Oh, I'm so mad

[Wattles]

What does SSS mean?

 

[Cuban Longtails]

I've heard that wolf urine will work, but I do not speak from experience.

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Should I sprikle some coyote urine or something along the fence as backup?

No, Tara I dont think that will help and might attract the dogs to investigate the coyote in their turf. There may be something out there that wont harm but repell but I dont know of it. I have heard of cayene pepper used to keep animals out of trash cans or amonia, but I think those things may be harmfull to the animals.

Randy​

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

Quote:
Shoot, Shovel, and Shut up, it is the preferred method of dealing with problem animals that you cant peacefully get to leave your animals alone!

 

[karen]

Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay :

Quote:
She may win, but remember in most courts of law a chicken is considered Livestock so their value will be determined by market price.

Jim

Been there! And this was my method- it worked!
Their are responsible for having a "dog at large" and liable for any thing that happens while he is on the lam.​

 

[Wattles]

Small claims court.

You can file your own paperwork, don't need an attorney, and the law is CLEARLY on your side - their dogs crossed the fence into YOUR yard and harmed YOUR livestock.

They will lose and will be ordered to pay your fair expenses, plus court costs.

Call your local clerk of court's office and ask them how to proceed if you decide to go that route.

My husband's problem with this is that they might bring an attorney and there we would be without one. My husband has one semester of law school under his belt - not enough to act as his own attorney with any degree of confidence. We cannot afford to hire an attorney right now.

I'm just so offended by these people's hardball tactics right off the bat. We were very gracious when we met them to talk about what happened. They seem to be those unfortunate kind of people who's faulty perception tells them that they have been victimized when in fact they are the aggressors. Their letter to us is nothing but an attack - totally inappropriate in light of what their pets have done. It's obvious that the letter was written by an attorney. These people are something else.​

 

[peeps7]

Lucky for me I have nice neighbors (I live out in the country). I think people are so mean and purposely try NOT to understand how other people feel.

 

[TransplantedTexan]

It doesn't matter if they have an attorney.
the dogs were loose, and in your yard. You have the law on your side. Lawyers are good but they can only spin so much. Take pics of the fence that has been repaired many times, pics of the wounded chicken, a copy of the vet bill.
Add up your feed cost for the year and break it down to per bird. throw in your time, and potential egg value. Then pile on the emotional stress and loss of companionship.
They will not be able to talk their way out of it, or make it your fault their dog was in your yard. You will have them dead to rights. Then when you win, inform them that next time the dogs in your yard it will become fertalizer.

P.S
Stick to the numbers on all the tangible things you can put a dollar amount to.
Then with the emotional strees and loss of companionship make sure it doubles the amount your tangible amount is. If they have a good lawyer that cares about their interests, he will most likely advise them to settle out of court. Then you can say, well' I'll take half of what I am asking. Then your actual costs are covered.

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

As to reporting it to the authorities, no unfortunately we did not and here is why. Legally, in San Antonio, chicken housing is supposed to be 20 ft from the closest residence. Technically, my coop is roughly 17-19 ft from our closest neighbor (not the neighbor involved). For that reason, my husband didin't want to involve the police, believing it might jeopardize our existing chickens

I thought you had said something about this so I looked back and found it. This may prove to be your undoing in court. IF for any reason you are not in compliance it may hurt your case. NOT that I agree with that argument, I do not think that is relative to your problem, nonetheless, it might bite you when push comes to shove! But I would think you still need to pursue this in small claims court. I certainly hope you do not experience further problems with these neighbors, and you get compensated for your loss. Keep the chin up and fight the good fight!

Randy​

 

[Wattles]

I think I do have some photos taken of the fence before they doctored it. I definitely have everything else documented.

Thanks Randy, I'm afraid you're right and that is one reason we hesitate to take this to court. Sigh.
Tara