if you don't shoot guns, how do you kill roaming predators?

[picklespickles]

if you are not a person who chooses to kill the predators of your animals, please don't answer this post.

i grew up with guns in my household but never learned to shoot. recently, roaming dogs almost killed one of my goats. they got her throat and one leg. she was down and "shouldn't" have survived but did.

besides just the regular rural stuff, my neighborhood is a gang area. so, calling the sheriff or even animal control would give me problems for many years to come.

my fencing is the best in this neighborhood. so if they are willing to get through it, well, there's not a lot i can do to improve my security. i am going to put up security movement lights in the animal areas tomorrow.

i stayed up last night drinking tea in teh shadows of my property with a big stick for protection, watching the comings and goings of the night creatures. i followed one pack of three dogs in particular. when the leader of it looked through the inner fence twice, my goat made the same noise, one i'd never heard her make. there was definitely a recognition.

i checked up on this dog and found out it attacked my next door neighobrs kid two years ago. not just bit, but took him down to the ground in front of his own house.

so this is a dog who has to go.

so, i am bringing in the stray cat who came with my house and i sort of inherited and locking it in my bathroom for a week. two of my dogs are going to a relatives house and the other one is going to be locked in my back room for a week. i'm going to leave poisoned dog food out at night. if there's any left during the day, i'll pick it up. i don't honestly want to kill "innocent" roaming dogs. it's jsut the way things are here. don't agree with it, but can't change it.

anyway. if your'e not handy with a shotgun, but need to help predators take a permanent vacation from your property, what do you do?

 

[silkiechicken]

I get large animal live traps, and then shoot them once i got them. I would be afraid of leaving poison out as anything could come by and eat it.

 

[picklespickles]

i know. i am too. i thought about the traps. but i just dont' know how to shoot and dont' feel like i ahve time to learn. our properties are only a quarter acre away from each other. everyone has told me that my idea of going over there with a pie and just discussing it is idiotic and will make things much worse in the end. i am so sad. it seems like that even calling the animal control will be seen as bringing in "the man" so to speak and that discussion with them will just make me a target.

i have been blending in okay here and have had some vandalism, but not house burnings as have happened to others. so am trying to figure out how to handle things. the people who owned the porperty before me were run off because they couldnt' blend. i have been doing that, amazingly. i know it sounds stupid but this is the best place i have ever lived and the only place i could afford to buy a home. so i will be here for ten years anyway.

so i feel like gee. well, a lot stronger than gee.

 

[Mountain Man Jim]

Hey, I have to post on this one.

I hate roaming dogs. I understand if a dog get's loose by accident. But, roaming packs of dogs are dangereous and not just to chickens. Good luck.

Though, this might only temporarily solve your problem. These dogs will be replaced. You might consider an electric fence in the future. My guess is your dogs can't stay out all night, because you are trying to be a good neighbor.

OK, so what can be used as a poison? Obviousily, you don't want the dog in your yard when it expires. I'm just asking for reference.

By the way, I think it would fun to shoot the dogs with a paintball gun. Though, that requires not sleeping all night.

 

[picklespickles]

actually-- shooting them with a paintball gun is so much more my speed.

the horrible thing with poison i understand is that they wound't expire on my property because is a slow painful death.

i haven't been sleeping at night, that's the problem. and i usually spend a copule nights a week away and haven't been able to do that either.

i don't think it's a permanent solution, either. but i feel like i need to at least put an impact in the numbers. and hopefully get the "right" one.

i was thinking of an electric fence too. i can't afford anything right now. in fact, one of the people i work for is actually going to take me shopping tomorrow for security lights because she knows how much this is eating me up. she is so cool.

my dogs are chihuahuas! lol. i adopted a neighobrs red heeler puppy out of the field next door that was dying. it's doing good, now, but still a pup. the chis know to bark at strangers even if they aren't intimidating. the heeler is still learning. while he can bully smaller animals, he is not yet brave enough to bark at big things that actually need barking at. eventually, he may be my protector dog. but he's not there yet.

in some parts of our state, people actually put their dogs on top of the house at night so they can have access to bark at many different places at once. i was actually considering it. knowing me, i would put a dog house up there. lol. ai.

i am so glad this is a place i can come and talk about this.

 

[nccatnip]

If you shop around, electical fencing will not cost you more than security lights. I am of the opinion you probably need both but I would opt for the hot wire first.
Sorry you are in such a tough situation, maybe you need to think of getting a LGD, my anatolian shepherd is only 7 months old but quite a presence.

 

[EggCentric]

Get a donkey, Mule or Llama. They all hate dogs and will kill them if they are in their territory.Llamas will actually disembowel dogs.

If you get a Llama, only get one, pairs will bond with each other and not the other animals and will only look out for themselves.

***Note: With the donkey and mule, there is always the exception that they will not bother the dogs at all. Find one with a known reputation for dog hating.

 

[southernsibe]

Stray dogs are bad news, packs of stray dogs, worse news. As for what poison you want to use, hmm. To tell the truth, there are a few problems with it. Do you have a way to ensure it will only be that particular dog that eats the poison? If you are going to try to eliminate the entire pack, if you poison them all at once wouldn't that look suspicious to the rest of the neighborhood? Do these dogs "belong" to someone? If so, do you think that person(s) may try to retaliate if their dog turns up dead or missing?

To be safest, both for yourself and your animals, I think that trapping or confining the dog(s) would be best. I understand you don't want to shoot the animal. However, if you are going to poison it, you are responsible for removing the poison. Not only the left over food, but also the animal. Just my opinion here, so I hope I don't get flamed. But it seems that it isn't fair to the other people in your neighborhood to just let the dog roam after ingesting the poison. It could drop dead on someones door step or yard, and that person may be wanting to blend in and cause as little trouble as possible too. If you can trap or confine the dog, then feed it the poison, that may work. The only thing I know that would absolutely work, would be anti freeze. Horrible but true.

Getting a hot wire is a wonderful idea. The high cost part of it really is the charger. There are a lot of different types available and prices too. I like the tape for my dog yard. It is more visible to my animals so they don't accidentally bump into it. I think it comes in 1/2 in and up. Not sure where it lies in the price range though.

Donkeys and mules make a wonderful ruckus. And a llama would work too. They are used for guardian animals in several different situations.

I hope this helps.
Rachel

 

[Southern28Chick]

Whatever you do PLEASE don't leave poisoned food out. You could end up killing a lot of animals and you might not even get the dog that you're after.

Edited to add: Anything other than shoting the dog is cruel and inhumane. Have you ever seen an animal die from poisoning??? It's not pretty and it is extremely painful for the animal. If you trap the dog you don't have to be handy with a gun to kill it. It's is a trap! Put the gun to it's head and pull the trigger. And this is coming for someone that hates killing animals but if you're going to do it...do it right.

 

[Southern28Chick]

I've gotta ask! Where do you live where you can't call animal control or the cops and there's gangs and people put their dogs on top of houses at night??????