What to do when the predator is a person?

[mediazeal]

Wow. So sorry. Just sickening for both the loss and the malice.
I would definately call animal control. It is a crime to knowingly, willingly cause harm to animals. With their interest, the police might be willing to check his car for feathers and blood and tire tracks.

While you believed the flock was protected and on your property, you now know they can't be allowed to free range where there is a predator waiting to attack them, even if it is a human. Keep them on safer grounds unless this guy gets locked up.

So sorry this is happening.

 

[Katy]

If you don't keep your animals contained whether it's duck, chickens or dogs and cats, that is the risk you run. For all you know the person was trying to avoid them by swerving and they went in front of the vehicle. That happened to me with a cat once....we both went the same direction and the cat lost.

 

[highcountrychickens]

This is terribly sad - how awful!

I have to say that I agree with the responsibility of the owner to keep the birds from harm's way... also, the idea of mowing next to the road is quite confusing because it seems that would attract the birds there... where it's most dangerous. Not sure I understand the logic there.

As for the jerk neighbor - I hope you were able to get a restraining order after the ramming incident - sometimes a court and judge can take the wind out of a guys sails - a little threat of legal consequence can go a long way.

So so sorry for this kind of ugliness in your parent's life. A little active prevention may help.

 

[BarbK]

I just looked this is IN we are talking about. You wont get anything done by the authorities. However if your parents property (the birds) do damage to someones vehicle they will be responsible. I think the only way to protect the birds is to keep them behind a fence. Good luck.

 

[marymac]

Quote:
I would be careful of doing this. here you could end up in court over it if someone gets hurt or killed by putting up boulders or rebar or anything that may injure someone if they run over your property within so many feet of the devil strip. Make sure it's all legal before you do anything nowa days.

 

[ChickenToes]

If this had happened to me, I would fence in my animals. When you own animals, it's your responsibility to keep them safe.

 

[wombat]

Put up a fence.

You'll get nowhere with this one. Even if you could prove with tire tracks that the guy left the road, all he has to say is "Those people let their birds run loose in the road! I swerved to miss a couple that were in the middle of the road, ran off the road, and almost flippled my truck!" and he's got a believable explanation for those tire tracks.

You're going to have to catch him in the wrong where he's got no way to wriggle out of it to deal with him.

 

[FarmerChick]

And also---sometimes things backfire on us.

if you contact animal control for cruelty etc. of some kind, you miight end up with a ticket for allowing livestock loose and in public to endanger the public knowingly.
and if the neighbor can show "any type" of reason for the animal control to check your coops, etc., who knows what they might find and end up citing you.

sometimes it is just a crapshoot in life.

 

[hujabuga2]

Somehow, make chicken decoys and if he does it again run in front of him and then rip him a new one

 

[BBRedCigar]

Fake Ckicken and spike strips!!