Our Babies Died a Terrible Death

[chickencoop57]

You have to catch the dog in the act or you can open yourself up to civil litigation or criminal charges in many states. Being arrested does not mean you'll be found guilty.Keep the faith.

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.

 

[Swbertrand1]

She did seek out the owner of the dog who denied it was his dog so the next time it appeared on her property she shot it with a paintball. Not sure what happened as this was several years ago. I would have eliminated it if the owner is going to let it roam loose. Good luck...

I'd like to know how the conversation about dogs and paintballs went the next time the two had a chance to chat...

 

[Swbertrand1]

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.

Kinda hard to say it wasn't his dog in that one!

 

[McChooky]

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.

My cousin called and said a guy wanted to give me a couple chickens and a coop because a dog had killed most of his flock but I never got them because he was arrested.

 

[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.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

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!

So sorry for your lost! I knew a person that a dog literally tore a wall of their chicken coop in the matter of minutes and killed the flock.
As far as your neighbor being angry about you shooting their dog, that is completely understandable, but unless you have different rights that I do, you completely had that right. The dog killed your livestock. You had that right in protecting your livestock.

 

[dirkandlorie]

Well, I come from both sides of this. When we moved to a semi rural area, I had two foster dogs playing with me outside that saw a squirrel and took off. Before I could find them, the neighbor was saying one killed a chicken. I felt terrible and offered to pay for it. We have AG property but never dreamed people would have chickens on a 3 acre parcel. That dog has been adopted, so no more issues. My personal dogs are poultry friendly.

Now I have ducks out daily in walk in chicken tractors. I surround them with electric netting and have never had a problem. I know the flapping makes most animals go crazy, so I take the responsibility for their lives. I know it's possible to keep them safe. There will always be predators and poultry is simply "The Old Country Buffet" to any predator. I'm not shooting ANY animal for doing what it does naturally, because I didn't protect my poultry. And I'd sue anybody who shot a dog that had simply escaped. I have my dogs penned or with me. If the owner was a chronic offender, I'd simply re-home the dog to a responsible person. There are new laws regarding shooting dogs and animal cruelty is a federal offense now. The days are over for "shoot first and ask questions later" IMHO

It doesn't matter if it's a dog, fox, or bear. Our poultry is always going to feed them, till we stop blaming them, and make a predator proof coop and run. I built our night coop in the barn inside a Ft. Knox predator proofed stall, lined with 1/2" welded wire, with 1/4" welded wire inside that. It was finished when we got a camera with motion sensor for the barn isle.

Every day on this site I see people who refuse to adequately protect their birds complaining that a predator got them. I don't recall ever seeing one person with electric (that actually had the electric ON) say that their coop had been breached. Why does anyone have the right to kill a predator when they haven't adequately protected their flock? Electric wire isn't expensive and chargers can be found used too. Prevention is the best protection, not shooting a person's dog IMHO And being sued is a very real consequence of shooting another neighbor's dog. There have been people KILLED over shooting a neighbor's dog, so this might be the easy way to learn it.

Compassion, emotional support, empathy? Did I miss it somewhere in this post?

 

[oldhen2345]

So sorry for your lost! I knew a person that a dog literally tore a wall of their chicken coop in the matter of minutes and killed the flock.
As far as your neighbor being angry about you shooting their dog, that is completely understandable, but unless you have different rights that I do, you completely had that right. The dog killed your livestock. You had that right in protecting your livestock.

My neighbors are understanding- thank God. Their hen flew over a 6 ft privacy fence into my yard and my dog Penny killed it. Luckily, he wasn’t angry. Penny has a seriously high bird stalking and killing drive that we have never been able to train. We tried everything- as Horrid as this is, even a shock collar won’t stop her from charging a chicken. We tried that for two days. She knew it was wrong and it would hurt, but she just pulled her neck in and charged the hen anyway. After that, we just fenced off the yard and she isn’t allowed in.

 

[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.

 

[Happy hen lover]

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.

Absolutely !