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.

 

[Willow2253]

The owners admit it was their dogs. They’re taking responsibility for that at least. The wife came over a little while ago and said that she wanted to make it right, but I don’t know what that’s going to entail yet. The husband was the one brushing it off last night, but at least she is willing to admit this is their problem too.

 

[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.

 

[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]

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.

 

[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.

 

[centrarchid]

Here you go. To find out how to report it in your county, search "(name of county) dog kill livestock" and you should find some guidance. In my county there's a dog incident form to be filled out.

As for Oregon-wide laws, this is what you're entitled to. The page lists other applicable laws.

https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/609.140

It says:

(1) The owner of any livestock which has been damaged by being injured, chased, wounded or killed by any dog shall have a cause of action against the owner of such dog for the damages resulting therefrom, including double the value of any livestock killed and double the amount of any damage to the livestock.
(2) If one or more of several dogs owned by different persons participate in damaging any livestock, the owners of the respective dogs shall be jointly and severally liable under this section. The owners of dogs jointly or severally liable under this section have a right of contribution among themselves. The right exists only in favor of an owner who has paid more than the pro rata share of the owner, determined by dividing the total damage by the number of dogs involved, of the common liability, and the total recovery of the owner is limited to the amount paid by the owner in excess of the pro rata share of the owner.
(3) An action brought under this section may be tried as an action at law in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(4) As used in this section:
(a) “Owner” means the head of the family of the home where the dog is cared for at the time of the damage.
(b) “Head of the family” means any person who has charge or manages the affairs of a collective body of persons residing together, the relations between whom are of a permanent and domestic character. [Amended by 1973 c.655 §7; 1975 c.749 §1]

@Willow2253 focus along this line, not the drama. Do not get side tracked by the "what ifs" and comparisons with loss to wildlife. Now check your county statutes.

In the end you must work to prevent repeats involving dogs in general. More likely than not, that will require some form of fencing. Still try to get money for losses incurred, but do it in a calm and structured manner. If dogs come back, then shoot them to kill. But keep level head.

I have gone through your situation myself more than once. You need to start working on a reputation, one that is positive with your neighbors as a whole. Be one, not an outsider seeing faults in the local good old boys.

 

[Willow2253]

Hi all, I thought I would post an update now that this is finally over with. I ended up taking this case to small claims and my court date was today. I won the case, but I ended up with a judge that clearly doesn’t know much about chickens and severely undervalued them. I tried to explain how I had factored in the loss of egg production from my hens and how much it was going to cost to grow out new chicks to laying age, but I guess I hadn’t made myself clear enough, and he decided each one was only worth $10, even after I told him the one I had bought as an adult was $40. Don’t make the same mistake I did if you ever end up in this situation, be clear on how and why your chickens are worth more than 2 cartons of eggs.

 

[neo71665]

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

 

[Willow2253]

We’ve given them our terms and a day to decide if they’ll agree to them. If the dogs do come back they understand that we will be shooting them. Now we’re just working to protect the chickens we have left. I’ve moved the chick pen into the main pen so it’s more protected, and we’ll be working to reinforce everything as soon as we have the materials. We’ll probably be setting up the game cameras too if we have any that aren’t in the woods already. I’m looking into getting more chicks too so we don’t have to wait until spring. I’ve already contacted the breeder we got the ameraucana rooster from to see about getting more.