I blame the neighbor's dog, but where did they ALL go?

[spottedtail]

In your OP you say you've had this dog kill chickens before.
Yet the problem wasn't solved and the birds were still free-ranging,
so it was inevitable this would happen.

I suggest that for the sake of your remaining chickens you keep them
restricted and off free-range until that stray dog is no longer an issue.

Sure, dog owners are legally responsible for their dogs and all the damage they do.
But we as flock owners have a big responsibility too.
We must provide protection for our birds against all comers in all situations.
Don't mean to sound harsh, but a neighbor's irresponsibility should not be an automatic death sentence for our poultry.

Sorry for your loss.

spot

 

[TigerLilly]

My guess is that since it is a recurring incident & you haven't called AC, he's betting that you won't shoot the dog either...and as long as you let him get away with it, he will continue to take advantage of the situation.
If you haven't already, call AC & have them pick the dog up from your residence. Tell them who it belongs to so they can issue him a citation (I'm guessing you have leash laws?); if you can't get him to pay you for damages & aren't too thrilled about taking him to court, the county will fine him. It might not get you any money back, but it will still hurt him where it counts--in the wallet!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[High Roost Ranch]

Almost every single bird I have here is penned in some manner or another, to keep them safe from roaming predators. The owner of this dog back in February built a pen for his dogs to contain them because he works out of state every week, and it might be up to 3 weeks before he comes home on a weekend. It has solved the issue for all this time, and while I don't know how she got out, his pen is like a fortress or so I thought, for 4 months it has solved the issue. So I felt it was safe to let these 5 out to free range during the midday hours because they hang right around my patio by my parrot cages. The only birds I don't penned around the clock are my Key West chickens, an australorp roo and his girls, and 3 leghorn hens. I am home every day, so it's not like I'm leaving them to fend for themselves without anyone to watch over them. I just didn't get the alarm notice soon enough because I suppose they were accustomed to seeing this dog in the past. Any other new dog or something that doesn't belong here comes onto the place and it's like a 5 alarm fire bell going off, they let me know immediately that something is wrong.

Here's the sad thing. I've left a note for this guy. He got the note. He was home yesterday, but didn't come over to collect his dog or call me. I didn't even hear him calling for the dog. Surely he can hear her bark. I was on my way over to confront him yesterday evening when he got into his truck drove out ignoring me to do his usual bar hopping for the night. So this morning, I've been outside every 15 minutes hoping to catch him outside. No such luck yet. So I'm not going to turn this dog back over to someone who could give a rat's butt about her welfare. If it were me, I'd be out looking for her. Just like when she disappeared once as a puppy last fall I went out and found her for him. This guy's a jerk and every minute that passes just makes me more ticked off about the whole situation. Monday morning, I'm calling animal control. I'm done with irresponsible don't give a dang worthless never home dog owners who shouldn't own a dog or even a stuffed animal for that matter because they are so irresponsible. Whew...

 

[darkmatter]

I've also had similar problems over the years with roving dogs, read about others on this forum. It's a common problem that has many endorsing the SSSR solution. (Shoot, Shovel, Shut up, Repeat.)

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Call animal control and tell them the entire story. Then take the guy to small claims court--AFTER you have a record of the fines that were levied for having a dog off-leash that killed your livestock (or pets--call them the term you prefer when you initially call animal control).