Should I feel guilty for having chickens when my neighbors dogs kills my chicken?

I will assign motives. Being self aware and having the ability to adjust ones behavior for self benefit is far from a human only characteristic. Most people, including yourself, at times engage in behaviors suggesting either a lack of sentience or the lack of ability of recognize it in others.
Thank you for managing to both misread my post, and insult me in the process.

My comment had nothing to do with human behavior.

Killing the neighbors dog won't fix the problem here - the birds don't have adequate protection - and yes, the flock owner should feel responsible for that. It's one thing to have a predator get past your defenses - it's a different thing to think that you don't need any defenses because it's someone else's responsibility to keep every predator off your land.
 
One word...FENCE...we all know that we have a responsibility to protect our flocks from predators. Dogs are predators...yours, you neighbors, any dog...they are predators. Proper fencing is essential. It will help protect your birds on your property and will protect your neighbors from anything that is yours that could wander onto their property and to damage or cause harm.

We are on 3.5 acres in VERY rural West Texas. all our neighbors are multi-hundred acre ranches with cattle. So, there is a lot of brush, streams, creeks, ponds, etc. etc. around us. To protect ourselves and our animals we have fencing around our entire property with an electric wire at the top...to stop cattle from pushing through. We have fencing around our house to keep our dogs "local" and away from our poultry. We have fencing around, over and under all our poultry pens (chickens, ducks and geese). We do not allow complete free ranging unless we are outside with the birds. We do allow limited free ranging (on about 1/2 acre) that is surrounded by multiple poultry pens and additional fencing.

We do believe in fencing as a first level of protection.
 
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Not disagreeing. Having the responsibility to do something and assigning fault/blame are two different things. Yes, the flock owner has a responsibility to protect their birds. However, the lack of protection is irrelevant when assigning fault/blame. The fault/blame rests 100% with the dog owner. That person failed to keep their dog on their property and under their control. That person is 100% liable for any and all damages. That person is lucky their "beloved" pet is not pushing up daisies.

As for my comment... Be that as it may, it is still correct. In both cases, none of the fault/blame lies with the victim. It is the aggressor who is at fault.

Agree with your last statement of various animals not being people. However, chickens are livestock. Livestock takes precedence over pets. Just as people take precedence over animals.

And, I'm not blaming the dog. I'm blaming the dog owner. Sorry, I have zero sympathy for pet owners who allow their pets to roam. I've seen the damage that these pets can do do livestock. I've had to deal with packs of wild strays. I don't wish to again. So, if you value your pet, keep it on your property and off of mine. I do not enjoy being forced to deal with other peoples' pets. But I will choose my livestock over their pet every single time.

This comment is ridiculous, incendiary, and vile.

As a flock owner, it's your responsibility to protect your animals. The neighbor's dog shouldn't be killing your birds, but if the neighbors dog can get to them, so can every coyote, fox, stray dog, raccoon, and other predator within a couple miles. Chickens are prey animals - everything eats them. Pretending that they'd just be ok if your neighbor's dog would stay out of your yard is absurd naivete.

Chickens are not people. Dogs are not people. Coyotes are not people. Assigning motives and blame to them is ridiculous.
 
Yesterday our neighbors dog killed on of our chickens. We have only lived here a year and all the neighbors are very friendly. We live on 5 1/2 wooded acres, the neighbors all have 1-3 acres each.

A couple months ago, the neighbors dog got a hold of one of the chickens but didn't hurt it. That's when my neighbor said he was going to get the dog a shock collar because the dog (who is less than a year old) wasn't listening when he would take him outside. Yesterday, he didn't put the shock collar on him. 

I was free-ranging them and checking on them every couple of minutes or so. I was doing house work, so I was in and out of the house. I left them alone for about 5 minutes. I went outside to look for them and they were gone. I knew something was wrong. So as I was walking around the yard, calling them, the neighbor walked up to my house with the chicken and the dog on a leash. She was still alive but died later of shock. The other one showed up an hour later complete fine.

The neighbor said he "lost track of him", then ran after him when he heard him barking back in the woods and found the dog standing over the chicken.  I appreciate the neighbor bringing the chicken to me and he could have easily left the chicken for dead and never said anything.

I know there are risks with free-ranging and I accept that, but is it still the neighbors fault? I have to say that we have dogs too and they wander into our neighbors yard once every couple of months, but they don't have chickens and we immediately get the dogs out of their yard. Does that matter?

I'm not sure how to feel. These are our first chickens, we only had two because we were "figuring it out" before we got more. Now we just have the one, but we will get another to keep her company.

We live in the suburbs, but on big wooded lots. Should I feel guilty for having chickens and enticing the neighborhood dogs? Am I putting unnecessary stress on my neighbors for having chickens? I don't want our neighbors to hate us but it's also my property and I want to have chickens!

Also, the neighbor never said he would replace the chicken, nor did he ever say he was sorry but he was clearly upset about what we had perceived his dog had done. Should he offer to replace it? Or should I chalk it up to a learning experience?

There's not really any "proof" that it was his dog. No one really caught the dog red handed. Maybe something else pulled the chicken into the woods and the dog scared it away? Or am I being too nice?


