Need help calculating the cost of lost chickens PLEASE!

[jbourget]

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but seriously....charge them 40 per bird for being nincompoops...

 

[jbourget]

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[BairleaFarm]

If my dog got into my neighbors chickens and he tried to charge me 35$ a bird id fight it and win. We have alot of problems with this around here and im sure its different from states to state. Here they charge what the bird is worth(what it cost to replace it)At least here - you cant charge by what they could produce over thier lifetime. 10$ - 15$ a bird is what i feel is fair for a regular bird. More if it was a prized line and you can prove it.

 

[UncleTommy]

Judy Judy, pshh....its all about The People's Court! Small claims is about making you whole, not getting ahead. You could either get the replacement cost of the pullet, asking breeders for estimates for pullets of the same breed and age would best OR you could figure out the price per chick and the amount of feed that the chick consumed to get to its current age. You would not be able to recoup the cost of eggs that would have laid UNLESS you could prove that you lost income by not being able to sell the eggs, say for instance you have regular customers that have standing egg orders. Best thing to do would be to replace your flock and get a receipt, I know its not the same as the chicks you have raised but its the best your going to get if you decide to go the legal route.

 

[kgdubois]

Thank you everyone, for the great replies (and even some laughs...it helped so much)!

I met with the neighbor yesterday, and showed her all my calculations on how much my birds cost me as day-old chicks, and how much money I've spent on feed to get them to the age of 7 months. I researched what point-of-lay hens are going for in this area ($20 - $25 for hatchery quality). I also calculated for her what I lost in income on my egg orders, as I have standing orders each week and I go to our local farmer's market every Saturday and sell them.

At first she didn't believe me when I told her that the $35 was actually very reasonable. Once I showed her my calculations, and gave her the print out from the County JP office, she was more cooperative. She felt really awful about her dog killing my birds, but is still not wanting to pay me anything at all...she is a college student, but I feel like she needs to be held responsible for the actions of her pet. I am hoping she will work with me, and do the right thing.

We live out on a ranch, and she is renting an old bunkhouse at the headquarters, so Animal Control was not an option, unfortunately.

Thanks, again everyone! The Rambo thing made me laugh out loud

 

[Mamma_Duck04]

Out of curiosity, what did your figures come up to when you worked them all out?

 

[kgdubois]

I don't have my paper with me here at work, but the final total to replace the nine birds (five, 7-month old laying hens, one rooster and three, 3-month old hens) came to right at $45 per bird.

This was including the cost of each day-old chick (incl. shipping, etc.), feed for the seven or three months, and the lost egg income for the five hens for one year. The total for this was $58.00 per hen. I figured this by looking up the average number of eggs a wyandotte hen would lay (200), then multiplying that by what I get per egg. I charge my customers $3.50 per dozen, which makes each egg $0.29, so that comes out to the $58.00. I did not estimate any more than one year of income per bird, because I felt like there was no guarantee that my birds would live for that long. I did look up the average lifetime laying of a chicken, which was around 700 eggs.

In my county, I would be entitled to the lost income for the entire life of each chicken, the replacement cost for each bird and replacement cost for my investment -- which would include feed, equipment and labor for building the coop, etc. I didn't feel justified in charging her that much, because she took responsibility for it in the end. She is also a college student, and I know I'd never get that much out of her, in all honesty.

I maintained asking the $35, even though my estimated total was more. She says she doen't think she can even afford that much, but I am going to allow her to make payments to me (My parents run the house she lives in, so I feel confident I will get it out of her).

Hope this helps!

 

[OldGuy43]

Glad to hear that you stuck to your guns. To many young people today do not understand that every choice they make in life has consequences.

 

[Anarchy82]

I think letting her do payments would be good. She needs to learn that life is not easy. You have to pay for damages.

I would of trapped the dog and held it ransom. Ah, who am I kidding. Rambo is the way to go.

 

[Capvin]

I would really hate to kill my neighbor's dog, BUT if my neighbor's dog had gotten loose and killed and maimed my chickens as many times as had happened to you I would not hesitate. No money can replace my chickens and the time and effort I put in every day to raise them and I would never accept some paultry sum to replace them. I can well afford to replace them myself. I would tell my neighbor that the next time I see the dog loose and on my property I will kill it and drag the carcass to their driveway and hang it on their fence post. No I realize that I would have killed the wrong living thing because the dog is just the product of a human's stupidity, but if I shot the neighbor the consequences would be more then I would want to bear.