Neighbors dog killing chickens

[jerjinstheEE]

It has happened before about a year ago, but our neighbors dogs killed 5 of our most valuable hens. It happened between 2pm and 3pm. We came out to check the chickens like always and feathers were all over the place. At first we thought in was a dog but we had no proof. But today I had a plan to catch the dog. The place were the chickens sleep is located inside the run. We put two chickens inside the pin since 2-4 could stay in there for the day. I being a thirteen year old had the energy to ride my bike around all day. So that's what I did. Around 7pm I heard the 2 chickens squabbling. One was in the cage and one was right outside it. The one eight outside it got away but the one inside I captured. Later it had pushed the gate open to escape so we lost our proof. That's actually how they got in in the first place. The latch wasn't completely tightened so if pushed hard it could be twisted allowing the dogs to enter. I think these are different neighbors than before so maybe if we talk to them they will then lock them up. So the chickens were actually in the coop and the dogs managed to get into the coop to kill them. If you want to hear about the past story just say so. But I have some questions.#1 How could I catch the dog again.#2could a couple of turkey scare away the dogs.#3How could I reason with the owners#4how much all together is a black copper Marana, a splash Marana, a black Marana, a EE , and a black austrolorp. #5 what was your experience with this. I'm hoping we won't have to kill the dog but get our money back for it. I hope I gave enough detail if you have any questions just ask me.

 

[Briza]

First, being thirteen you'll want an adult to handle this. Second, you need to know if dogs are required to be leashed in your area. Third, you'll want to find out how much you paid for your chickens, how much feed they consumed while you raised them, and the cost of the loss of egg production. If you find out how much the chickens cost you to raise, your parents will be more interested in seeking to resolve the situation as they are losing money. It's up to your parents if they want the cost of the chickens paid for by the dog's owner or if they want to involve the law in settling the matter. Being that they are new neighbors, it would be nice to give them a warning and ask for compensation instead of involving the law.

 

[jerjinstheEE]

Well ill check back tomorrow I need to go to bed.

 

[dekel18042]

Welcome. What a shame about your chickens. I agree with having your parents handle it, but depending on how the neighbors react, your parents might still want to report it. Depending on how old your hens were, they might sell for $20.00 to $30.00 apiece, and I've paid $10.00 apiece for sexed day old marans pullets so older ones should be worth more.
The reason your parents might want to report it (Have times and descriptions of dogs and pictures of dead birds) is because in some places, a first offence carries a warning and compensation for you while a second offence involves a fine. If would be a shame for this to happen to someone else who loves his birds because the owner was still carelessly letting his dogs run loose, while a warning might cause him to take steps to keep his dog more secure.

 

[jerjinstheEE]

Thank you for being so helpful. We have contacted the sheriff before when this has happened. Our neighborhood has a leash law, and we have politely confronted the neighbors before (they were ugly towards us and refused to leash their dogs), so the next time a dog came around we killed it, and the sheriff said we were perfectly within our rights. When my sister drove home from her friends house and found the empty cage, she asked us if we took pictures (which we sadly didn't). I just hope we can catch one again. I'm sure they'll come back around.

 

[123RedBeard]

A game camera is good for getting the "proof" you need ... Works while you are not there or sleeping too!

Also a good time to fix you latch, and maybe add a second one to the gate also.

 

[jerjinstheEE]

Well, we caught two dogs, and this time took plenty of pictures. They are skinny adolescents without collars, so we suspect they are stray. We contacted several neighbors (with an adult), and none of them are missing dogs. If tomorrow nobody claims them we will contact animal control. They are sweet little guys. It's hard to be mad at them.

 

[chiques chicks]

I now living in the country people unfortunately think it is OK to leave their unwanted dogs near here. They assume we love animals and will adopt them.
It's unfortunate.