need help dog trouble

[ladyangel]

neighbors dogs have attacked my guys twice!

1st time summer of 09 only one hurt and every one scared
2end time yesterday; 3 dead turkins adult hens mother was 2 years old the other two Dora and Nemo were 09 chicks
2 dead araucancas adult hens silver was 21/2 years old and beauty was 09 chick
missing still 3 araucanas hens and 2 turkin hens still missing
they want to pay for my losses but what is a fair price to ask for each chicken by type?
I want to be fair I'm not out for blood
It's not the dogs fault that the owner didn't keep them home "it's the owners"
.

 

[wildorchid053]

hand them a bill for the dead ones..gl

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

That's a hard question, because they were worth a lot more to you than someone would pay for them. I know the feeling, and I am sorry for your loss. I'd ask for 15.00 per hen. keep in mind, you have raised them from little ones, fed them, watered them and took your time to feed them so they are paying for your labor also. Maybe this will make them a little more responsible. I hate when someone else's dog does something to your property. They think money is always the answer. It helps, but what about the attachment you had with those chickens. Most ppl. don't see that. They think it is JUST a chicken, and they want to pay you some grocery store price of 3.99 on sale...UGHHHHHHH!!!! Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[redstars]

I would go with $50 dollars each. That way they might keep a closer eye
on their responsibilities. If you let them off cheap they won't think twice about letting them roam loose again.
Looks to me like 10 birds total. That's $500.00 bucks. I think If I had to
shell out 500 I would make sure my dogs were contained.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Even if you can SSS (shoot, shovel, shutup), the neighbors will only replace the fidos that don't come home. I've had to build a larger run last year due to predation. I raise enough to handle the occasional single predation, but dogs will keep killing spree til there are no chickens left if they can.

 

[CTChickenMom]

When I figured out the cost for raising meat birds, it was about $6 dollars for 8 weeks. If you translate that to the loss of your chickens (that's feed, cost of a chick, and shavings) then it would come out to $78 per bird over 2 years, that's a cheap chick and doesn't include the loss of egg revenue. Report your losses to the police. Hand them a bill and when you do, tell them you have filed a report with the police, and that you have a right to protect your flock. If their dogs come on your property again you will shoot them. Done deal.

 

[J3172]

The way I figure prices is by going on eggbid and seeing what people are selling their birds for and I'd go from those estimates.

 

[jjthink]

Quote:
And yet crucial that the amount be a very real deterrent to this ever happening again. The more people who learn that chicken's lives have value, the more that word will spread and less lives will be lost. Not that any amount of money can substitute for a life savagely snuffed out, but it's a start.

I once lost the phone number for someone whose dog attacked my sweet roo (she was walking by without dog on leash and the dog barreled into the yard and right into the coop). The attack resulted in huge vet costs, a lot of time off work for me to care for him as he needed much TLC, and most importantly and sadly a lot of suffering for him (happily he did make a full recovery and is still with me today). So I never was able to find or bill the person. The result of that is that they may not have come to understand how bad their irresponsibility was and they may not have changed how they think or act. They didn't have consequences to share with other dog owners, and so those they converse with didn't learn either. The loss of that phone number was a disservice to birds everywhere (in the chaos surrounding the attack, trying to keep BJ alive etc. I couldn't find the little piece of paper I had put in my pocket...).

Fast forwarding to more recent times...

As awkward as it was, after an attack of hen Ellie by a neighbor's pit bulls (they rammed the run and were slamming her against the wire, ripping her open), I billed the people for Ellie's vet costs (including surgery - she recovered as well), about $500-$600. This did not begin to compensate for her suffering or for all the time I took off work to help her through or all the time I spent administering meds for weeks, but I do think they understand that what happened is unacceptable and I think they will try to avoid a future occurrence. Hopefully they have relayed this story to others who have dogs and those dog owners will themselves be more careful. So each time we take a firm stand for our feathered friends hopefully we reduce the risk for those birds still alive out there in the world. News spreads.

So very sad about your birds - it's a horrible way to go. I am sorry.
JJ

 

[little_grey_bantam]

My wonder is this...
If a DEAD bird is worth only $15-$20 (and I'm talking hatchery stock adult birds)
It'd be more expensive to have your dog kill the bird than have it be injured and pay for a huge fine.

What if it was by accident???? O.O
I know sometimes BAD neighbor children will play pranks and this could result in a dog coming out and .. well... killing someone else's birds. How about would you go on the owners than? Sorry just FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

I've been in a similar situation, but with a dog and the child being injured (child pretty much tortured the dog and got bitten

).

 

[jjthink]

To me, it's wrong when a bird killed is valued at a mere pittance. Hopefully this changes in time. They're all priceless beings that had relished their lives and compensation can never be truly made but certainly one can and should include in calculating 'value' the food, medical care etc. that had been invested in the bird as well as the expected loss of eggs - lots of threads on BYC have info on how to come up with the best possible numbers in the current climate of undervaluing their lives.

If I had a kid or a dog or a whatever that harmed another, regardless of whether by accident or not, it would be my responsibility to compensate the injured party. Any way sliced, people are responsible for what their dependants (dogs, minors, etc.) do, unless provoked***. They just are. Whether by accident, negligence, or deliberate act. It's only in this day and age that people seem to forget this. Years ago, when personal responsibility was more the norm than the exception, there would have been no question.

In the example provided by ljb, the dog owner and the parents of the bad neighbor children that caused the dog to become loose should both be committed to making sure the bird owner is compensated for the bird losses.

(***if a dog is at home, and someone's else kid comes over and smacks the dog and the dog bites the kid, the dog/dog owners not at fault)