Your being too nice. My girls are luke my children, our puppie was semi crossing the "uncomfortable" boundary for me, my husband said its his job, he is lab/austrialain sheppard. He would herd them around the yard, occassionally nipping them in the butt. He would face-off with my rooster a couple times a day. My husband says, hes just playing. Then I came home one night to my girls hiding in the bushes, instead of their coop. I rounded them all up and put them to bed, they were stressed, I had to shove them in their coop. 1 was missing and i seen "Copper" laying on something, licking it. I ran......... It was my chicken. I locked up the pup in his crate, and scooped her up and cried. I took her next door to my neighbors, and he said she may pull through, keep her in a crate, i would know by morning. At 11:45pm my rooster crowed 5 times from his tree perch, i ran to her and she was gone. The next day, i went and bought a dog run. 12x12 at Lowes for $299. He is now in jail during the day, and gets to protect the yard at night. He has a taste for them, and now he will sit by their run, makes me nervous, but our coop and run are well built, and I close my girls in at night. My rooster now sleeps in the run on a special tree perch I made him. My husband, well...... he felt so bad when I called and woke him up (he works out of town often) crying my eyes out, yelling at him. He now listens and doesnt make excuses for the pup. I would have gotten rid of him, but my kids love him, and he really is a good pup. Even a better pup when hes in jail while my girls free range.
 
Your being too nice. My girls are luke my children, our puppie was semi crossing the "uncomfortable" boundary for me, my husband said its his job, he is lab/austrialain sheppard. He would herd them around the yard, occassionally nipping them in the butt. He would face-off with my rooster a couple times a day. My husband says, hes just playing. Then I came home one night to my girls hiding in the bushes, instead of their coop. I rounded them all up and put them to bed, they were stressed, I had to shove them in their coop. 1 was missing and i seen "Copper" laying on something, licking it. I ran......... It was my chicken. I locked up the pup in his crate, and scooped her up and cried. I took her next door to my neighbors, and he said she may pull through, keep her in a crate, i would know by morning. At 11:45pm my rooster crowed 5 times from his tree perch, i ran to her and she was gone. The next day, i went and bought a dog run. 12x12 at Lowes for $299. He is now in jail during the day, and gets to protect the yard at night. He has a taste for them, and now he will sit by their run, makes me nervous, but our coop and run are well built, and I close my girls in at night. My rooster now sleeps in the run on a special tree perch I made him. My husband, well...... he felt so bad when I called and woke him up (he works out of town often) crying my eyes out, yelling at him. He now listens and doesnt make excuses for the pup. I would have gotten rid of him, but my kids love him, and he really is a good pup. Even a better pup when hes in jail while my girls free range.
"Jail time" for the pup won't solve the problem. At some point he's eventually going to be out, a chicken will be out and they'll meet up. What he needed from the beginning is training. Pup's should either be contained in a run or under someone's control (leashed) at all times while being exposed to the chickens on a regular basis and trained as to what is and is not acceptable behavior. Any pup left to it's own devices and choices is highly likely to escalate to exactly the situation you described. It doesn't know any better and chickens are great fun. Training a dog to be a good ranch dog is a time consuming thing that requires it's owners investment of time every single day, every single time you out with that pup and it's an ongoing job at least until that dog reaches maturity at a couple years old. The time invested is well worth it though when you turn out a great, dependable farm dog who does not slaughter your birds when your back is turned.

I have herding breeds on my farm too, they are never allowed to attempt to herd or nip at chickens nor to harrasss them in any way. In fact they are trained from day 1 to ignore them even while in the pen with me and surrounded by birds.
 
As for my comment... Be that as it may, it is still correct. In both cases, none of the fault/blame lies with the victim. It is the aggressor who is at fault.
Again, there is nothing comparable in blaming a rape victim for being raped, and telling a chicken owner that they should put up some fences after a bird was killed.


They're not alike at all, and suggesting they are is disgusting.
 
Sorry
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"Jail time" for the pup won't solve the problem. At some point he's eventually going to be out, a chicken will be out and they'll meet up.  What he needed from the beginning is training.   Pup's should either be contained in a run or under someone's control (leashed)  at all times while being exposed to the chickens on a regular basis and trained as to what is and is not acceptable behavior.  Any pup left to it's own devices and choices is highly likely to escalate to exactly the situation you described.  It doesn't know any better and chickens are great fun.  Training a dog to be a good ranch dog is a time consuming thing that requires it's owners investment of time every single day, every single time you out with that pup and it's an ongoing job at least until that dog reaches maturity at a couple years old. The time invested is well worth it though when you turn out a great, dependable farm dog who does not slaughter your birds when your back is turned. 

I have herding breeds on my farm too, they are never allowed to attempt to herd or nip at chickens nor to harrasss them in any way.  In fact they are trained from day 1 to ignore them even while in the pen with me and surrounded by birds.  


He is in a run during the day, at night my girls are in their secure coop. There is no interaction with each other at all. I did work with him, and still am on being a good puppy. He is only 7 months old. I just do not want to take any chances. Our golden retriever loves the girls, and they love her. She allows them to pick fleas off her, and the will scratch her back. She loves it. I am at home most of the day, and work with him, just not in the same space.
 
My neighbor's dog got one of my hens today, gave her a fright and took quite a few feathers, but thankfully she's alright. I only have two as well, and I'm pretty smitten with them. A responsible dog owner would apologize, offer to pay and do everything possible to contain their dog, but then again he should have done something the first time it got out. If a dog gets loose once. Don't feel guilty, it's your property.
 

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