Neighbor's dog

[Wolf-Kim]

How do the dogs actually get the eggs? Are your chickens laying in a nest box? Could you try moving the nest box up higher? Or you could provide a coop with a large door for you but a chicken door for the hens and just encourage them to lay in their nest/coop.

I know it is frustrating, but it sounds like compromise seems your only option. If the dogs "dissapear" chances are they'll get more and you don't know if the next dog is chicken eater and not just an egg eater. Also if your chickens free range you have less of an argument, just because you cannot keep your birds off their property. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you fight them to do something with their animals(dogs), they are going to fight you to put up your animals(chickens).

I would raise nest boxes to about 4 ft, or higher. Put fake eggs or golfballs in the nest that way your girls know where to lay. There are plenty of threads talking about how to get them to lay in a particular area. If you do not have a coop, build/buy one and create a door big enough for the chickens and not the dogs(assuming their are large breeds).

If you do not want the dogs on your property, well, you are going to need to look at a fence, whether a run or perimeter fence. Before you push the issue of the dogs tresspassing you have to make sure your birds aren't going on theirs. I'm not taking sides, just pointing it out.

Hope you get the problem solved!

-Kim

 

[Chickfever]

They definitely don't garden, they are hardly ever home. They eat out all the time and are home only about 2 hours a day and about 6 hours at night.

 

[rooster0209]

run the dogs off and wait till they are just out of range..almost. Fill their butts up with pepper shot. It wont kill em but the dogs wont be back.

 

[panner123]

Now as a firm beliver in Smith & Wesson, a few here may not believe it is me saying this. Being the dogs belong to kin, shooting them WILL cause a family feud. Any damage to the dogs could come to the same end, so you might invest in one of those invisible fences. Then if your chickens go to thier yard, they are fair game for the dogs. The only other thing is a good sling shot. I don't like using paint ball guns, if you hit the target in the wrong spot they owner will know it was you.

 

[Eggseronious]

A good sling shot will be your best bet. Of course Im different dogs go missing around here and I dont waste any time doing so! They have sling shots today that are unreal. Try shooting them with whole grain corn. You could practice alot and your chickens will find a meal. Good luck

 

[lemurchaser]

If they are just eating eggs and chicks, I would say make more secure nest boxes and brooders. Have a really secure spot you can keep chicks, or hens with chicks. Not ideal for you, but its better to manage the situation than create a family and neighborhood feud.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm surprised noone has suggested a chicken tractor. They have some wonderful designs that include nest boxes. That way you can free range, don't have to worry about dogs killing chickens, keep your eggs and back that puppy right up to your henhouse each night and create a hatch for access from the tractor to the coop. Some great designs online that can be cheaply built. I did this when I had chickens in town, with a lot of loose dogs. My tractor had feeder, waterer, nest boxes and such and saved me a lot of headaches. Cost me less than $50 dollars to make! Might save a lot of hard feelings!

 

[Chickfever]

I may have found a 1/2 solution for the egg situation. If I keep my chickens in until around 1, they are usually finished laying their eggs by then and I can gather all at once to keep the dogs from getting them. If I build a door for only the chickens to get back in their coop to lay eggs, I'm afraid they'll start laying outside in any spot again. The problem with keeping them all up until 1, they start to peck and break their eggs. Anyway of keeping them from doing that?

My FIL mentioned that I need to build a run for them so they won't eat everyone's gardens up.....what are your thoughts on that? Do they eat everything in a garden? The deer ate ours last year so the chickens didn't have a chance. The run would be a solution to both garden and dog problems.

I love the tractor idea, especially for my babies (that will be here in 2 weeks

!!), but I'm not really gifted in the creation department. Plus, I wanted a few purebreds (white silkies, white ameracauna, sexlink, RIR, dominique, RIW) so I was looking into them anyway. I don't think hubby is going to be pleased that I'm going to have either runs all over our land or tractors.....

I need to do more research on tractors, how big would one need to be per chicken?

Slingshot.....I'd be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn with one

. DS #1 has one, and he does 100% better than I do

. Paintball gun, don't have access to one.

I've still got about 4 or 5 months to come up with something for my chicks.....I usually don't let them out and about until then anyway (and then only for limited time during the evening for awhile). The dogs haven't bothered my bigger chickens (except I only counted 14 instead of 15 last night

) that I know of, just the eggs and the 4-5 month old chicks.

 

[LynneP]

It's such a tricky situation, especially with the neighbours being family. I suppose they could argue that their dogs keep out larger predators and it might be true.

This is a lose-lose battle with no end. Fencing is horribly expensive, too. The only suggestion I can make is that you create a predator-proof run for your chickens and bring them plants as available. Otherwise this can escalate to a battle far worse than a testy neighbour- you could all end up in nasty family infighting that has no end...sorry it has to be so complicated...

 

[DuckLady]

Before doing anything to the dogs, your chickens need a secure run and fencing. It is not really fair to the dogs or their owners if you are allowing the dogs to get at your chickens by not fencing. After that, if you get problems that is the time to do something about it.
If I let a gate open and a neighbors dog got my chickens, I would take most of the blame because I didn't have them secure. Chickens are pretty close to the bottom of the food chain compared with a dog and it is up to the chicken owner to protect them.
Now a dog jumping over or digging under my fence is a different matter.
And if your chickens are apt to get in anyone's garden and mess it up, you might have complaints lodged against YOU.