Neighbor's dogs killed all but one of my chickens!!

[cmom]

So sorry for your losses. I have electric wires around my coops and pens and nothing gets past the hot wires. Once the critters touch them they won't test them again. Here I believe the predator adults teach the young to stay away and that chickens aren't worth getting a good zap for. Good luck...

 

[KyCoop]

I would show them the replacement price of the adult flock if you ordered from an online site and include the outrageous shipping cost. They may not pay that much but it will show them how much damage their dog had done.

 

[cmom]

I would show them the replacement price of the adult flock if you ordered from an online site and include the outrageous shipping cost. They may not pay that much but it will show them how much damage their dog had done.

That is a very good idea...

 

[Shadrach]

If the dogs (how many are there?) broke into your yard and killed most of your flock then the people who own the dogs haven't taken sufficient measures to prevent their dogs from leaving their property.
If it's happened once it will probably happen again.
It really annoys me when people offer money in an attempt to compensate for the death their negligence has caused.
In your situation I would want the dogs put down.
Failing that, demand they secure their yard so it isn't possible for the dogs to escape. That is likely to cost them a lot more than the price you are likely to get for the lives of a few chickens given how little people value them.

 

[Willow2253]

I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m dealing with something similar at the moment. A neighbor’s dogs (not even really a neighbor, they live over 3 miles away over a mountain) killed 11 of my chickens a few months ago, I’m in the process of getting compensation. How I valued them was the cost to acquire+the value of the eggs that I’m losing out on in the time it would take to get and grow replacement chicks to laying age, or the age of the pullets that I lost. Check your local laws, I found out in my research that in my county dog owners are liable for double the value of killed livestock.

 

[David61]

Well I'm on the fence here.
Broke in to your fenced back yard or your fenced chicken coop yard?
Yes their dogs killed your birds but a fox, coon, coyote could do the same so you might want own some of this yourself.
One of the first things I read about keeping chickens was loss of birds to predators and sickness. Do not get chickens if you can't take a loss.
I took that to heart and made A coop/run with 1/2 HW Cloth and a animal fence netted run.
An armored coop and wire fenced run for max protection. Anything less than that expect this kind of loss at some point.
That said, I feel your pain and sorry you lost your pets. If your neighbor will pay shipping and cost of new chicks, that's great. The coast of shipping and replacing adult birds not so much unless the dog defeated my armored coop/run. If I did all I could to protect them they can do all they can to replace them.

 

[cmom]

To me dog and others predators aren't the same. Most people don't have a fox or a coon as a pet, but dogs yes. I do not believe that a pet dog should be able to go onto someone else's fenced property and kill their birds. The dog owner is somewhat responsible. As long as the owner keeps his pet dog away from your property is fine. If the dog comes on your property I would put up some electric wires. I'm sure once it's been zapped it won't be back. I have electric wires around my coops and pens and I believe the adult predators teach their young that a chicken isn't worth getting zapped for. Here is a family of coyotes by some of the coops. I'm sure they know the electric wires are there.

 

[cmom]

I think that many dogs have the prey instinct.

 

[bobbi-j]

If the dogs (how many are there?) broke into your yard and killed most of your flock then the people who own the dogs haven't taken sufficient measures to prevent their dogs from leaving their property.
If it's happened once it will probably happen again.
It really annoys me when people offer money in an attempt to compensate for the death their negligence has caused.
In your situation I would want the dogs put down.
Failing that, demand they secure their yard so it isn't possible for the dogs to escape. That is likely to cost them a lot more than the price you are likely to get for the lives of a few chickens given how little people value them.

While I understand what you’re saying, I can’t completely agree. Sometimes dogs accidentally get loose. If this were a one-time thing with dogs that somehow accidentally got out of their property, I would accept compensation and let it go. If these are dogs that routinely run loose, going onto neighbors’ property, harassing animals, then yes. They need to be put down.

 

[Allthefloofs]

I would be in tears and it would be so hard for me to begin to try to calculate compensation. I am really, so sorry for your loss. In terms of straight up money I would look at places to see how much started pullets cost, they are usually more in line of 30+ dollars, depending on breed. If they need proof to back your claims you can show them links. Check Murray, McMurray, MPC, Ideal, etc and get an idea of what it would cost to bring in birds that are near POL, from breeders or hatcheries that are established. That is all without shipping, which usually costs quite a bit too. I agree with many of the posters that they should also compensate you for the fencing or any structural damage the dogs did. Now that you know this could very well be a problem again or that some other predator may be able to wreak the same havoc I would go with the recommendation of some of the other posters and look at electric fencing for the future.
I'm so sorry, my heart aches for you. I hope we have been able to give you some guidance when I am sure your head must be spinning and your heart must be broken.