Neighbor's dog came back for our ducks today! What to do?

[RosemaryDuck]

Nope, rabies shots are not part of the greencard process and i have never had a rabies immunization before. Now don't get me wrong, i am absolutely pro-vaccination, but the rabies vaccination is one of the few that unfortunately can have some severe side effects. I like to know weather the dog had a rabies shot before i take this one.

As someone who has been bitten by a dog and received 4 rounds of rabies shots and is still alive and well- please get it. Rabies is lethal. There is no 'cure' or treatment for it. If you get it you die. There is no second chance. There is not a single side effect from the vaccine that would change my mind.You could literally have it in a week. /A week/. And there's nothing they could do for you.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I don’t see how you are going to be able to work with your neighbors. They have already lied about the situation and they are being very aggressive. The dog needs to be gone.

I would prefer if they can keep their pet and are willing to learn their lesson and implement measures to keep their dog on their property.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I think I understand. I would worry too. Are they people who will work with you? Is there anything else you can do to keep predators out?
There are electrified fences and such, but that‘s extra money.
Not sure where you live but There is a fence which can be made out of tree branches, which is solid out enough to keep out predators unless they jump over. I will search for the name.—it‘s a wattle fence.
I am sure you have racked your brain already trying to protect your ducks so this may not be helpful at all, or work for your layout, but just in case thought I would mention it. Pretty cool fencing.

Love the idea of that wattle fence, it is cheap to build and i have ~35 acres of forest to get all the branches, the only things i need to buy are the posts! Initially have to deal with about 500 meters (~547') of fence, but i can build that segment by segment. Great Idea!
Edit: And such a fence is much easier to build on uneven or steep land!

 

[Shezadandy]

Electric fence time. Using polywire, you can run 30+ feet in between t-posts easily. For areas with big elevation changes, smaller posts that easily push into the ground with knobs to help with the elevation adjustment - which work fine as long as you've got T-posts in between. I've had great quality stuff at a very reasonable price from Kencove.

Kencove Farm Fence Supplies - Kencove

Fi-Shock 48 in. Plastic White Step-in Fence Post-A-48 - The Home Depot

It is light weight stuff, lasts a long time, and as long as you ground it properly and have a good fence energizer - can easily go 8,000 to 10,000 volts. While my wires are around 1ft apart in this photo, they can easily be 4" apart.

Unlike aluminum or steel wire, there's no special equipment needed to tighten - just by hand, and occasionally wrapping around the plastic insulators.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I can offer no advice that everyone else hadn't already offered, I don't believe you are remotely in the wrong in the way you handled everything.
However, if your neighbors claim that their dog has bruises, I would ask that they get a vets statement that they are indeed inflicted by a shovel or something l like that.
It's stupid that the law can't do anything unless birds were actually killed.
Unfortunately, knowing how people veiw poultry as not real livestock or pets ( what are they then?) this will probably require you raising your fence from 2 feet to maybe 4 or 5 feet to make it harder to hop over. I suggest deer fencing, it's cheap and comes in long lengths. (I use tennex )

If I had the money, I become a lawyer for people with poultry for situations like this.

For sure the dog has bruises: It ran full speed into the fence and the fence gate! And then tried to escape through the railing of my work platform before finally crawling under my workbench. It may even have nails, screws and/or splinters in its paws! My ducks know that the work-platform is a no-go zone.
With the fence it is not so much the cost of the material, it is the steep terrain that would not allow to bring in any machinery (tractor) to drive the posts in, so a lot of costly manual labour is required. But i will try the idea of the wattle fence that @Kaw dug out.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

If she considers it cruel to anyway restrict her dogs roaming, then she might be in for a surprise because loose running dogs ranks somewhere between weekenders on atvs barreling down the road and trespassers to country folk.

Or roadkill…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Our land is the same in that it is uneven, difficult to fence and easily costs more than we have to spend. We didn‘t have a fence for years. We ended up fencing a small area with chicken wire.

I feel soorry for your neighbors dog...they can’t choose their owner. Even if not aggressive, if they bite someone their lives are in danger.
Thinking of other deterrents aside from a fence. The amonia smell is a good idea. Worth a try. But that wouldn‘t stop my American Fox Hounds. I think the only thing that will stop them is a scary loud noise, but I don‘t know how to set it up to go off when a predator gets into your duck‘s area. There maybe motion sensors which sound alarms and can be pointed beyond the duck area.

