Help! Neighbor’s dog killed chicks!

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Approach your neighbor in a non-threatening way and say you hate to introduce yourself this way but I need to let you know your dog killed my chickens. Maybe, just maybe, they will apologize and offer to compensate. If they don't then let them know the value of your birds and how much it will cost to replace them. If they don't offer to compensate then...then you know what kind of irresponsible neighbors your dealing with.
You can call local animal control or set a live trap and trap the dog and take it to the dog pound and your neighbors will have to bail it out if the want it.
But no sense in starting a war with them because this day and age people are crazy and it can be dangerous. So reinforce your chicken coop and what ever else you have to do to keep them safe. If they continue to let the dog loose there are certainly creative ways to make it disappear without yourself becoming a target for abusive neighbors.

 

[MROO]

Hello friends. I was horrified to find a neighbor’s dog INSIDE my metal brooder. (110 gallon metal stock tank) I am in OK and recently moved to a locale I just learned offers ZERO protection for losses of livestock to privately owned pets. My only recourse is to shoot the dog if it returns and file a civil lawsuit which would be a small claims case with no attorneys and only a $60 filing fee. But who wants to sue a neighbor and kill their dog?!

I am fairly certain these folks will not restrain their animals so does anyone have advice for how to best keep them away AFFORDABLY? P.S. That dog MASSACRED TWENTY NINE chicks and even when beaten over the head with a metal feeder, would not MOVE. I am totally inexperienced with this situation so advice/tips on any point will be much appreciated! Thank you!

You are "fairly certain" that they won't restrain their animals. Which translates to "I don't know if." Since you have only just met these people, there's a chance you've misread them. First impressions can be deceiving. They may surprise you and be very responsive. It's worth a chance.
If nothing else, hit them sideways ... take a couple of dog treats over and ask for a chance to meet their dog under "better circumstances" and explain what happened. After all, the dog has already proven aggressive to your birds and non-responsive to your commands (even when hit over the head!) Going over with a tentative olive branch may make them more willing to help - and show them that (at least at the moment) you don't want to kill their dog ... even if, in reality, that's precisely what you'd rather do!

 

[Folly's place]

Fortunately it's not a human aggressive dog, or you might have been really injured hitting it on the head.
The best method to get an attacking dog off, is to grab the hind legs and pull back and up. safer, but not necessarily totally safe either. More likely to get the dog to release it's victim, however.
Mary

 

[cmom]

I won't give you advice, only to say what I would do. Put up a game camera and see if you get any pictures of the dog coming onto your property, then take it from there. I have eliminated predators in the past that have killed my birds, but no dogs yet. I did have a neighbor who moved into an abandoned house behind us with five chow or chow mixes. The dogs came onto my property and ran around the perimeter of my pens. I told the owners and they kept them away. I was lucky. One gal many years ago on BYC had a dog problem. When she went to the owner he denied it was his dog. The next time it came onto her property, she shot it with a paintball. I don't know if that was legal but maybe the owner got the message. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

I do have electric wires around my coops and pens and nothing has gotten past it.

 

[MROO]

I won't give you advice, only to say what I would do. Put up a game camera and see if you get any pictures of the dog coming onto your property, then take it from there. I have eliminated predators in the past that have killed my birds, but no dogs yet. I did have a neighbor who moved into an abandoned house behind us with five chow or chow mixes. The dogs came onto my property and ran around the perimeter of my pens. I told the owners and they kept them away. I was lucky. One gal many years ago on BYC had a dog problem. When she went to the owner he denied it was his dog. The next time it came onto her property, she shot it with a paintball. I don't know if that was legal but maybe the owner got the message. Good luck...

A funny story along those lines ... My "nasty neighbor" growing up was a real piece of work. She was convinced that my sweet little dog was sneaking over to her yard at night to "do her business." She did everything but accuse us of walking her there deliberately for that exact purpose.

My mother fixed her wagon by shredding yellow crayons and putting them in Pebbles' food. Pebbles didn't care and the stuff went safely, non-toxically through her. I wish we could have filmed my mother and Margaret walking from pile to pile across the yard a few days later. You could tell when Margaret was told about the crayon, because she started dissecting each pile.

Even from the bedroom window (where giggling kids were clustered to watch) it was clear that she was getting madder and madder as they progressed across the yard. Her failure to find yellow crayons - anywhere except in the "sample" my mother showed her - was patently and increasingly obvious. Just before she stomped back into her house, we learned a brand new vocabulary word ... and we never heard another word about our dog venturing into her yard, again!

 

[cmom]

 

[dmaloney15]

I am so sorry for your losses. You will have to keep future chicks and chickens in something that’s covered and completely predator proof, including from neighbors dogs. Try talking to your neighbor if you are able. In my neighborhood people let their dogs run loose and we often find them in our yard. Talking to them sometimes helps and sometimes doesn’t. Good luck.

Thank you and the worst part is that I DID think I had predator proofed everything. NOW I have turned the things into fortresses.

 

[Kiki]

Hello friends. I was horrified to find a neighbor’s dog INSIDE my metal brooder. (110 gallon metal stock tank) I am in OK and recently moved to a locale I just learned offers ZERO protection for losses of livestock to privately owned pets. My only recourse is to shoot the dog if it returns and file a civil lawsuit which would be a small claims case with no attorneys and only a $60 filing fee. But who wants to sue a neighbor and kill their dog?!

I am fairly certain these folks will not restrain their animals so does anyone have advice for how to best keep them away AFFORDABLY? P.S. That dog MASSACRED TWENTY NINE chicks and even when beaten over the head with a metal feeder, would not MOVE. I am totally inexperienced with this situation so advice/tips on any point will be much appreciated! Thank you!

Have you talked to the dog owner yet?
Start there.

 

[dmaloney15]

I'm so sorry!
Electric fencing! See @Howard E , @cmom , and Premier1supplies.com, and get it set up, and baited to start. I hope it's legal where you live.
Most, or all states in the USA have laws regarding livestock losses, and this applies to your situation with the neighbor's dog.
Responsible dog owners SHOULD apologize and pay for damages, and contain their dog in the future.
Your brooder and chicken housing needs to be safe from predators, because this dog isn't the only predator who will show up.
Mary

Thank you so much. Funny coincidence in that I spent hours at Tractor Supply Sunday learning about electric fencing for chickens. I had no idea it was an option.