, then I suggest you consider beefing up your coop system and putting up dog resistant fencing around your perimeter and possibly another layer around the coop itself.


It is rare law enforcement can actually prevent losses and reliance upon shooting requires you to be there and ready. This based on experience, too much with kills made when holes for 120+ dogs are very hard to dig.


I like to think my birds are safe without my being present which is majority of daylight hours and when we go out of state for a few days and have someone else care for stock. A layered defense system goes a long ways towards reducing risk.

My other line of logic is to pretend those dogs are wild in that their owners will not provide restraint. Some owners do get their act together if given a heads up but they do not represent the majority. I have also trained a neighbors dog which scored points with neighbor but dealt only with that dog. Generally, the most dangerous dog is the one I have not met yet.

 

[D Kluck]

wow thats some good shooting... 2 large dogs with a 22... glad you got the culprits

 

[Mortimer]

Yeah, in hindsight I probably should have grabbed something larger. It would have sucked if the animals had attacked me directly, or if I ended up having to go inside the coop (close quarters) with just a bolt-action .22LR. I grabbed the Winchester 69 without thinking, it is the gun I always use for critter control, I leave it leaned up against my office door with the 5-rnd mag in my desk drawer. May not be the most powerful piece of hardware, but I can shoot the tail off a mouse with it.

I remember the first time I went rabbit hunting, I asked where should I aim for, my grandpa said "Anywhere in the eye is OK." So that's what I do

Animal control finally came & picked up the carcasses today. 2 birds dead, 2 injured although I'm fairly confident they will both make it. What sucks the most is one of the fatalities was my only Americauna, so no more green eggs

Strangely enough, the animal control officer lives just 2 miles away, she recognized one of the dogs as having gotten into her coop before. She asked if I wanted to cite the owners and press charges, I declined. I don't want them knowing who I am so I'm not harassed later for killing their pets. She said "All they will know is that the animals were caught killing someone's livestock and shot, they won't even know it was chickens.

Thank goodness I live in a farmer-friendly state

 

[War Chicken]

The dogs' owners could probably find out who shot them if they filed a FOIA request or state equivalent. It's been used by cat hoarders in the past to find out who was trapping their cats and delivering them to the pound.

 

[MomaChickJenna]

I have found 2 Roosters and they are adjusting to each other great. They are 2 months younger than mine. Which is perfect for me, because that is what I was looking for. (Roosters young enough to be able to adjust to new surroundings and people)

 

[4 the Birds]

I hear some more ruckus in the coop, and another one runs out, chasing after a rooster - except this one isn't a coyote, it's a yellow lab. I shoot and drop this one as well.

Turns out the first one I shot was not a coyote as I first thought (it was dark), but a husky with tags. Second one is a yellow lab, also with tags.

Dogs have been just as big of a problem as coyotes here as well. There's a big new housing development going up less than a mile from my house. Most of the time, they run off when I head outside - this is the first time I've killed any.

Secure your chickens in a predator proof run/coop. If you let them free range then they should have a perimeter fence and not allow them to free range when it is dark out. You killed these predators but you can't stand watch over your birds 24/7 and expect to pick off every predator.

 

[Avlana]

I feel your pain. We have dogs roaming all over the place here. The owners are very irresponsible and there's so many. Some dogs are even people aggressive. It's extremely frustrating that I have to constantly be improvising my coops and runs.

 

[Bert2368]

I dread the day I have to put a stock killing dog down. I like most dogs, sometimes more than their humans. It was bad enough having to do for a ferral cat that penetrated the run last month, and I'm not a huge cat person.

We're less than 1/2 a mile from the interstate, and stupid people do really think dropping their dog off in the country is better than taking it to a shelter. The neighbors have been pretty good about keeping their dogs on their own property once they had met us and we asked them to do so, thankfully.

 

[WYNot]

Regardless of the law the dog owners will likely give you a hard time.I would dispose of them.I never give back roamers dead or alive,because most times the owners act like fools.Best wishes whatever you do.

Actually I would return the carcasses or let the sheriff do it. AND send the dog owners a very large bill to cover the cost of replacing the chickens, lost revenue/eggs, cost of raising the replacements, etc. Not sure about your locale, but as was mentioned by loveourbirds, the dog owner has NO legal recourse.