The problem is, that the corner of my land, facing the dog-owners is the best place for my ducks to forage. They have cover from the trees, the ground is soft and mossy, there's acorns and chestnuts and a little up the hill is the compost pile, full of yummy red worms. Further up the hill is the pond. Fencing all that area in would need estimated 3 Kilometers of fence, that's almost 2 miles. Any fence will be expensive at this length, just the posts will cost a fortune.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

As someone who has been bitten by a dog and received 4 rounds of rabies shots and is still alive and well- please get it. Rabies is lethal. There is no 'cure' or treatment for it. If you get it you die. There is no second chance. There is not a single side effect from the vaccine that would change my mind.You could literally have it in a week. /A week/. And there's nothing they could do for you.

I know how dangerous and deadly rabies is, but the chance that this dog has rabies is really extremely low. Rabies in wildlife here in the area has been almost eradicated through oral vaccination and the last case of a raccoon was in the mid 90's - i was told by the urgent care doctor. So in this case the risk of a preemptive-strike vaccination isn't worth it.
To become sick with rabies within a week the virus load must be very very high, meaning you must have been bitten multiple times by an animal that showed clear symptoms.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Electric fence time. Using polywire, you can run 30+ feet in between t-posts easily. For areas with big elevation changes, smaller posts that easily push into the ground with knobs to help with the elevation adjustment - which work fine as long as you've got T-posts in between. I've had great quality stuff at a very reasonable price from Kencove.

Kencove Farm Fence Supplies - Kencove

Fi-Shock 48 in. Plastic White Step-in Fence Post-A-48 - The Home Depot

It is light weight stuff, lasts a long time, and as long as you ground it properly and have a good fence energizer - can easily go 8,000 to 10,000 volts. While my wires are around 1ft apart in this photo, they can easily be 4" apart.

Unlike aluminum or steel wire, there's no special equipment needed to tighten - just by hand, and occasionally wrapping around the plastic insulators.

View attachment 2482106

I thought about electric fencing, but would a polywire fence keep a dog out?
How many posts would i need for ~2 miles of fence?
Just found the Polywire reels at the Kenovice web-site, 660' is about $30, so just one strain would require 15 reels for about $450… You see the dimensions that i am dealing with…

 

[Mimi13]

Hillbilly, I was also gonna mention the electric fence. It will be your best bet! And yes, a charged poly wire will definitely keep a dog out. I have found that one good pop from a hot wire will keep the dog away forever. My dogs and horses can “hear” the popping of the fence and stay way away...after receiving that initial shock.

You don’t have to fence your entire property all at once. And like @Shezadandy said, you don’t have to use ALL t-posts, but use a combination of the t-posts and portable hot wire posts. Start with erecting a portion that is cost efficient for you to begin with. An example would be, purchase that 660’ roll and run it out either 330’ with two wires or 220’ with three wires. Here’s my thoughts with hot wires: you aren’t trying to keep in a large animal, rather keep out dogs, cats, coyotes, coons, etc. Two strands, no more than three, is all you need. (6-8” and 20” from the ground.) The wires do not need to be high enough to prevent a dog from jumping it. The dog will not be running through the yard/woods and see the fence from afar and jump it as it nears the fence. Rather, it will be sniffing the ground/air and “run up on” the fence, sniff it (they always do) and receive a good shock. At that point, the dog will neither try to go under or over the wires, but yelp and run away as quickly as it can, sometimes yelping all the way. A cat has a different reaction. Instead of a yelp, it will jump 10’ straight up and land 5’ from the fence and already be headed in the opposite direction. For your needs, I personally think a two wire fence is all you have to have. If needed, later on you could come back and add another wire on top (with a little rigging for the proper electrical flow!)

Then, in another month or two, you can put up another 330’ section, and so on and so forth. As I said before, this is your best bet.

Unfortunately, a lot of dog owners do not accept the damage their dog does as being their responsibility. Hell, a lot of parents don’t accept responsibility for their derelict kids either, so go figure! I have always looked at it as it is my responsibility to shield/protect my animals from the wooly boogers of society, while also protecting society from my dogs, etc. That’s just what a responsible pet owner does.

A good dog at home can indeed be a bully away! No ifs, ands, or buts! A dog is a dog, is a dog! And it most likely will return...because it hasn’t been zapped yet!

I, too, am a proponent for peace and will go out of my way (and even put hardship - work, cost - on myself) in order not to cause friction. No need for others to tell me to grow a pair, number one because I can’t, and number two because it’s just my nature. Period!

My wish for you is a speedy recovery for you and for Nona Duck. I consider you like my neighbor, a good neighbor, and I wish I was there to help.