Dogs...

[Willow2253]

We were away from home for about 2 hours this evening, and returned to find 2 hunting dogs in our driveway and 7 dead chickens. 5 more are still missing, we searched for an hour before it got dark, and another is injured pretty badly but still alive. I’m not sure if she’ll make it or not. That leaves us with 3 hens, 3 pullets, and a rooster that all appear ok, and the 10 chicks in the brooder that they didn’t manage to get into.
We know who’s dogs it was. They’re our neighbors a little over a mile away, and the owners of the store in our small town. We confronted them tonight, and they laughed us off. They don’t understand that these chickens are basically our pets. We love them. We’re devastated.
Does anybody have any experience dealing with something like this? What can we do?
We’re already taking measures to keep the rest of our chickens safe. They have a secure pen that they will not be leaving for the time being, though they’re normally free rangers. If we see those dogs on our property again they won’t be going home.

 

[neo71665]

First thing you should have done was called the police and made a report.

 

[Willow2253]

Honestly I don’t even know who’s jurisdiction we’re in. We’re way out in the middle of nowhere country. We got home at about 8:30 tonight to this, then we were looking for the chickens until about 9:45 when it got too dark. My stepdad wanted to find out whose dogs they were, that’s when the confrontation with the owners happened. They admitted it was their dogs. We were just so exhausted after all that it didn’t even occur to us.
We’ll decide in the morning if we should get the police involved. Small town culture is weird here, we have to deal with them very carefully or it could end up worse for us. However if it were up to just me I would definitely be calling the cops asap.

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

Shoot the dogs next time. My neighbors keep their dogs off my property. They know what will happen if their dogs even try to get to my birds. I've already warned them.

 

[Willow2253]

Shoot the dogs next time.

That’s the idea. We almost did this time but they ran off down the highway and the owners picked them up.

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

That’s the idea. We almost did this time but they ran off down the highway and the owners picked them up.

They will be back!

 

[neo71665]

Shoot the dogs next time. My neighbors keep their dogs off my property. They know what will happen if their dogs even try to get to my birds. I've already warned them.

The problem with that is now they have confronted the owners if the dogs go missing retaliation might arise. Even if there are laws allowing them to protect their livestock by any means. Like stated they own the small country store, most likely ban them from there will be part of it. I understand small town politics too well. The dogs go missing the owners just call the cops and report it. If they would have reported their chickens first they might had a leg to stand on. Now they just come across as some nut jobs shooting local dogs.

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

That's too bad @neo71665 but out here where I live the LEOs enforce the law. I have the right to kill any dogs that attack my livestock, no matter how many times they visit my property. I have given each of my neighbors a copy of the laws regarding the issue. I don't care if they think I'm crazy or not, I've invested a lot of time and money in my birds and that's the bottom line. They understand and respect that.

 

[Willow2253]

We’re hoping to settle this without too much drama. I know by tomorrow the whole town will know what happened, and the owners do understand that if we see their dogs again they won’t. Livestock is big out here, though mostly cattle not chickens, so I’m sure they know the law is on our side. I just can’t believe how apathetic they are about it. We’ve lost over half our flock. My brother watched these dogs kill the only chick we were able to hatch from our new rooster, who‘s among the missing.

 

[BuckeyeAmy69]

We’re hoping to settle this without too much drama. I know by tomorrow the whole town will know what happened, and the owners do understand that if we see their dogs again they won’t. Livestock is big out here, though mostly cattle not chickens, so I’m sure they know the law is on our side. I just can’t believe how apathetic they are about it. We’ve lost over half our flock. My brother watched these dogs kill the only chick we were able to hatch from our new rooster, who‘s among the missing.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. It is so hard losing birds in such a violent way. I hope things go well for you.