I've got neighbors, who have been pretty good so far. they've got dogs, and my dog spends a LOT of time at their house, playing with their 4 dogs. My dog is good, and doesn't cause trouble, and they are willing to keep her overnight if I have to be gone. Anytime I have to be gone, for 1 day or 2 weeks, and I pay them in baked goods and eggs. They try to be friendly, and I try to not let them drive me nuts (they wander into the yard often, without warning, wondering if we've got permits to build the coop, etc.). Their dogs are supposed to always be kept in, because they wander and don't have road sense, or sense enough to go back home. well, i came home yesterday, kind of late, and as I was rounding up the birds, i noticed some white feathers on the ground in the backyard. I'd had the chickens locked in all day yesterday ( I let them out when I was rounding up the waterfowl) so I knew the feathers had to be from one of my ducks or geese (2 white ducks, 3 white geese, and 8 nonwhite ducks)... when I went inside, there was a message on the machine, saying that their dogs had gotten out, and they'd heard nasty, nasty barking up on my land... but their dogs were back in, and would I please call them. so I did, and I said that yes, I had noticed feathers, but all my birds were accounted for, none were missing, and I hadn't noticed anything really wrong with anybody... but that it was dark, and I'd look tomorrow (today). SO, today, i noticed that my chinese gander has a bloody spot (like a quarter) on his wing, and the feathers there are sticking up straight, and it really looks like they are jammed into the wing, in a big bloody area... like you'd jam a pencil into a sofa or something. not a good look... (do i need to pull those feathers?) so I called the neighbor, and basically said "Hey, it's your neighbor, i just discovered where those feathers came from. one of my geese has been bitten, and I think he'll be okay, but give me a call".... but now I don't know what to do. I want to make sure they understand how serious this is, that their dog has attacked my bird... and honestly, if i catch him doing it again, i might SSS.... but i don't want to strain relations, by saying "If your dog comes up here and attacks my birds, I'm going to shoot it"... though i doubt I'd be able to shoot it without them noticing immediately... so I want this to never, ever happen again.... yet, I am reliant on their kindness in regards to MY dog, and I do free-range my birds... what do you think? honesty is appreciated.
