Guardian Fowl

[Kambrie]

My next door neighbors dogs keep getting on to our property and killing our chickens. Just today they wounded almost all of them and killed at least 3. We are still missing some. Our rooster didn't do anything but run away like a coward, and our other one stood up for his hens but was eventually driven off to our other neighbors house. I am going to be getting geese soon...do you think that would keep the dogs away? Or would I need a bigger breed of bird, like an emu? I live on 8 acres, so there really isn't much I can't have. I have a donkey right now also, but she is normally out in the field, eating grass. She never notices the chickens being attacked. The dogs are about 6 month old lab/pointer mixes. My neighbors want to train them to be hunting dogs, but I don't think that will work out to well, because they cant even train them not to bite people! Ugh, they make me soooo angry. Anyways, sorry for venting, but any suggestions on how to keep my flock safe?

 

[Keltara]

Have you talked to the neighbor?? Are they aware of what their dog's have done to your animals?? If so, and they are still letting them roam off leash, I'd be pulling out my shotgun, Lock and Load and shoot to protect MY animals.

 

[Kambrie]

I have talked to them, and they are in a fenced backyard, but they keep getting out and the neighbors don't know how. I probably would have done that too, if we weren't such good friends with our neighbors. We don't want to cause any problems. My dad says if this keeps going on, were either going to get another guardian animal, or just start putting the bodies of the chickens that they kill, on their porch and make them pay for new ones.

 

[Keltara]

Those dogs must be climbing the fence. I would not tolerate that kind of behavior. I understand that you don't want to cause problems with your neighbors, but clearly they don't care enough about you to ensure that their dogs don't kill your livestock. That is pretty telling in of itself as to what kind of people they are. You will need to do what feels right for you, but if it were me?....I'd be killing the dogs next time they were on my property.

 

[Kambrie]

They have climbed the fence before, but that was when they were little...I think they are too big to climb it now. It is a steel grated fence and its pretty flimsy. The dogs weigh almost 70 pounds. The neighbors are away for the weekend, and I went and chained them up in their backyard, so that will be fixed for the weekend. I beat one with a pipe when it was eating my barred rock hen. The other one ran up to my dad with a barred rock leg in its mouth and my dad threw it over the fence by its collar. My dad wants to get a paintball gun to shoot them with everytime they come over.

 

[farmer boy]

if you get something that will hurt them then they will nto come back once they learn like a bb gun or some if you shot it a bunch of times if u see it near your yard it will learn if it goes over there pain will happen and they are puppies so its harder for them to learn things if not enough time and effort put into training a dog ... you could get a dog or something but getting geese like a gander and a female or two ganders and two females might do something how many dogs do they have because if you get geese only a gander and female and the gander attacks one of the dogs then if there are two or something then they both might start attacking it and it wont be good after .. with me something comes to bug or attack my birds i let my dogs out i have 3 so i just let them out and one is a killer he always killed thing when he was younger not our animals but wild animals .... i don't like to waste my money on guardian dog because so many people cross breed them then they are not as good of a guard

 

[Kambrie]

They have 3 dogs, but only 2 come on to our property. The other one has been shot with a bb gun before and wont come back. I just bought 2 goslings... One is an african or a toulouse and I'm not sure about the other one. I'm getting paid today, so I might order some more.

 

[blucoondawg]

If you want to stay friends then don't do anything and just talk to them and insist they pay for damages, but if it were me and they refused to pay AND fix the issue in some way I would then call and report them to the sheriff's office or animal control so they are fined and if it continued happening I would kill the dogs. They are likely climbing the fence, the larger they get the easier it is for them, all they have to do is jump and hook their legs on the top then kick the fence with their hind legs and jump right over, I had hound dogs who did it continually.

 

[Kambrie]

I will talk to them about paying us for the damages when they get back. Thank you