Our Babies Died a Terrible Death

[SaludaChicken]

I would be tempted to do the same if a dog killed mine!I'm doing everything in my power to keep dogs out so it won't happen to me! Dogs are very destructive unsupervised.I am so sorry for your loss.I would start a GoFundMe account for legal defense and show pictures of my chickens.If 100 people donated 10 bucks it would help a lot!

Thank you. I had not thought of this.

 

[McChooky]

If I catch one in the act tie his butt up and hold him indefinitely until paid for any damages. If he doesn't have county tags get his tags and vaccinations updated and charge for that too. Charge them for his food and care too.Maybe next time they won't allow it to run loose.An electric fence is your best friend if you have chickens and neighbors that won't keep their dogs up.

 

[chickencoop57]

Hi everyone,
It is with a very heavy heart, that we lost our 6 leghorns to a very aggressive dog. The dog was so aggressive that he literally tore the chicken wire out in order to get to our hens. Our hens didn't stand a chance.
I shot the dog and the owner was so out raged he threatened me and my wife. No concern for my babies.
He will no longer be a menace(the dog). I put him away.
By the way, he was not interested in what his dog did as I tried to show him. He wouldn't even look!
Saluda Chickens, RIP!

I don't know where you live, but in my part of the country, Texas, we have the right to kill any animal, dogs included, that attacks, mame's or try's to kill anything on our property. Sorry for your loss but the dog's owner is an idiot! Just saying.

 

[jspeese]

I don't blame you one bit. I did the same thing when a neighbor's (not a near one even, lived a mile away) dog killed my quail. And a few years ago when some dogs tore into the wood and turkey wire fence around our pasture and killed a bunch of chickens. Aggressive dogs are varmints just like any other predator, and deserve to be treated as such. Right, wrong or indifferent, I'm a big advocate of the 3Ss. Certainly something I don't enjoy, but it's certainly something I'm not going to tolerate either. I know there are some noble ones out there, but I am not particularly fond of dogs as a species.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Oh, SaludaChicken, how awful! Dogs have a special place in my heart forever but I have a big problem with dogs that are allowed to roam off-leash which is illegal where I live. An off-leash dog attacked two of ours while we were out walking them (ours are always leashed) and we ended up with two traumatized dogs and a big ER vet bill. Now we take hiking poles with us when we walk the dogs just in case we need to fend off another attacker. It would hurt my heart but I would not hesitate to kill any animal that tried to kill my dogs or chickens.

I am so sorry you're going through all this. Get a good attorney and hang in there. Hugs to you.

 

[oldhen2345]

I cannot believe the charge would hold. SC codes only specifically state shooting in protection of sheep. My county Spartanburg has codes shooting in protection of all livestock. I'm not finding that in Saluda codes, but maybe I'm just not looking in the right spot. It would likely fall under common law. But you can't hunt down and shoot a fleeing animal. It has to be in the act. Did you get lots of pictures?

Let’s hope the judge has chickens

 

[MTKitty]

That goes without saying. In my case, my rooster was in the dog's mouth on its property. I told the owner if I catch them on my property again, I'd kill them. Surprisingly, he understood and agree'd.

Many years ago, a family member (FM) lived in ranch country. A neighbor reported to FM that their dogs had been identified chasing his livestock. The dogs had escaped their kennels while FM was at work. The next day, FM made an appointment w/ the vet to have both dogs euthanized.

Dogs and other pets are great, but they should never be allowed to deprive a person of their livelihood or property. It’s too bad more pet owners don’t understand that.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Every day on this site I see people who refuse to adequately protect their birds complaining that a predator got them.

People do their best, but sometimes you don't know how to protect them until something goes wrong.

Also, free ranging is a topic of controversy here. Regardless of your chicken-keeping philosophy, you can be sad or angry when dogs come onto your property and wreak havoc.

My mom's dog got loose when the neighborhood kids broke into her yard. Her dog ran out and bit someone who was riding a bike. My mom was at fault because it was her responsibility to make sure her dog was properly restrained. Dogs are not wild animals (at least not in the US). They need to be properly kept for everyone's safety - including the dogs'. Seems... inequitable to say folks should properly house their chickens but not their dogs because they are predators and like to chase prey animals.

And there was a mountain lion here last week. There is nothing you can do to house chickens to protect them from mountain lions. Mountain lions will also kill cows, horses, dogs, and, yes, people. I love mountain lions, but I will kill one that decides that anything on my property is a dinner.

 

[McChooky]

Guess what? The dog owner had me arrested for animal cruelty. Now I have to hire an attorney to fight for my rights. Can you believe this?
Saluda Chickens

Hard to believe you were arrested for shooting a dog that killed your chickens.This story should terrify people who would do the same to defend their chickens .I do hope you are okay! God bless!

 

[chickencoop57]

In many states you can not shoot a dog unless it is an imminent threat at the time that you shot it. You can shoot if it's in the act of harming your livestock, but not for simply trespassing on your property and not after the deed is done as it's no longer a threat at that time. It's a very fine distinction, so best to keep that in mind when recounting your story to any authorities.

Fortunately, Texas is not one of them states. Plus, in most areas here, we have Leash Law, so if a dog is on your property, well, let's put it this way, the law has already been broken, by the owner...