Dogs killed all my chickens

[deerman]

Thousands of birds are killed every year from Dogs. Most states premit these dogs to be shot.

Had many birds killed in their pens by dogs. Even a pet deer that was raised from 3 days old. All killed in their pens.

Dogs found near my pens will be shot.

Even saw a man almost killed on a harley when he hit a dog.

The dogs dont even need to get in the pens.

Lost high dollar peacocks,when dogs chasing them. The bird flew up into the top netting. The deer broken her neck by running into the fence tring to get away from the dogs.

Pulled a dog off of a 3 year old boy.

Maybe these owners would keep their dogs up , if they got jail time every time they got out.

Know here they will lose their dogs. Dead dogs dont go home.


Sorry but these dogs owners who cant or will not keep their dogs up make me MAD

 

[deerman]

Quote:
You might want to check out the coops and runs construction forum on here for some ideas. Depending on where you live and how big you plan to build your coop and run, you can either dig a trench around the outside of your run and bury small holed chicken wire or hardware cloth at least 18 - 24 inches deep, fill half way up with gravel and cover with dirt. This will discourage digging predators from getting into the run. Or a permanent solution is to put a concrete footing in, make sure it goes below your frostline, and bring it up to the level of the bottom of your run. Then when you install the fencing of your run cement the bottom of the wire to the top of your footing.

yes thats work great for most predators, not much help for dogs.

 

[Weasleymum]

Quote:
The birds were in a moveable coop/run, a tractor-sort of thing. It appears that the run was unmolested but the dogs somehow got the back doors of the coop open, I don't know how because they were pretty sturdy. If that hadn't happened, the girls would probably have been fine even with the dogs in the backyard, b/c they could have just hid out in the house, poor things.

We're going to rebuild the back doors to be stronger and more secure, latch the coop and run together better (they sit together but come apart for moving), as well as building a better, stronger gate to the backyard. DH is also talking about running electric around near the bottom of the existing fence, although I'm not sure how that would work.

Being right in the city, we can't really shoot our neighbor's dogs, and honestly even after this I wouldn't want to... these two at least aren't "bad" dogs-- they aren't the kind that would attack, say, a cat or another dog-- but what dog doesn't chase chickens, given the opportunity? What I am sincerely hoping is that when their owner hears about this, s/he will be upset; if my dog hurt someone else's animals, I'd be furious, guilt-ridden, etc. And I would make sure it couldn't happen again.

 

[nnbreeder]

The problem too with eliminating dogs is that the owners often go out and just get another dog and let it roam like the previous one did.
The only solution that I have found is sturdy pens and lots of hot wire with very hot controllers. A controller that will shock through wet grass and will actually cut off weeds growing up into the wire is what I use. Very pricey but worth it.

 

[Farmer John]

I've been informed by the authorities that in Sonoma County CA, you CANNOT shoot the dog unless it's in the act of killing one of your birds. However, if you see a dog in the act of killing your birds and happen to be armed.. be safe, don't hit any of your birds, and open fire

PS; I love dogs. Black labs are my favorite.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm so sorry you lost all your chickens in such a terrible way. That is heartbreaking.

Although that 6 foot fence around your neighbor's house doesn't look friendly, it's probably to keep their dogs in. I wonder if the person looking after the dogs just screwed up and let them get out. Your neighbors might be very responsible people and just need to hire a better pet sitter next time.

In the mean time, working on making your chicken housing sturdier is a very good idea, along with working on your gate. As has been said, it could be a different dog, next time. Think about protecting them from raccoons while you're doing your upgrade to their housing, in case that might be an issue in the future, too.

Sturdy wood, sturdy wire, sturdy hardware and wood screws to put things together are all really good ideas. To prevent digging, some people also use an attached flange of wire around the bottom of the run, that lays on top of the ground. For a tractor, I've seen them made so the flange is hinged and folds up when you need to move the tractor. I'm sure there have been pictures posted on BYC, too.

Electric fencing would work well on your perimeter fence, too, if you wanted to go that way.

Most of the losses to dogs happen when the person isn't there, is sleeping or is unaware of what's happening. Shooting only works when you're there with your gun. Other methods of protection can work when you aren't there. Besides the fact that you're in a city.

 

[Weasleymum]

Quote:
Thank you for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I've seen these dogs roaming the neighborhood several times, so I don't think the owner is paticularly responsible for them. Plus, there seems to be some confusion as to exactly where they live-- my DH is sure he knows where and it's not the house I thought. So I am confused about that and just hope that Animal Control got it figured out. I hope that this will shock the owners into keeping them under control; I know it would have that effect on me were it my dog!

I have no interest in shooting the dogs, unless it's with a paintball gun (one of DH's many "helpful" solutions to scare the crap out of the dogs). For one thing, these aren't "bad" dogs; I could have scared them away just as easily by running at them and shouting, had I been home. As you pointed out, I wasn't home-- and if I had, this never would have happened. While I recognize that there are some dogs that really do need to be put down, these don't. I don't know if it makes any difference, but they don't seem to have any blood-lust-- it looks like they just played with the chickens until their (the chickens') necks were broken, then left them alone. As Mikethefarmer says, chickens = squeaky toys. That's why I'm focusing on defense more than anything-- fencing, stronger doors, better gate.

Edit: BYC auto-edited my post! I didn't realize my language was that bad, haha! All I tried to say was a word synonomous with "chicken poo"... and not the bad one that starts with "s" either!

 

[Gatorpupsmom]

I am a huge animal lover, and I don't like to see anything die, but as was mentioned above, I'll shoot to protect what's mine. A lady my sister knows recently lost 2 puppies because 3 loose dogs got into her backyard and killed the pups. She was afraid to shoot the dogs because she didn't know what city ordinances were about shooting in city limits. My opinion is that I will do what I have to do, and if that's putting up electric fence or shooting a dog that I catch killing my birds (or dogs, kids, cats whatever if it happens in my yard). Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. Of course, that doesn't apply here because you didn't catch them in the act.

Do you not have a local leash ordinance? We recently got in a heap of trouble because my dog, who we do not let run loose, got out and went to the neighbors. He stood out in their yard barking, they called animal control, we got fined for it. I don't blame the neighbors, and they really weren't trying to get us fined, they appoligized profusely for it. They have a right to be in their own yard without my dog standing and barking at them, and it's our responsibility to make sure he doesn't get out. Find out your city ordinances and use them to your advantage. I guess it there were such, animal control would have mentioned it when you talked to them. I would really think that it would be to your advantage that you've spoken with animal control about these dogs. By all means, every time you see them out, get back in contact with them and find out what can be done if anything.....

Sorry about your birds. On a very small scale I can relate because a stray cat reached through a very small gap in our chicken house door and grabbed one of my youngest son's guineas and killed it. We thought before that happened that nothing could have gotten to any of the birds. He was so devastated that I could hardly stand it. I would be crushed if loose dogs got my delis and lorpies.

Take care,

Kim