Neighbor's dog killed hen - how to stay on good terms?

[PatriciafromCO]

Am sorry for your loss. Had a distant neighbor ask me how I got my dogs to stay home.. I told him it's called a fence.. His property was over 4 miles from ours and eventually his 3 dogs were chasing open range cattle down by us..

Does your property have solid fencing ? I know how expensive it can be when your doing solid fencing 1 have 120 ac's and been fencing off new full enclosed sections for the smaller livestock every year. That way it's not too over whelming on your pocketbook.

editing to add we all posted at the same time lol .. so did read your new response about extending your fencing

 

[chickengeorgeto]

As a small boy we had no issues with my Grand Parents' Chickens being killed by dogs. And there were a multitude of dogs running lose. We never had to kill a dog to my recollection. The reason is that any dog that killed chickens or else sucked eggs was summarily executed by its human owner.

 

[centrarchid]

@bethadee

If you think you are into chickens for the long term then more foresight needed. Thus far discussion has been with respect to 1 chicken lossed and one dog and its owner. That is not realistic. You also indicate you have birds free-ranging your 2 acre plot. Regardless of plot shape, I could not keep more than a couple birds free-range on such a plot without them crossing the property boundary. At some point you will incur losses when birds are not on your property, then most of your legal logic will be compromised. Also, at some point a wild predator will impose losses on you that you will not consider acceptable or simply clean you out entirely despite whether you think it is acceptable or not. Long-term, sustainable chicken keeping is very likely to require you to invest more in protecting those birds, otherwise you or someone else will be buying a lot of replacements.

Most poultry keepers I have watched burned out within a few years and moved on to something other than chickens. Deathloss of chickens has been the main reason for loosing interest in chickens. Parties investing more on predator management on front in also more likely to be keeping chickens further in time.

 

[Eps32]

Sadly sounds like you have two options kill the dog if it comes back or keep your flocked locked up and it will be back I assure you your on a sticky situation I live in the deep country so if someone's dog gets on my property I chase it off and give the owner one warning if it's killing my livestock while on my property I shoot it no warning no questions asked

 

[Howard E]

I was thinking about this thread a few days ago. I was out picking up some hay bales, looked up to see my neighbor's dogs in the hay field with me. To get there, they had to come past the chicken yard. Yet the chickens were out running around and the dogs paid them no mind. Other than realizing what I was seeing, I paid the dogs no mind. Why? An electric fence. Those dogs noticed the birds last year and made a beeline towards them, hit the fence.....got the snot knocked out of them and have never shown any interest in them since.
In the fight against varmits that would kill our birds, a well designed electric fence is the great equalizer.

 

[jools2014]

As a chicken and previous dog owner this is a tough one for me...Your neighbours probably don't want to keep their dog cooped up just like you don't want to keep your hens cooped up so you are both basically doing the same thing and letting animals free range. Of course the difference is a dog is much more dangerous to other animals than a chicken but I'm sure if a chicken got out it could at least cause some financial damage too-eating your neighbours plants for example.

Only difference being that it was the neighbours dog that strayed off their property THIS time, not your chickens. I'm sure they are mortified, and it looks like they are trying to do what they can to make it up to you. I'm sure they will be more careful in the future, and it will not happen again. A lot of people on here seem to think these are irresponsible owners letting their dogs run around all over the place-when unless chickens are in a coop 24/7 then chicken owners are doing exactly the same thing.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

A lot of people on here seem to think these are irresponsible owners letting their dogs run around all over the place-when unless chickens are in a coop 24/7 then chicken owners are doing exactly the same thing.

Only IF they leave the property and cause damage to another. A chicken owner can't complain when its chicken goes next door and gets killed. Neither can a dog or cat owner. In both cases, both are acting irresponsibly and should make restitution.

A shock collar might be all it takes for the dog owners to keep their dog on their own property. And they aren't that expensive. No fence required.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

As a chicken and previous dog owner this is a tough one for me...Your neighbours probably don't want to keep their dog cooped up just like you don't want to keep your hens cooped up so you are both basically doing the same thing and letting animals free range. Of course the difference is a dog is much more dangerous to other animals than a chicken but I'm sure if a chicken got out it could at least cause some financial damage too-eating your neighbours plants for example.

Only difference being that it was the neighbours dog that strayed off their property THIS time, not your chickens. I'm sure they are mortified, and it looks like they are trying to do what they can to make it up to you. I'm sure they will be more careful in the future, and it will not happen again. A lot of people on here seem to think these are irresponsible owners letting their dogs run around all over the place-when unless chickens are in a coop 24/7 then chicken owners are doing exactly the same thing.

I wish I was as convinced as you that "this will not happen again".

My chickens aren't in a coop 24/7. They free range ON MY PROPERTY, behind a fence. So NO, I'm not doing the same thing as those people who are letting their dog run around. I also have 3 dogs of my own. While fences can and do fail, they ARE very effective. Can a chicken or a dog get out of a fence of course they can. (I've seen a dog climb a chain link fence, must be stopped) That's called an accident when it blows down or some other unforeseen exit point appears. But if allowed to roam the neighborhood freely that is completely irresponsible on the part of ANY animal owner.. dog, cat, or chicken, or otherwise. Aside from damage caused to others property it isn't doing the right or safe thing for the animals themselves. Anybody who ever had a pet ran over would know that.

As a dog owner, if my yard isn't big enough to make it so the dogs aren't "cooped up either", I either don't get the dog, don't rent or buy that house, or make arrangements to take my dogs where they can get their pent up energy out on a regular basis like the dog park or a field where there isn't tons of traffic and it's allowed, also... while under my supervision. And yes, accidents can and will happen under supervision.

While appreciate your sentiment, damaging a plant isn't quite on par with taking the life of your pet.

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

If the dog made it into your yard it sounds to me like YOU need the fence, they need to contain their dog sure, but you are also responsible for protecting your yard and flock.

The first thing I did here was build a wood / wire fence along the side and back, and a 6+ foot privacy fence in the front.

 

[B Redhawk]

My town doesn't have leash laws, so situations like this are pretty commonplace.


Thanks for the reply. You're right the main issue is that the dog was on my property. If the dog killed a hen on their property, that's my problem not theirs. Right now they are being cooperative and trying to find a replacement, but they are looking at Leghorns you can pick up at Agway and that's just not going to work with my bantams. They don't know anything about chicken breeds. Good advice about the cost of raising the hen and lost eggs. I hadn't thought about the egg part and we do depend on these chickens for our breakfast every day.

The right way to approach this is to have them pay full replacement costs for a same breed that you purchase. They don't get to do the cheap way out, their dog their responsibility to make a true replacement. If they refuse then time for the law to step in and since the dog is now a nuisance and killer, they will end up most likely having to put the dog down. Their choice, do the right thing or loose the dog. You don't need to be mean about it, just give them the choice and let them decide what they want to do.