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

[416bigbore]

To prevent this from happening again, I'd get an airsoft gun. If found they are great deterrents for predators. A cheap one is anywhere from 100 to 120 dollars but it's a good investment. I'm a big airsofter so if your interested and want recommendations just let me know.

100-$120.00 will also buy a nice electric fencer that works 24-7, 365 days a year minus a rare power outage, over your having to be on guard 24-7, 365 days a year with your airsoft gun, not?

 

[Folly's place]

Here it's considered abuse to cause sub-lethal wounds on predators in many cases. Either plan to kill the invading dog, or don't shoot at all. At our place, there's not a safe field of fire most directions near the coop either. Varmits in live traps, easy. Varmits running around, much harder.
Our coop/ run combination is very secure, and that Ft. Knox section or the more open run area has worked very well. We don't have space for a big fenced run, because a pasture fence is very close to the coop. So it's a compromise; small 'run' and coop together, large enough for the flock when they are locked in, and very large free range area, with horse fencing, some trees and shrubs, not predator proof.
Hindsight! Placing the horse fencing further east would have allowed a fenced run outside of 'Ft. Knox', but it's not getting changed now. And this keeps me (so far!) from adding many more poultry projects!
Mary

 

[Unsworth]

No excuse for dogs destroying your chickens. Here in Michigan, it is legal to shoot and kill dogs that attack your livestock.

 

[hayley3]

I'm sooooooo sorry. The coyotes got 2/3 of my flock (18 weeks old and just starting to lay) this summer! Now I've got a fence around my coop that looks like the exercise yard at a maximum security prison! But, losing them was very traumatic. I cried for a couple of days but am now enjoying my two remaining hens and am looking forward to starting again in the spring.

Your post was funny and sad at the same time. "Fence around the coop that looks like the exercise yard at a maximum security prison"!....Made me laugh! The truth is sometimes the funniest.

I was numb after my 6 chickens were massacred leaving only 3 remaining. Those 3 hid and it saved them. But I will never forget the feeling of not being there for them and that is when I became so angry that I learned how to set up an electric fence. I would've killed whatever it was, if I had seen them at that moment.

 

[Maudie]

I am so sorry....we had almost the same thing happen. Dogs killed 10 of my 123 hens and my rooster. These were my pets and they gave me breakfast. How do you put a price on tha. Get some more and don't give up.

 

[Duckbreeder2020]

My neighbor's dogs broke into my fence and destroyed all but one hen in my perfect little flock that has taken me almost 3 years to develop. They are willing to compensate me financially but I don't know how much to ask. Sure, they were inexpensive when I bought them as chicks but they would certainly cost more as mature birds. We all know how much time and expense goes into raising healthy happy chickens. And I am devastated! It was really traumatic. Any advice?

Say all of it was 500$ I would tell them to give me 700-1000$ just for the trouble they caused yiu

 

[Leaps and Bounds Farm]

So I had something similar happen.

Woke up yesterday morning to two neighbor dogs in my hen yard surrounded by all eight of my dead hens. The dogs had dug under our perimeter fence and then the hen yard fence and couldn't get back out. We called the local sheriff's dept and they came out and took a report. We all waited for animal control to arrive to take custody of the dogs and she and the officer on scene took them to the owners.

I have no clue what consequences they are going to have, if any, meanwhile my husband and I are stuck with the mess and now have no chickens.

Here's the options I was given by the officer and animal control:
1) Go down and talk to the dog owners and see what they say about it
2) File a civil suit against them for the cost

We have no relationship with the owners other than yelling at their house when we are walking by with our leashed dogs because their dogs are not properly contained and come running out barking at our dogs.

Our neighbor who is a retired sheriff, did offer to go with us to talk to them about compensation. So I guess we will start there?

These hens were not only providing eggs for our family, I also am a year into my petting farm business. I only have four varieties of animals at this point and the chickens were a big hit with the kids. How do I factor that into the compensation cost? Should I even try to talk to them or proceed with the civil suit? The have not come here to apologize as of yet.

Thank you for any advice friends,

Kelli Bounds
Arizona USA

 

[hayley3]

I would go with the Sheriff first to feel them out. I would hope they were written some kind of citation for letting their dogs roam freely.
There is not enough compensation to compensate for the loss of my chickens, as they are my pets, with individual personalities. Somehow you need to get it so that if the dogs are not kept up, they will have to pay a heavy fine, but also to protect your chickens you need an electric fence, but how you would do that and have a petting farm, I am not sure. The peace of mind that comes with an electric fence is worth every penny.

 

[kodster]

Follow the advice of the officer and animal control, in that order, if you don't get resolution on the first step. If they're willing to compensate fully, without having to go to the court system, then you're both done, and you can replace your birds right away. If not, then go to the court system, file a civil suit, and ask for WAYYYY more than you'd think, otherwise, because you have to factor in your petting farm receipts, future earnings, the cost of filing the civil suit, the cost of legal representation, if your claims are higher than the small claims court limits are, etc. You can start high, but it's the jurors who decide how much, if you go to a district court rather than small claims and end up in a jury trial. If you don't ask for more, you're going to be shorted, in the long run.

You need to figure the cost of getting new chicks, raising them to the age where they can be introduced into your petting farm, etc., the cost of having to buy eggs to supply for your family for that time of getting the chicks to the age of laying, new fencing and perimeter to keep their dogs out of your property, etc. So, I'd say a minimum of $5,000 in a lawsuit. That would also scare the owners of the dogs into compliance.

 

[tc4]

This has happened to me three times, each time I was able to persude the dog owners to pony up the cost of purchasing new hens at point of lay $40 each here in CA and the cost of losing my eggs (I sell some and of course eat some) I did not ask for compensation for suffering though I did suffer seeing all my chickens laying dead. They all apologized profusely. Electric fence didn't work for me because the dogs pushed it over. I now have a 5' high chicken wire fence with metal fence posts every 6' I put in 12" tent pegs to hold the bottom of the fence down then put a strip of 18" chicken wire along the inside half on the ground and half over the bottom of the frence, again held down with long tent peg. Only weak point now is the gate. I would also advise you go with the retired sherrif along as a witness. Ask for all your cost but make sure you have it down in writing in the form of a tort letter (you caused me x harm, I am asking you to compensate me with x damages and be ready to present it to them, give them 30 days to pay and also request the name of their home insurer and a copy of it so you can claim off their insurance company (put that in your letter also). Sherrif is your witness and also he can fill out a proof of service form which you will need if you have to go to any court. If you caught those dogs in the run, they will be the one's that killed your chickens, they do it for fun and it is terrifying to witness, one that killed some of mine was running around in the pen, chickens flying everywhere terrified out of their minds, I was busy trying to catch the dog and he didn't care. It was a terrifying time.