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

[WannaBeHillBilly]

question did you hit the dog with a shovel yes or no I just want to clarify all of this

Absolutely not! - Had i hit the dog with my shovel there would have been no need to call the neighbour anymore…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Another update on Nona Duck, she is isolating herself from the rest of the flock:

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I just walked her home from the pond because it is getting dark here and i don't want her to sit there all by herself. She walked fine downhill, but as soon as she was inside of the fenced area she sat down and looked at me as if to say »Fine, i'm back inside, now leave me alone 'cause i need to rest!« and tucked her head under her wing.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Then this might be your best deal - top quality Turbo Wire, 2625ft for $123 and free shipping. You wouldn't have to replace the material with aluminum for a long, long time.

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To connect your electric fence to cedar posts, you would use something like these, which hold up really well (unless you smack them with your tractor bucket!) and can easily be unscrewed and repositioned later. I'm not identifying these as the best deal- just the basic idea.

Amazon.com: 50 Pcs Black Electric Fence Insulator Screw-in Insulator Fence Ring Post Wood Post Insulator(Grid System Accessories for Animal Husbandry Electronic): Industrial & Scientific

Thank you very, very much! If i find the time, i will set the first cedar post tomorrow.

 

[Mimi13]

Another update on Nona Duck, she is isolating herself from the rest of the flock:

​

I just walked her home from the pond because it is getting dark here and i don't want her to sit there all by herself. She walked fine downhill, but as soon as she was inside of the fenced area she sat down and looked at me as if to say »Fine, i'm back inside, now leave me alone 'cause i need to rest!« and tucked her head under her wing.

Hillbilly, you know there is nothing normal or good about a duck isolating herself from the flock. I know she will be lonely by herself, but I think you need to bring her inside and put her in a bit larger area than the Rubbermaid tub. She doesn’t need to be outside where she over exerts herself and, even worse, possibly falls into the pond and drowns. I don’t think she’s as well as you’re hoping/thinking. It may just take time for her to heal and be completely back to normal, but I think limiting her activity is a start.

If I put the puzzle pieces together correctly from the pictures you posted, she has bite wounds on BOTH sides of her body at about the shoulder level or slightly to the front of the shoulder. Of course she is extremely sore and would benefit from something stronger than baby aspirin, maybe metacam or carprofin, from the vet. And in addition, if the dog was able to get its mouth clamped down on either side of Nona Duck’s body, she quite possibly could have internal injuries. Retrievers are known to have “soft mouths” and I have a story to share about that for another time. But even with the possibility of a soft mouth, a lot of damage could have still been done.

Of course, you know me and the fact I suffer from CRS, so you may have taken her to the vet already, but I think we all were more concerned about getting you seen by a doctor. I don’t think you did take her to the vet, but if you did could you remind me of the outcome...to save me from reading through everything again?

She needs antibiotics and a pain reliever and her own little apartment inside with y’all.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I had much such a neighbor before we moved. He had a series of awful dogs. The one that would come over multiple times a day to harass our goats- cornered me on my own property - and I heard them mocking me for it with their family - well, it was always crossing a road people regularly gun it to 35-40mph - and it did indeed get hit by a car right by the road. I heard it happen. And I helped bring back the person that hit it. And helped him lift it into a wheelbarrow, where he accused the farm cat of tempting his dog up by the road- nice, yeah?? Naturally, he got an even worse dog after that. I don't miss them.

Some people are never at fault in their opinion. Today the neighbors dog was almost »FedExed« because it ran out of their driveway straight into the road. - Yes the same dog that got Nona is on the loose again. I just sat on my work-platform with the air-rifle in my lap, but he didn't made any move towards my property. The air rifle will not kill it but will definitely leave a bruise…
I cannot believe how reckless these people are!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Hillbilly, you know there is nothing normal or good about a duck isolating herself from the flock. I know she will be lonely by herself, but I think you need to bring her inside and put her in a bit larger area than the Rubbermaid tub. She doesn’t need to be outside where she over exerts herself and, even worse, possibly falls into the pond and drowns. I don’t think she’s as well as you’re hoping/thinking. It may just take time for her to heal and be completely back to normal, but I think limiting her activity is a start.

If I put the puzzle pieces together correctly from the pictures you posted, she has bite wounds on BOTH sides of her body at about the shoulder level or slightly to the front of the shoulder. Of course she is extremely sore and would benefit from something stronger than baby aspirin, maybe metacam or carprofin, from the vet. And in addition, if the dog was able to get its mouth clamped down on either side of Nona Duck’s body, she quite possibly could have internal injuries. Retrievers are known to have “soft mouths” and I have a story to share about that for another time. But even with the possibility of a soft mouth, a lot of damage could have still been done.

Of course, you know me and the fact I suffer from CRS, so you may have taken her to the vet already, but I think we all were more concerned about getting you seen by a doctor. I don’t think you did take her to the vet, but if you did could you remind me of the outcome...to save me from reading through everything again?

She needs antibiotics and a pain reliever and her own little apartment inside with y’all.

Nope! Nona is in the best hands - ummm wings? - she can be, here is a snapshot from the DuckCam:

The duck in front of her is Katharina and nobody, really NOBODY messes around with Katharina the Great! Even the much larger drakes are afraid of her and bow their heads!
To the left sleeps Nona's sister Curiosity and in front is Limpy Drake. Together they are tough as nails. One foot long nails!
Nona would feel terribly lonely if i take her away from her family!
And no, i didn't took her to a vet as she was much better on Friday morning. If she had serious internal injuries she would have been much worse on Friday. I assume she feels a bit like me at the moment: I moved a ton of 3 month old compost from the left side of the compost "bin" to the right side to make room for the current content of the duck house. Then hauled 6 wheelbarrows of 9 month old compost into the sweet potato bed for this year and finally moved the remaining 30 patio stones around the house.
My muscles feel like i've been hit by a bus or chewed by a dog…

 

[NatJ]

Just a general warning:

The air rifle will not kill it but will definitely leave a bruise…

At least in many states, shooting a dog with intention to injure (bruise) would be considered animal cruelty.

While those same states will often permit you to kill the dog in defense of yourself, your livestock, and so forth.

So you might want to check the rules in your own state, before the dog shows up yet again and you have to decide what to do about it.

 

[Mvan42]

Most states have a law that if an animal is on your property damaging it/or your animals you can shoot it. (Just saying) I would give far warning then if it continues shoot.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I couldn't read this entire thread (I read about every 3rd post or so), so I may be redundant here. But I would so record that dog running around. If those neighbors try to involve the police and try to pin the blame on you, you'd have so much evidence that they can't control their dog.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Man, this just gets me so worked up! On one side of the fence, you've got Hillbilly who loves his ducks and takes fantastic care of them. On the other side of the fence, you've got this neighbor who doesn't seem to care much about their dog at all if they let it run around, terrorize innocent ducks, and get nearly FedExed. It's just not fair that Hillbilly is the one who is hurt by the neighbor's actions, having to be on constant guard when that neighbor just shrugs it off and carries on as normal.

Goodness. Life is just not fair.


(sorry! rant over)