Some clarification in my part of this situation- yes, the coop was not secure as it normally was. My chickens free-range on our dogless property inside a fenced in area, then I'd walk them to their coop and lock it up. This particular time, I didn't get the lack all the way. It was a busy night- I was distracted and didn't get back out there to close it. Sheer forgetfulness. I was sick when I saw that I'd done that.
So, yeah, I deserve a bit of the blame for this. This set up worked for almost 3 years, incident free. Live and learn.
Before this, we'd had an altercation with the same neighbor for letting his chickens free-range all over our yard to the point where they even roosted under our deck. They cost us two bags of grass seed and several bulbs as well as completely stripping all my fall plants this year. I was furious.
After a good screaming match, he built a real coop and kept them in his yard, mostly. His chickens would STILL wander over....I always thought it was because he wasn't feeding them and because of his awful dog. I think I was right.
Anyway, that's a little history.
Here's what we've done so far:
Yes, I called animal control last Thursday when I talked to the neighbors son. They filled something out over the phone and said they'd send an agent over theh next day (which was Friday). I'd taken pictures of the coop, the bodies I could find and the feathers...just in case.
They didn't come until today- I have no idea what went down.
We got new babies over the weekend and are converting our children's playhouse into a coop that will be inside our fenced in yard. They will have a fenced run and I don't think I'll let them out.
I believe this is the owners fault, not the dogs. The dog is kept on a short chain all day, everyday with a small Dogloo. I think thats sad. I hope Animal Control saw that.
According to the law, I have the right to shoot the dog if it even "worries" my livestock. I can also get a dog trap free from the county that would humanely trap the dog for transport to the pound. I like that idea.
My husband wants to sue them for the cost of a new flock and the price of the lost eggs. I hate the idea of taking someone to court. I DO wish the neighbor would simply approach us with an apology, even a half-hearted one would make me feel better about humanity. But so far...nothing.
My new babies will be better protected.
This is a grainy photo of our new coop, with the old coop set-up outside our yard. Excuse the yucky winter yard. Lots of brown...and it's raining.
The new babies in their super warm and dry house.
Something my kids and I put together in homage of our 7 girls. They had names, and were held a lot. Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Molly, Myrtle, Brietta and Henrietta.
Are these the type that you can set up to your computer so you can see what's going on that way?
