They Got My Chickens....in My House!!!!!!!!!!(more story on Page3)

[mamabahre]

Chickenmath[b :

]All sorts of concerns and questions popped into my head when I heard the extended version of your story.
As renters, your neighbors will most likely not do anything with the fence or any other structures of "their" property. Why would they care to do that if they are renting? Sort of fits the whole irresponsible renter's philosophy anyways...
[/b]
They may indeed be so very sorry for what happened. But maybe not all because of what happened with the dogs. You said they are quite into partying all hours of the night. They also dumped their children on you in the middle of the day. And their daughters report multiple ways the dogs have been abused.
SO- In a nutshell, they are neglectful of their children (this is a form of abuse), neglectful and physically abusive of/to their dogs, party a little too hardy (drugs possibly?), have no respect or consideration for others, and so forth. Their being sorry may be more indicative of being concerned about being turned in to authorities!

I'm glad to see that your chicks may be okay after all of that. I sure hope so!

To be fair as someone who has rented her whole life, it is NOT the renter's responsibility to pay for things like fences etc...Unless of course their dog damaged it which they did. It isn't being lazy to refuse to make repairs where they are not yours to make. Trust me I've had my fair share of battles with LAZY/CHEAP landlords who would rather have me using an oven that is about to explode than replace/fix it, or force us to use an oil burner that the previous tenants dumped DIESEL FUEL into...It is not a renter's responsibility to keep a property up to a neighbor's standards, IT IS their responsibility to repair/fix any damage they cause which in this case would be the fence...
Not all renter's are lazy because they aren't willing to shell out money on stuff they are NOT responsible for.​

 

[galanie]

Quote:
To be fair as someone who has rented her whole life, it is NOT the renter's responsibility to pay for things like fences etc...Unless of course their dog damaged it which they did. It isn't being lazy to refuse to make repairs where they are not yours to make. Trust me I've had my fair share of battles with LAZY/CHEAP landlords who would rather have me using an oven that is about to explode than replace/fix it, or force us to use an oil burner that the previous tenants dumped DIESEL FUEL into...It is not a renter's responsibility to keep a property up to a neighbor's standards, IT IS their responsibility to repair/fix any damage they cause which in this case would be the fence...
Not all renter's are lazy because they aren't willing to shell out money on stuff they are NOT responsible for.

The fence was inadequate for the dogs to begin with, I understand. I also am pretty sure the landlord felt the fence was adequate. So the renter returns the fence to it's original state, which is not enough to hold the dogs anyway...

There you have it. A lose/lose situation.

 

[mamabahre]

Quote:
To be fair as someone who has rented her whole life, it is NOT the renter's responsibility to pay for things like fences etc...Unless of course their dog damaged it which they did. It isn't being lazy to refuse to make repairs where they are not yours to make. Trust me I've had my fair share of battles with LAZY/CHEAP landlords who would rather have me using an oven that is about to explode than replace/fix it, or force us to use an oil burner that the previous tenants dumped DIESEL FUEL into...It is not a renter's responsibility to keep a property up to a neighbor's standards, IT IS their responsibility to repair/fix any damage they cause which in this case would be the fence...
Not all renter's are lazy because they aren't willing to shell out money on stuff they are NOT responsible for.

The fence was inadequate for the dogs to begin with, I understand. I also am pretty sure the landlord felt the fence was adequate. So the renter returns the fence to it's original state, which is not enough to hold the dogs anyway...

There you have it. A lose/lose situation.

If the fence isn't enough to hold their dogs, they need to do something that will, chain them up, fortify the fence whatever.. my point was that renters in general aren't bad or lazy because they aren't going to shell out big bucks to make unnecessary improvements on property that isn't theirs... In this case the renters need to fix the fence to the point that their dogs can't get through, maybe that means repairs or even replacing parts I don't know..
The idea that puppies could chew through 2 fences to get into another yard makes me think the biggest issue is the poor dogs being left out there way way too long anyway.

 

[bobbi-j]

In the end, it all comes down to the chicken owners making sure that everything on THEIR OWN side of the fence is secure enough to keep other animals out. Neighbor dogs, raccoons, skunks, etc. I agree that stray pups in your house is a bit unusual, but I guess that's the chance you take with a doggie door that anything can come and go through.

 

[Mattemma]

So sorry to read this.You guys have some self control. I was beating the dog that was attacking my dog in my yard. I would have killed your neighbors dogs while they were in the house.
I would lock the dog door from now on,or *welcome*the neighbors dogs back in for a one way trip.

 

[Zonoma]

They were IN YOUR HOUSE? Lock them in a room and call animal control if they come again. Report them as strays that found their way into your house and have them hauled off. They'll probably be better off adopted out through the shelter from the sound of things, anyway.

EDIT: My first thought was "SHOOT THEM" but that would make such a mess in the house.

 

[Noymira]

Quote:
I would be tempted to contact the landlord and explain the situation to them, they may not be pleased to find their renters causing such a disturbance with the neighbors (but then again some landlords could care less). I would also pay attention to how the parents treat the animals and their daughters while within your sight/earshot, and report anything that might be abuse or neglect. If I thought my neighbors were abusing or neglecting children or animals I would be reporting it promptly. Having loud wild parties with the children home would cause some concern for me. Don't get me wrong, I like to party as much as the next 20-something, and I have a young child, but I know when and under what circumstances to let loose.

It becomes more apparent each day that there should be a licensing program for people to own animals or to procreate...

To your problem: it might be worth at least changing the pet door so that only your dog can enter as suggested by a previous poster. I would also make sure your coop is reinforced well, but I would do that anyway to be safe from wild predators, as well as dogs. I would also check the laws in your area about dogs harassing livestock and make it clear to your neighbors that you will exercise your rights to the fullest extent of the law, and even kill the dogs if appropriate, if this happens again in the future.

I'm glad your chicks survived, I would be so upset if the same happened to mine!

 

[Life is Good!]

I have seen doggie doors that come with a special collar which activates a 'lock' on the door - so if something approaches the door (say racoon) without the 'key' on the collar, the door won't open.

Ah-ha! Found it at Petsmart (although I'm sure other places sell them)
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3073390

Not cheap, but well worth the effort perhaps. Would definately keep your sanity so you could sleep at night.

 

[ChickInDelight]

Since my daughter's boyfriend's Australian Shepherd was raised around chickens and small farm animals, I was surprised the first time she encountered my baby ducks out in the yard. She ignored them in my dining room. The grump emerged from the house when I stepped briefly out-of-sight and nabbed one of my Mallards!

Fortunately, she spit the duck as soon as I yelled. We have had a long talk. She seems fine when supervised, but she is a sneaky grump.

I believe what I read about nipping herding dogs being the worst.

My own boxer / blue-heeler cross has caught a chick thrice when they hopped out of some container into his mouth, but he has always spit them immediately. He loves his baby duckies!

All the dogs and cats in the household lick their lips when watching the chicks in the hutch and the free-ranging ducks in the yard. While they seem to udnerstand that the birds are my pets, I hope none of the fur-bearers are ever mad at me!

 

[ChickInDelight]

Ha ha ha. My term for female canine was converted to grump by the editor.