Help My dogs got out and killed my neighbors chickens....

[ChickenDaddy523]

I'm so glad we have had this thread. I think everyone has hit on some key points on both sides while maintaining a healthy conversation. It is apparent that we have good concern for the welfare of our animals. Each deserve our protection and care. We are obviously good parents

 

[Goldiechick04]

...

Yesterday two of my dogs got out and chased and killed my neighbors free range chickens. Our neighbor shot and killed our dogs. We are offering to reimburse our neighbor for the chickens at $40 per chicken plus the cost to buy new chicks. Is this fair? 

 

[Goldiechick04]

You are a good neighbor and being very responsible. I have a sad situation that happened a month ago where my neighbors dogs broke through our fence and slaughtered 3 of our hens. But before that incident it happened the first time close to Thanksgiving. We lost 15 chickens then. Now....the neighbors are our good friends which makes it a bit difficult because I've been so angry. My youngest daughter spent at least 5 minutes sobbing over the losses. We all cried. These were very special chickens to us. I've had to deal with the heartache. But what has made this overall situation even tougher is that our neighbors have not offered to reimburse us for the fence damage. The fence needs to be replaced and I'm wanting reimbursement for the cost. My husband can put the fence up since he's good at that. The hole is still there at the fence too with a wheelbarrow propped up on their side. Yes this is a shared fence. I wish there was closure on this. It's as if they are avoiding trying to come up with a solution.

 

[Goldiechick04]

I'm new to posting so im still trying to figure it out. Ha!
So the fence is wood and needs replacing. My husband has mentioned that the fence needs replacing to the neighbor and he wants to split the costs. Maybe this is reasonable but I feel like they should cover the costs since their dogs broke in twice. It's really hard and my neighbors wife won't acknowledge me or even talk to me now after I told her that we need to sit down to talk about what our expectations are.

 

[johnderosa1]

If someone has animals, whether they're chickens, or llamas, or peacocks, or even catfish, they have to be prepared for some loss if they don't make some provision for keeping the animals safe. It's irresponsible to think otherwise. Having chickens roaming around unprotected is almost baiting other animals to come have a taste. If you wanted to lure a mountain lion I couldn't think of a better way to do it. There are plenty of raccoons and skunks, let alone family dogs that the chickens need to be protected from.

How true... I read all these accounts of free ranging chickens and wonder how people can maintain a flock this way. The closest I ever got to free ranging was when I put some 3 month old birds in a high fenced garden area one day to give them some fresh air...by the time I got home from work that evening, one was just a pile of feathers and another was maimed . They have been in fort knox ever since....

 

[ChickenDaddy523]

Goldiechick,

I can empathize with you and have struggled for years to get my Nieghbor to help. I called her and we spoke today. She finally agreed to replace the fence. I would recommend going over with an offering of peace, like cookies or something, and asking for help fixing the fence. If your husband will fix then they could pay for the materials. The cost of a fence is really not that big of an expense, especially if it's only a small section. Heck once it's done you both will have the piece of mind that the fence is stronger than ever and you can rest better at night knowing that their dogs aren't coming through that hole to end a bird and vice versa.

 

[centrarchid]

You can sustainably free-range chickens but you can not count on your neighbors to contain their pets nor wildlife to practice vegetarianism while on your place. You have to keep the predators out or at least make their job more difficult. If your birds are too vulnerable you can loose everything very quickly. You may also need to your budget the replacement of lossed birds. My flock is totally closed so not only do I have to invest in controlling losses, I have to incorporate additional reproduction to make up for those losses in addition to losses associated with harvesting, disease and birds aging out of productivity.

 

[chicknmania]

If someone has animals, whether they're chickens, or llamas, or peacocks, or even catfish, they have to be prepared for some loss if they don't make some provision for keeping the animals safe. It's irresponsible to think otherwise. Having chickens roaming around unprotected is almost baiting other animals to come have a taste. If you wanted to lure a mountain lion I couldn't think of a better way to do it. There are plenty of raccoons and skunks, let alone family dogs that the chickens need to be protected from.

That is not the issue here. They are not your chickens, neither do you have the right to judge someone else on how they keep theirs. And as far as it there being no "federal law", that makes no difference. The chicken owner is not at fault. Period. I could cite lots of cases, but really, this is getting ridiculous. There's no argument.

 

[johnderosa1]

How true... I read all these accounts of free ranging chickens and wonder how people can maintain a flock this way. The closest I ever got to free ranging was when I put some 3 month old birds in a high fenced garden area one day to give them some fresh air...by the time I got home from work that evening, one was just a pile of feathers and another was maimed . They have been in fort knox ever since....

Just to clarify what I meant by "wonder how people can maintain a flock this way" ... Wasnt judging people who raise chickens this way, just lamenting that it impossible where I live. Critters love to eat chickens and I 've got lots of critters here.

 

[Michael Apple]

That is not the issue here. They are not your chickens, neither do you have the right to judge someone else on how they keep theirs. And as far as it there being no "federal law", that makes no difference. The chicken owner is not at fault. Period. I could cite lots of cases, but really, this is getting ridiculous. There's no argument.

The issue here IS accountability and responsibility in regard to ownership of animals which the OP understands, and every other rational observer of this thread. Flashmayo made the same point every rational person who reads this thread will understand. The only ridiculous posts are from those who can't understand what responsibility entails. If YOU own an animal, it is YOUR responsibility for the safety and health of that animal. If you don't, it is YOUR fault. Perhaps if you were the chicken or the dog in this case, you'd have a better understanding.