Lost a chicken to a dog

[odysseychicken]

We just lost a chicken and are looking for some advice.

We live in the middle of the woods up a long quarter mile dirt driveway. Today, while I was at work and my wife was at home, someone drove up to our house looking for their lost dog. They had another dog with them that they let out of their car off leash. Before they even reached our door their dog took off after our five chickens. It managed to catch one. My wife was able to get to it before it killed the chicken. The birds entire hind end was pretty badly torn up. My wife took the bird to the emergency vet. They said that one of the chickens air sacks was punctured and it looked like one of her legs was paralyzed. They recommended euthanizing. Which is what was done. The vet did this for free. I feel we lost this chicken due to the dog owners negligence. Not only did they bring their dog onto our property but they let it out of the car off leash. Not to mention they were looking for their other dog which had run off, so they obviously have issues controlling their dogs.

The dead chicken was a 15 week old Buff Orpington that we raised from a chick.

The question I have is, while trying to remain civil, what sort of compensation should I ask for? At minimum the cost of raising her for 15 weeks plus the cost to raise another to the same age. Then there is my lost time and lost egg production until the replacement reaches laying age. How do I put a price on this? What kind of figure would you all come up with.

Thanks

 

[TalkALittle]

You are entitled to any costs to replace a bird of similar age and quality. If replacing with an organic fed bird will cost you more, than you are entitled to more. Get a few quotes, figure an average and ask for that.

You don't get to ask for housing costs. You would have been out those costs even if their dog hadn't killed your bird.

If a person had a 3 year old truck and then someone smashed into it they would only have to pay the cost to replace it with one of similar age and quality. The law would not make them pay for a brand new truck. However, if the owner could make a case that they had made improvements to the truck such that it was worth more than the average 3 year old truck then they would be awarded more.

The law is there to make a person who suffers a loss whole again, as if the loss never happened. It doesn't make a person better off than they were.

 

[TalkALittle]

You are only entitled to replacement costs, not any future money you might have made on the bird. That means the cost of a 15 week old bird of similar quality. In my neck of the woods that would be about $15-$20 for a Buff Orp. Show quality might be more.

Think about it. If you could get another 15 week old bird tomorrow then you'd have lost nothing. If all you can get is another chick then still ask for $20. The difference between that amount and the cost of a new chick will cover the cost to raise it up to 15 weeks. You won't have lost any egg production because the new chick will still have its whole laying career ahead of it.

 

[hayley3]

Some people move to the country to let their dogs roam freely and I am surrounded by coon hunters who don't care about their own dogs, letting them run the streets and getting run over by cars without a thought about it. Of course the dogs wander over to my land occasionally too, chasing rabbits. There is no price you could pay me for my chickens that would satisfy me..I still lost my chicken which meant something to me. They would have to pay me for the stress of losing my chicken which to me would be the most significant.

 

[appps]

How irresponsible ugh

Years ago we had a guy come to pick up something my dad was fixing for him and let his unleashed Doberman out of the car. It took one look at our cat and was off. Dads yelling at it and the owner is doing nothing. Well our cat reached the fence and must have decided it was his yard lol. It spun round on the dog which panicked and ended up racing back to his owner with the cat behind him. A very embarrassed owner angrily put it back in the car. He wasn't at all bothered at the time it looked like his dog might kill our cat though so it was good to see him put in his place.

Some people shouldn't be allowed pets! If his other dog turns up it would be going straight to the pound so it would cost him to get it back.

 

[odysseychicken]

Yes, the whole thing was a bit upsetting for my wife who had to watch it all happen and then had to deal with the injured bird. I think $20 - $30 is a bit low. We were feeding a very expensive organic feed. I would think it has cost us about $50 a bird to get them to this age. That doesn't include the cost of building the coop, the brooder, the feeding accessories, etc. It probably isn't reasonable to try to recoup those costs.

We fully expected that someday a coyote, a skunk, or a hawk would get one or more of the chickens. Living where we do we would expect that. But for someone to drive up to our house and let their dog loose in our yard and it kills one of our chickens? That is not something that should happen. If it was a coyote I would have shot it. If I had been home and a dog was in my yard trying to eat the chickens I may have considered shooting it as well. Can you imagine how upset the owners would be if I had shot their dog (which I would have had every right to do)? I can tell you right now that they would expect me to pay more than just the cost of the dog food. I mostly just want them to realize how irresponsible they were with their dogs.

 

[aart]

Have you tracked the feed costs from raising chick?
I think $30 is fair for a started bird.

Thing is, do you even stand a chance of getting any money from them?
Did they offer to pay?
Do you have their contact info?
Are you willing to take them to small claims court?
Even court settlements often don't get paid.

No doubt, that stunk to high heaven........I'd be majorly ticked off too.
But it might never be 'made right'.

 

[chicklover 1998]

I would say $50 you raised that chick and it had to eat food costs a lot and then they trespassed on private property.

 

[dickhuhn]

I would say $50 you raised that chick and it had to eat food costs a lot and then they trespassed on private property.

C'mon as someone else already pointed out, you are if at all* entitled to whatever a chick like this would cost in the age it had when it was killed. That is anything .

*Might depend on local legislations, are dogs allowed to have a free run, does one need to enclose his property and alike?

There are quite some obstacles and you an be lucky if the dog owner is willing to compensate. As the economical value of a chicken is pretty low. Sure I can understand you are unhappy with the situation, as I certainly would be!

 

[odysseychicken]

Thanks all for the advice. I have spoken with the dog owner and have come to an acceptable agreement. Everything was kept polite and civil.