What Is So Hard To Understand.......

[AlabamaChickenLady]

I agree, I agree, I agree!!!!

We live in a extremely small river community... 40 minutes from any real town. There may be like 50 homes out here tops. But everyone lets there dogs and cats run free!!

We've had almost everyone of them on our property and creating problems at least once in the 4 years we've been here. Tearing out our garbage, fighting with our dog... that is tied on a run/lead.... when he's not in the house.

Now that I have chickens.... let one of them even try to hurt one feather on them, and it will never create a problem on my property again.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

I admit it, I used to allow my cats to roam. They were all spayed or neutered, but I never thought about what kind of damage they were doing bringing home songbirds, snakes, salimanders, baby rabbits. Only one is allowed out right now, but she has never been able to catch anything. Falls out of trees! But she's 18 and I want her to live out her life being happy, which to her is sunning herself on the backporch or rolling in the grass. Following me down the street as I walk the dog and then racing us back home. 4 others are not allowed out. It's safer for them to be indoors.

My dogs have never been allowed to roam. They have always been on a leash or behind a fence.

I also admit that I have no problem with putting a bullet in a feral cat or dog that comes into my yard. My neighbors dogs&cats will get one shot with a paint gun. If they say something about it, I tell them the next will be a bullet and don't bother to look for them because they wont find them. The law is on my side. If my cat or dog finds it's way into your yard, I expect you to do the same. I protect me and mine, don't you do the same?

 

[magicpigeon]

I completely agree with this. I once ran into a real city slicker (not that I am one myself

) who said it was unspeakable cruel i poisoned my rats. IMAGINE THAT! So the huge uproar I created when i said the neighbour's killer cat had to go......was so large that.....some @$$H0[3 (geddit? lol) actually reported me to the council. Luckily, it is LEGAL to own chickens where I live so I got off easy

But seriosly, I don't take ANY chances with my birds. Threats are exterminated. Birds are protected (this includes keeping them on my land, people). Life goes on. Build a bridge and get over it, softies

 

[Ridgerunner]

Don't confuse the real country with suburban, urban, or mini-farm communities. Country dogs are work animals. They can be pets, but they are mostly work animals. Many people keep a small yippy dog in the house as a pet but the big dogs that can handle a coyote are outside work animals. Their job is to keep coyotes, raccoons, and other vermin out of the crops and gardens and away from the herds. Barn cats are there to keep the rodent population under control. They cannot do their job if they are locked up.

Farm folks have worked out certain methods to handle the problems with free ranging animals that cause problems. They take care of it themselves. It is discussed and clearly understood. If a dog is causing problems with your animals, shoot it. A dog that is eating eggs, killing chickens, or chasing cattle or horses can be replaced. Maybe the next one won't. And yes, you do try to train them. Some take to training better than others.

My brother found a pack of feral dogs that had cornered some cows with calves in a corner of the fence. He shot what the thought was the pack leader and the rest left. The calves survived. A neighbor's dog killed some of our chickens. The dog was shot. The neighbor had no problem with that.

People are people. Sometimes you have neighbors that don't get it. If you live in an urban or suburban area where you are surrounded by people on all sides, the rules are different. But don't move into an area where there is a tradition of free roaming dogs doing their job and try to change it. That's like moving next to an airport, then complaining about the noise.

 

[bgates1970]

I don't find it hard to understand at all. I tell people all the time that a cat in the wild should be shot immediately. My in-laws would just shrug it off whenever their cat brought home dead birds, rabbits and squirrels. I had to explain to them how much damage a cat can do when left to roam.

I usually snipe them off my deck. In some cases they've been so close to the back of the house that I usually get them with my 9MM or shotgun. I prefer to get them with my HMR because it's pretty cool to reach out and touch them from about 150-200 yards.

Yes, I know the difference between a farm dog and feral dog.

 

[Darklingstorm]

Quote:
I live in a small town and Trap & release does work. I trap every tray cat I can that comes in my yard and the pound releases them in his kennels. I've captured a few dogs too.

Cats are my biggest problem, occasionally I get a dog in the front yard but I make sure they understand they are not wanted (if not captured & released).

 

[woodmort]

There are two sides to this story(rant?). Most "feral" cats and dogs are actually someone's pets-- granted, in many cases this is a loose term. The dogs are animals that are kept around for "protection" and as such allowed to run free without much monitoring. Being pack animals they can form groups of two or more that become a danger to other animals, especially domestic stock, in particular young and those that cannot escape them. Often too the owners do not realize their animals are a problem (or care). We've had instances where standard poodles and boxers were causing problems when the owners thought they were just outside taking care of business. I've had hunting dogs--both hound and retriever types--show up here that had simply gotten lost while out with their owners on hunting trips--all had collars and licenses and were captured and returned. That being said, probably 99% of the dog damage done to poultry has been done by either the flock owner's dog or a neighbor's pet--not feral dogs.

As far as feral cats are concerned most, at least in the rural area where I live, are farm cats. These are cats that farmers keep around for the specific purpose of keeping rats and mice down around their barns and outbuildings. Most, but certainly not all, are fairly well cared for, after a fashion--some farmers make sure they are vaccinated, a few even spay the females and feed them. Sorry to say some of the populations are supplemented by dropped off pets. Yes these cats wander a bit and yes they do take songbirds--especially young ones--as well as baby rabbits, chipmunks, and other mammals. In some urban areas cats may be the only predators on these populations. Most, probably 99%, don't threaten domestic poultry, specifically full grown chickens, and even those that do probably cause less problems than hawks, coons. skunks, possums and weasels combined. Certainly they are no where near the problem dogs are. Additionally, in areas such as where I live, the life of any feral cat that wanders too far is very short given the number of coyotes that prey on them.

BTW as a disclaimer, I have had, over the years, a number of indoor/outdoor cats (currently 3, all over 12 years old, that fit that category) most have/will bring home anything they catch to show it off before eating it. Usually their prey is a mammal of some type--rabbit, squirrel, chipmunk, mouse, rat or vole--rarely do they take a bird in spite of the fact we have a feeder right by the house. As I've said before I've found more dead songbirds that have died from smacking into the house windows than all our cats have ever killed.

Finally (and this will probably get me in trouble) there are a few people that post here that seem to think that, because they have chickens this gives them the divine right to kill anything that could possibly be a threat to them. I live well outside town in a fairly wooded area and have, in my 25+ years of keeping chickens lost a few of them to foxes, hawks, coons, skunks, possums, weasels and dogs(mostly dogs) but I also see all of the above plus coyotes and cats around all the time. They aren't all bothering my birds either because they don't need to or can't get at them. If you want to protect your birds, instead of killing anything that could be a threat, how about protecting you flock and learning to live with possible predators? Realize that you cannot exterminate all the predators--there are always others just wait to take their place--so learn to live with them.

 

[sourland]

I can fully understand the rationality of making a case for native predator species; however, feral cats and dogs are non-native. There's a big difference. Bottom line is that predator control is a personal choice. We do what we have to do in order to protect our animals. edited due to a lack of logic on my part.

 

[duckfat]

Quote:
Actually in some cases it does. I trap and release snapping turtles that have found their way into my three acre duck pond.

 

[sourland]

I hope that you move those snapping turtles quite a ways. They have a highly developed homing instinct. Yes, trap and release works to develop trap shy predators if they manage to survive on their way back home. Yes, they will try to find their way "home."