So upset!! Lost my first chicken to neighbor's dog!! :(

[theCandEs]

Here, in Alabama, if a dog comes on our property and attacks one of our animals or children, we are allowed to shoot the dog. We live in a rural area, not in an urban area, so the use of firearms is permitted. There was a pit bull loose in this area, and it killed the neighbor's dog. My husband has vowed to shoot it if it comes on our property. We haven't seen it in a long time, though.

We let ours out in the morning and put them up at night. They love being able to run around, and we have five acres which are not all the way fenced. Our house sits back pretty far, and you can't see it from the road, so we have been lucky so far. We try to watch out for them, and I go outside a few times a day to make sure where they are. I would be very sad to lose one.

I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[CMV]

Tough situation all around.

Have you taken any photos of the "scene of the crime"? I would. Then I'd file a report with your local PD/AC. The dog will then go on record as a dangerous animal and will be treated as such in future cases. And there will be future cases because once a dog figures out where there is fun/food he will be back for more. I am afraid your chickens will need to go into lock down for a while until you can resolve this situation. If you are set against locking them up then I would recommend investing in some portable electric fencing to fence off the opening to your existing fence line. Electric poultry netting is relatively cheap and very effective at deterring predation.

I would also talk to the freak show neighbor about compensation for the loss of your bird. He is responsible for its demise and you deserve compensation. If you are not comfortable dealing with him then use the court system, but please do ask for him to be responsible for the cost of the dead bird. People take situations most seriously when they get hit in the wallet with them. When you speak to him keep the emotion out of the issue. Unstable people feed off high emotion, so remaining calm, but firm will hopefully lead to this issue's resolution while also keeping you and the neighbor on civil terms because even after this is done you have to still have to live next to each other.

I am sorry for your loss. It's always tough to lose a pet even if it is "just a chicken" in some people's minds. Be watchful of the rest of your flock. Danger comes in many forms when chickens are involved. It's too bad that your particular form of danger comes in the form of a half grown pup with poor manners and no upbringing. The one who will suffer in this situation is the pup who is doing nothing more than what nature intended it to do.

Good luck and again I am sorry.

 

[KCchickens]

I know it may not seem right but my husband and I protect our flock with all we got. Because it's not just our money makers we need to keep alive and safe they're our pets. I'm sorry for the pup and very sorry for you and your family having to live next to a creep. I once had a neighbor peeping on me. I knew exactly who it was but the authorities cousldnt do anything about it. I ended up moving.

 

[ivan3]

Bear Foot Farm wrote:

ivan3 wrote: I'd have immediately phoned the cops and reported that the dog attempted to attack me.

So your best advice it to lie about it?

She stated the dog had never gotten out before, and it's still a puppy
It could have been an accident.

Responsibility is needed on BOTH sides.

A good fence keeps things both in and out. (Most of the time)

Lying about it is NOT a good option​

Once someone trespasses and destroys our property, or they allow their `agent' to do the same, that person can honestly expect my calling it as I see it. And it is what I call it.

If he/she has a problem with that, maybe they'll behave more responsibly in the future.

Owing to the cultural differential in valuation between dogs and chooks, I'll not waste time being sucked into some dog owner's sorrowful, angry ruminations on the theme, e.g., `...reported/killed my dog and they were just a bunch of chickens...'. I want them to focus on the differential that exists between humans and dogs, e.g., `what if it gets out again? What if it goes after someone else? I might get sued..' This approach might actually save the dog's life as the owner would be far more motivated to avoid fines, lawsuit, etc.


The truth of the matter is that I won't even get a `Thank You' card.​

 

[LizGled628]

Quote:
Hubby and I have talked about this before, I feel bad for the dog. Hubby was thinking about talking to the neighbor tonight, maybe he can see if the neighbor is willing to give the dog up?? It would be hard to catch the dog, this is the first time it has been loose and I doubt he will let it happen again now. And I definitely can not go in his yard and steal the dog when it is out, lol. Hopefully he will be willing to find it a home. He's been working long hours lately anyway and the dog is always stuck in the house so maybe he would be open to finding it another home.

I think it really speaks to your character that you care about both the well being of that dog and the safety of your birds. Kudos for trying to find a happy medium! I'm so sorry to had to see such a terrible sight, and I hope this works out for you.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
The reason why I said that was because if you've ever had to do that or something else that would cause your neighbor to retaliate you would realize that it's easy for someone to tell someone to kill the dog when they're not the ones who have to do it. If something happens to that dog, even if it's not the OP's fault, they're going to come after her in some way. Such situations can be tricky to deal with and not as simple as SSS. I'm not saying that the dog owner is right, but it's not always a simple thing to take care of.

 

[chickensioux]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Alabama ee]

It might have ate your chicken because it was not being fed. Do you think the owner is feeding the dog?

 

[mommyofthree]

Well, hubby went to talk to the neighbor and now I'm really mad!! Apparently the moron has been letting the dog out in the yard when he is home (which isn't often) for the past couple of weeks and it has "stayed in the yard". But he does NOT train the dog properly and it doesn't know where it's boundaries are, obviously. He compared it to our dog which was stupid, our dog is well trained and never leaves the yard b/c we have an underground fence. The other dog must have seen our chickens in the front of our house yesterday and went after them. So he knew it was out and didn't do a thing about it!! Now our chickens are on lock down and will sadly not be free ranging until we figure something out. This guy is so irresponsible that I don't trust him to not let the dog out again. Had I known he was letting the thing loose on purpose I would not have had my birds out!!!

Hubby forgot to ask for "reimbursement" for the lost chicken, which I think the guy needs to pay. This guy has no responsibilities and needs to be held accountable for his actions for once in his life. A little background on this guy...he is maybe 23 years old with 3 kids/3 moms and only rarely sees one. He signed over custody of the other two because the moms did not want him involved with the kids in any way, that should tell you something about him. His parents own and pay for the house next door that he stays in (with whatever girlfriend he has at the moment) and he has a free ride through life. I have seen him attacking his dad before to the point where his dad grabbed a shovel as protection, and I've heard one girlfriend screaming that she was sick of being beaten. I also heard the poor dog howling and screaming in the house earlier and it sounded awful. Who knows what he was doing to the poor thing.

It's really hard to know what to do in this situation because whatever happens I have to live next to this unpredictable psycho. We don't want to make him mad, but he can't get away with this. Hubby did tell him today that if the dog attacks again we will have major problems, so I think he got the point. He insists on keeping the dog so we just have to make sure to keep our flock safe right now. We try to keep things neutral because that whole family is sooo unpredictable and unstable, and we can't risk them coming after our family or pets out of revenge for anything we do. Once out of nowhere this guy was in a rage and told my hubby that if he ever wants to start something all he's gotta do is get out his gun and take the first shot. This guy is loony!! And I've heard stories from people that know him that he's a major drug addict. Not surprising....

If that dog is ever loose and the neighbor is not home, I can guarantee you it will be taking a trip to the humane society if I catch it!! And if I can't I will call animal control, the dog is not licensed or UTD on vaccines so I think he would have to pay fines to get the dog back if caught, which I bet he'd be unwilling to pay. If it EVER attacks my birds again the authorities will be involved....that is if I don't SSS the poor mutt. Gosh, I wish we were dealing with a sane normal person, that would make the situation so much easier!!

 

[mommyofthree]

Quote:
I doubt he feeds it regularly. It is normally kept in the house, but when I see it outside I do give it treats b/c I always wonder if he feeds it. The way it was gobbling my chicken it seemed to be starving!!