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?
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?