Stray dogs

[cmom]

those of you with hot wire around a free-range area-dont the chickens get zapped, um, crispy fried?
What keeps them safe from the wire when they are out?

I have had electric wire up around my coops and pens for years and the birds don't seem to be bothered by it when they have touched it, which is rarely. I know it when I touch it and I know the predators respect it. I think the feathers act like an insulation against the current. This is just my opinion.

 

[Howard E]

those of you with hot wire around a free-range area-dont the chickens get zapped, um, crispy fried?
What keeps them safe from the wire when they are out?

That is the absolute beauty of electric fences......nothing bad happens to any of them. Dogs, varmints, chickens.....small children.......you.

It is a high voltage, low amperage...pulsing shock....that is harmless, yet very painful. Think static electricity shock X1000. Animals are smart, but not that smart. They don't understand the source of the problem or why, they only know if they touch it it hurts like nothing else they have ever experienced.......and once shocked, will pretty much refuse to go near it again.

I use a single low hot wire to keep the birds off my patio......otherwise......they will live there and "fowl it" if you get my drift. If the fence is off for a week or so.....some get brave enough to hop over it. When that starts, I will scatter their raw oats under the fence to they get popped on their combs. I know when one has hit it when there is a loud cackle.....an she is running away complaining about it.....the rest watch her leave......look at each other and seem to realize the fence is on again. Not all of them hit it, yet all traffic stops. They know.

You can do the same thing with varmints.....dogs, bears, etc. Set the fence up.....then bait it with something they will sniff or lick. Ouch. You could sell tickets to that show.

 

[jsr5]

I don't know if I got a defective chinese fence charger or what But mine did kill a possum that had apparently tried to sqeeze under the low wire and when hit somehow got his tail wrapped with a single wrap of the string wire stuff. I found it with it's tail nearly burned in half, and it was very dead. Now I don't really care about the possum I hate the nasty things, And I don't leave mine on during the day since it is around the coop and run and no sense having it on when they are free ranging during the day. But I'd be very leery of using it to control the chickens movements. Not saying you are wrong and I have bought a better quality unit that has yet to be used. Suppose it may be time to try to use it. just the way I'm configured it's going to be a pain with either cutting the birds off fro graze or having to open and close a gate every time we enter leave the property and make some arrangement with post office and delivery peeps. wife will like the idea of a temp wire to keep em off the porch though.

 

[kodster]

I lost a turkey last October due to a dog in my little township. I had 3 turkeys in an enclosed pen, and the dog was observed by my next-door neighbor in the process of pulling the pen door open, squeezed in, grabbed one of the turkeys, and then took her outside the pen, killed her. Feathers all over the place, and then the dog dragged the carcass up to the neighborhood bar on the corner, where the employees got the carcass away from the dog, threw it in the dumpster, and then called the sheriff. I was accused of shooting the dog (wasn't even the same dog), and that the turkey attacked the dog! Crazy people around here. Sheriff's deputy came out and questioned me, and figured it all out. Actually, the dog tried to come back the next day to take another one of my turkeys, but this time, the neighbor came pounding on my door and pointed her out to me. We got pictures of her, and she was pissed because she got caught in the act. She also was killing all of the township's outdoor cats. It wasn't too long after that, she disappeared, so I don't know if her owner got rid of her, or if he moved out of town with her. I suspect the latter. All I know is this... GOOD RIDDANCE!

 

[rehdancer]

So sorry for your loss - venting is good, but am curious as to why you're not looking for a more permanent solution. We also have 10 acres and have just finished fencing about 3 of them, not for the chickens, but to keep our LGD from wandering and harassing the neighbors, who insist on exercising their rights in their own yard........... Seriously though, getting a handle on this is going to be important for your peace of mind, not to mention the safety of your birds. Law enforcement can tell you what your rights are regarding dogs running at large, but if you have meth in your area (like we do) then the cops have bigger problems than your chickens. If you only have a BB gun I don't see where even actually hitting a dog is going to kill them unless you hit them at close range in the face, which I don't think you would do anyway. My point is that if folks are being irresponsible about their dogs that doesn't mean you have to allow that behavior to make you miserable. I do not envy your position !!

 

[kodster]

Just about every state, including blue states, have laws on the books that authorize a land/homeowner to shoot predators, INCLUDING dogs, that threaten their livestock. Check into that, before shooting dogs, however, to make sure your rights to protect them are valid, otherwise, you would be opening up another can of worms. Make sure the state is behind your actions.

 

[Doggirl08]

You could get a goose! Is a goose is raised with chickens, it can protect them, but they can be mean. Just a thought.

 

[Vicker]

I can relate. I live outside the city limits and so frustrated with neighbors that let their dogs roam all over. Of course they deny that it was their dog I saw kill my chickens. One did pay me for a couple after a neighbor told him she saw his dog kill them in my front yard. The sheriff told us we can shoot any animal that threatens our livestock. When we told this to some neighbors, all the bleeding hearts started accusing us for any dog or cat that goes missing. We've never hurt any of their animals.

 

[bush girl]

I was just psycho granny from the Beverly hillbillies Runnin through the woods with a gun screaming and hollering after two dogs that came to kill my chickens.
killed one right in front of me- chickens screaming and trying to get away!
I didn’t know how many were killed! I tripped on a root and went splatting on the ground- got up and kept on going!
Right to the neighbors door huffin and puffin and beating on their door with my trusty rusty BB gun in hand
They directed me across the street but I came back tried to find chickens couldn’t find them- got angry again and marched my ass up the street and told that man, I was giving him fair warning that his dogs are chicken killers. Then I saw his dogs. Wasn’t them. And he said if his dogs come in my yard, shoot them. He’s a meth head.
Told my boyfriend and he said “ I don’t know what to say”.
because he’s told me endless times not to let my chickens out. But I just got home and I had just let them out and I was right there!
anyhow- I just wanted to vent. They’ve all come back except for the. Silkie they killed in front of me.
I’m so tired of stray dogs.

I had to stop keeping chooks , I was only feeding the foxes and goannas . I converted to peafowl I have about , 12 that free range around my 3 acres and sleep up high in my trees

 

[Sea Wolf]

Get rid of your BB gun. Shooting a dog with that only injures it and accomplishes nothing. Get a real gun. Something larger than a .22 or a decent deer rifle will do. When the dogs return, and they will, shoot them to kill them. Bury them and say nothing. It's called S.S.S. Shoot/Shovel and Shut up. Owners of free ranging dogs mostly really could care less about them. When they don't come back, chances are they won't even go looking for them. If the birds are free ranging, they are at the mercy of predators but dogs are not a predator. Your other option would be to drive around and see if you can spot the dogs somewhere to track them down. They may have come from a fair distance. You don't need to identify your address but you can tell the owner if they return, they won't be seen again.