Neighborhood Pets killing My Chickens

[Trio]

You shouldn't have shot the dog. It wasn't eating your chickens. That what you have a coop for.

 

[123RedBeard]

I don't think it was wrong to shoot it ... I also don't know where you live and what rules/laws are in place ...

Some towns restrict discharging a firearm ... Some places even restrict firearms!

Good fences are supposed to make good neighbors ... So the saying goes ...

 

[ksguy]

I can see both sides of this. If you had identified the dog on at least one other occasion and warned its owner of the consequences for "next time", then you didn't do anything I wouldn't have done. On the other hand if you had never seen this dog before, who is to know if maybe that was the first time it got out, saw some chickens and got excited? If that were the case I think the right thing would have been to catch it and return it, issuing the warning for "next time". Since you didn't specify, I won't judge.

 

[LRH97]

You shouldn't have shot the dog. It wasn't eating your chickens. That what you have a coop for.

He had already lost six to neighborhood "pets". Were there alternatives? Of course. However there is also that line when you say, enough is enough. These issues are always touchy though. Bottom line: the dog had no business on his property.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

You shouldn't have shot the dog. It wasn't eating your chickens. That what you have a coop for.

They make leashes, kennels, and all other manner of containment systems for dogs too.

His chickens were on his property, regardless of your interpretation the dog had no business there end of story.

This is what I was referring to in my earlier post, just because it's a dog does not mean it's more important than his animals that happen to be chickens.

 

[Trio]

I don't think the dog is more important than the chickens.
Op doesn't know what has been taking his chickens. How does he know it was this dog?
You can't just go around shooting things. This could very well have been someone's pet too. You do the best by your chickens, you know they are prey items and you keep them safe, which is what the op had done.
Yes you can lock dogs up, but just like chickens they can escape too. Accidents and unforeseen things happen. The dog was just following it's natural instincts to chase.
Shooting the dog was a way overreaction.

 

[MichaelZ13]

There is a lot of missing information here. Sounds like the OP probably confronted the neighbors on this and had proof but it was not stated. Also, nothing about contacting the local law enforcement. Typically you work with the owner first, then give them an ultimatum of restrain the dog or law enforcement gets called, then call law enforcement, and then some stiff fines and/or they put down the animal. We had a problem dog of the neighbors but he finally got things under control after a lot of phone calls on my part. I was just about to go to the ultimatum stage, but did not have to, thankfully.

The only time I would think of shooting a dog without going through all these steps outlined above is if it was threatening me or my family members on my property - that is not something I would stand for. And I would probably shoot to scare it and maybe put a few shotgun bird shot pellets in its rear end at long range.

 

[123RedBeard]

There is a lot of missing information here. Sounds like the OP probably confronted the neighbors on this and had proof but it was not stated. Also, nothing about contacting the local law enforcement. Typically you work with the owner first, then give them an ultimatum of restrain the dog or law enforcement gets called, then call law enforcement, and then some stiff fines and/or they put down the animal. We had a problem dog of the neighbors but he finally got things under control after a lot of phone calls on my part. I was just about to go to the ultimatum stage, but did not have to, thankfully. 

The only time I would think of shooting a dog without going through all these steps outlined above is if it was threatening me or my family members on my property - that is not something I would stand for. And I would probably shoot to scare it and maybe put a few shotgun bird shot pellets in its rear end at long range. 

While I agree with most of this ... The last paragraph doesn't set well with me, UNLESS YOU CONSIDER YOUR CHICKENS "FAMILY MEMBERS"!

Let's just say you hear a ruckus, and have a gun handy ... You step out into your yard, and see your neighbors dog with one of your chicken in its mouth, and it is shaking it, you also notice three other of your chickens laying motionless covered in blood and saliva ...

I don't know about you ... But, that dog would have killed its last chicken!

Around where I live it would be normal to just shoot the dog harassing chickens ... If the OP lives in Chicago, NY NY, or LA ... All bets are off ...

 

[LRH97]

In my experience as a poultry keeper, predators will often come back once they find a food source. While most domestic dogs don't kill for food, they kill for sport. They will most likely return as well. A predator is a predator. Plus, say a mountain lion were to be attacking someone's dog and they had a gun on hand, do you think they would think about running inside and calling the police? No. They would act on impulse to defend the property that they hold dear. While in this case, the dog was not attacking the chickens, the OP's flock had already suffered prior losses. Dogs are smart. All canines are smart. There is no doubt in my mind that if he wouldn't have caught the dog when he did, it would've been much uglier.

 

[Caseybee]

In my state (NY) there is a leash law and if a neighbors dog come calling and kills your live stock that is cause for "elimination of predator". The dog is treated as if it is a "fox" going after my livestock and I have all the right to eliminate the predator to protect my stock.

I can even press charges against the neighbor for loss of livestock.