Keeping guineas in fence...

[mjanderson437]

Someone on the chicken side posted this in regards to chickens flying over a fence:

This sounds crazy, but it work for me, I had the
same problem, so my granddad told me to hang paper plates or pie pans on the top of the fence about 4 ft apart ,well belive it or not,,it WORKED!!!!

What do you think about this in regards to guineas? My neighbors dog is a guinea chaser so them getting out of the run fence isn't a good thing. But my husband doesn't want to cover the run. We have a ton of pine trees and the needles will get stuck in wire or net and he's just not willing to take that step yet. But they can't stay in the coop/run forever. I guess I could clip a wing. What do y'all think??

 

[JLeigh]

I'm not for wing-clipping if someone is going to free-range their guineas. They're always at risk for being taken by predators with both wings intact, and you have a roaming dog threatening your flock already. Guineas are strong flyers though, and if they can get away from a predator through flight, they'll do it.

Have you talked with your neighbor about their dog? In Georgia, I'm allowed, by law, to shoot an animal that kills my poultry/livestock. I'm not recommending that you do that, but someone said (not me, but it's a good quote) that a neighbor's dog on their property is a pet, but on my property it's a predator.

If you have leash laws, you can call on those. But starting a feud with neighbors isn't always the best way to go, and needs to be considered before taking any serious action. Maybe you could help train the dog by spraying it with soapy water in the eyes? It will sting, but not really harm the dog. Or shoot it with a BB Gun? I don't know....I'm fortunate that I don't have the same problem. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place on that one. Hopefully you have a good relationship with your neighbors and can solve the problem with a conversation.

 

[PeepsCA]

Guineas hate change and are extra leery of new things, but they will get used to the paper plates/pie tins after a while. You'll need to change them out for something else every once in a while... old CDs, reflective mylar bird tape, pinwheels that whirl around in the wind etc in order for your visual deterrent to stay effective.

As for clipping a wing... they will most likely still get out of the pen by flapping and scaling the fence (they already know they can get out), and a clipped wing in a panic situation (such as a dog chasing them) usually helps them meet their demise very quickly. I would not clip wings if you can't guarantee their safety.

 

[mjanderson437]

Yeah, that's about how I felt about wing clipping too. It's not just my neighbor, its my husband's brother and family - my 8 year old niece and 6 year old nephew. I can't hurt their dog...their parents just relented after years of begging to let them get a dog, the dog was a pound rescue and you can tell he's been treated bad and other than his constant desire to eat my birds, he's a decent dog. They did have an invisible type fence but the dog is pretty hard headed and kept going thru it. Which is why I wanted to cover the run. I guess I'll just have to keep working on my husband and lock ole Bobo in my garage when I let the birds out. I'm not satisfied with this but for now I guess its the best I can do.

 

[Pinesong Farms]

Yeah, that's about how I felt about wing clipping too. It's not just my neighbor, its my husband's brother and family - my 8 year old niece and 6 year old nephew. I can't hurt their dog...their parents just relented after years of begging to let them get a dog, the dog was a pound rescue and you can tell he's been treated bad and other than his constant desire to eat my birds, he's a decent dog. They did have an invisible type fence but the dog is pretty hard headed and kept going thru it. Which is why I wanted to cover the run. I guess I'll just have to keep working on my husband and lock ole Bobo in my garage when I let the birds out. I'm not satisfied with this but for now I guess its the best I can do.

We keep owls and hawks out of our run with lines of fishing line. It’s cheap and easy to maintain and leaves and pine needles don’t really get caught in it. My chickens don’t try and get out of the run and my guineas are not old enough to fly out just yet. I will be testing it out once they get a little bit older. Maybe it would work for you.

 

[MTR]

I'm not for wing-clipping if someone is going to free-range their guineas. They're always at risk for being taken by predators with both wings intact, and you have a roaming dog threatening your flock already. Guineas are strong flyers though, and if they can get away from a predator through flight, they'll do it.

Have you talked with your neighbor about their dog? In Georgia, I'm allowed, by law, to shoot an animal that kills my poultry/livestock. I'm not recommending that you do that, but someone said (not me, but it's a good quote) that a neighbor's dog on their property is a pet, but on my property it's a predator.

If you have leash laws, you can call on those. But starting a feud with neighbors isn't always the best way to go, and needs to be considered before taking any serious action. Maybe you could help train the dog by spraying it with soapy water in the eyes? It will sting, but not really harm the dog. Or shoot it with a BB Gun? I don't know....I'm fortunate that I don't have the same problem. You're stuck between a rock and a hard place on that one. Hopefully you have a good relationship with your neighbors and can solve the problem with a conversation.

Gotta be careful with this advice. People get funny about there dogs.

 

[R2elk]

Gotta be careful with this advice. People get funny about their dogs.

Most places have leash laws. If you do not contain your dogs and keep them on your own property, they are legally subject to the death penalty.

@JLeigh gave good advice. If you are concerned about your dogs, keep them home. In my state, your dogs do not have the right to roam free and kill my livestock and poultry.

 

[MTR]

Most places have leash laws. If you do not contain your dogs and keep them on your own property, they are legally subject to the death penalty.

@JLeigh gave good advice. If you are concerned about your dogs, keep them home. In my state, your dogs do not have the right to roam free and kill my livestock and poultry.

I guarantee if you do this any chicken that gets off your property will never come home. Every coop you build with out a permit will be called in. Every camp fire will have the fire department called in. Etc... even if legal you better count the cost before you do it. I’d work hard on alternatives first.

 

[R2elk]

I guarantee if you do this any chicken that gets off your property will never come home. Every coop you build with out a permit will be called in. Every camp fire will have the fire department called in. Etc... even if legal you better count the cost before you do it. I’d work hard on alternatives first.

You dug up this old thread to respond to a person who has not been on BYC since Feb 1, 2015

I get the impression that you have the misguided opinion that your dogs have the right to run free. They do not. If you care about the welfare of your dogs, keep them home where they belong.

It is always easy to tell when someone new has moved to the country so their dogs have room to run. They soon post signs at the mailboxes about their missing dogs. They are the ones who were at fault, not the people protecting their livestock and poultry. To many of these people their livestock and poultry are also their pets. They have the right to protect them.

If your free roaming dogs are killed for harming other peoples animals or birds, it is you who are at fault, not them. You will be fined and you will be required to pay damages. You have only yourself to blame, it is not your neighbor's fault that your dog is dead. It is 100% your fault.

If you want to be a bad neighbor because you failed as a pet owner, well, we know what that makes you.

 

[Sydney65]

Ya'll realize this was from 2013, right?