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good fences make good neighbors (even in the country doesnt mean you don't have good fencing for your animals) and protect your flock.
The country btw was so much more inhospital for dogs (couldn't take them to local parks, downtown for a stroll, or for a hike, or the river) than the city. Very dog unfriendly.
And the predators- from raccoon to possum to hawks to rats and fox- too in numerable to mention- your poultry flock should have a fence as a first basic line of defense, and then some-
We live in the country where dogs are allowed to roam. Our dog doesn't leave our property, however. We are 95% certain it was the neighbor's two dogs who killed our chickens. Dogs kill chickens and leave them to die. It wasn't coyotes because they carry them off for food. The neighbor's dogs are the only ones we've seen on our property--ever--and just within the past few weeks. Their paws look like the tracks around the chicken house the afternoon of the attack (one medium and one small). Our remaining rooster is mending but traumatized. When we see the dogs running toward our chicken house, we fire shots *over* their heads and they run off--but they come back! Phoned the owner to ask him to keep the dogs at home but it's not working.I do not want to harm the dogs--I just don't want them killing my animals! What would you do?
Spent many years in the country. Dogs that killed chickens weren't tolerated. Period.
Check your laws. You may have the right to shoot them on sight for harassing your chickens. We have that law in NY, and it is state-wide. I've seen several rural dog owners learn about that law the hard way.
time to apply the 3S of country living .. shoot shovel silence ..
its fair and should be accepted by those who let their dogs run free at night /or/ day..when you live in the country..even a little dog can inflict some horrible damage to a coop of birds or a pen of sheep or a rabbit hutch.. and a pack of free running dogs is even worse.. sorry but sometimes the rule must be applied
I would certainly become familiar with your state and local jurisdiction laws before you decide to take matters into your own hands.
It is ILLEGAL in Montana for someone to kill a dog for killing or harassing chickens. They are not defined as livestock, and their value is minimal.
I own bird dogs, and I hunt them A LOT. We have a controlled property boundary, however I have two neighbors with chickens. Years ago, the one neighbor apparently just got crotchety because 'something' was killing his hens. It wasn't my dogs because I knew they weren't loose the night before. However, he apparently felt that he would 'remind me' that if he sees my GSP's on his property he will shoot them on sight.
So I told him the law. And then I sent him a letter with the Code. And I told him the restitution cost to replace a fully trained field capable adult GSP would run around $4,500, not to mention any other costs. The replacement cost for a hen is $2.
And yes- you are damned right I would pursue it.
The other neighbor has 'free range' chickens, and a very shoddy pen. I watch the 'yotes make chicken runs on occasions. Kind of funny to watch them darting through the trees with a fat hen in their mouths. However one day her hens 'free ranged' onto my property, and my dog took chase and killed one. The neighbor and I backtracked the scene of the crime and sure enough it started well within my property boundary. I replaced the chicken (just to be neighborly) but technically- I didn't have to.
My advice? If you can't talk it out with your neighbors, It's best to let law enforcement take care of these matters.
In my area the Foxes get into the chicken coops, and will kill ALL the chickens, and only eat what they can right there, but they will kill them all. My neighbor kept ten chickens for egg production, and a fox, or multiple foxes got to them. All dead in the same night.
If you live in a residential or semi-residential area, shooting is not an option. You have to create an enclosure that can not be compromised by dogs, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, etc.
good fences make good neighbors (even in the country doesnt mean you don't have good fencing for your animals) and protect your flock.
The country btw was so much more inhospital for dogs (couldn't take them to local parks, downtown for a stroll, or for a hike, or the river) than the city. Very dog unfriendly.
And the predators- from raccoon to possum to hawks to rats and fox- too in numerable to mention- your poultry flock should have a fence as a first basic line of defense, and then some-
the saying is "everything loves to eat chicken"
^ This.
The open range died 130 years ago.
Stock fences can be built in all sorts of ways, and can protect from anything short of extremely large game.
I'd capture the dogs and if they didn't have collars, I'd turn them in to the nearest animal control agency.
If they did have collars, I'd have the owners come pick up the dogs and show them the dead chickens and ask to be compensated for the dead chickens and I'd tell them to keep their pets on their property or else next time, I'll go Miss Gulch on their a**.
Actually, its even better if they do have collars. Drive them two counties away. We had to do that with the neighboring hunting club that would dump their hounds at the edge of OUR lease, drive to the other end of our lease where THEIR lease began, and wait for their hounds to push our woods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ContraPagan
Check your laws. You may have the right to shoot them on sight for harassing your chickens. We have that law in NY, and it is state-wide. I've seen several rural dog owners learn about that law the hard way.
Really, only as an absolute last resort.
Just because you're legally in the right to do something, doesn't mean you should, even if the neighbor deserves it.
They are your neighbors. You can kill the dog, and solve that problem, but the resentment will fester today, tomorrow, next year, and you never know when you'll depend on this neighbor for something. These are what, $20 Chickens?
I don't like cats. I don't like my neighbor's cat. I don't like my neighbors cat digging and crapping in my garden. But I don't sic my dog on it. Because I have to live next to these people, whose greatest crime is a blind spot for their pet. If I look carefully I'm sure I've been "rude" with blindspots toward my dog.
OP is 5 years old, but in any case, unless you have photo evidence, it could be a number of animals. Coyotes will drop the chicken if they have to run. Coons, skunks, foxes, weasels, fishers, ferrets, martins, all can kill chickens.
It can absolutely be predators other than dogs. Skunks, possoms, and weasels will all kill a chicken but leave it behind. Not always, but they are known to. I keep my chickens in a fenced pen now and lock them in their house every single night.
If OP still comes back to read, what I would do if I caught dogs in the act of killing my chickens is that I would shoot them. If you don't want to shoot the dogs, your only other good option is a much better fence that the dogs can't get into.
I'd also keep my own dogs well fenced (which I do). I've know lots of people who insist their dog never leaves their yard when all they know for sure is that they don't watch the dog 24 hours a day so they don't have a clue what their dog does or where the dog is.
It's not much of a problem in my area. Anyone who let's their dog run loose is going to lose the dog within a couple of days to coyotes.
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