Devastated by domestic dog attack

[Anonymous]

Yesterday was the single worst day since I started keeping poultry. In the space of 40 minutes I lost all but six birds to a frenzied domestic dog attack. The owner has offered to financially compensate me for the loss of the girls but since I raised them all from eggs I'm clueless where to start.

This is the second time in six months that the dog in question has leapt over three fences, one electrified and covered several fields in order to access my garden. It is secure, or at least as secure as I can make it without resorting to six foot high fences.

The negligence of the owner is a separate issue and one that is being dealt with via the correct channels. In the mean time clearly the £50 I have been offered is farcical but what would be a realistic replacement figure for the following hens in lay?

2 x White Sussex
3 x pekin bantams
3 x cuckoo marans
1 x lohmann brown
1 x Welsummer
2 x French Copper Marans
1 x Buff Orpington
1 x Buff Orpington Bantam
9 chicks

These were the initial corpses, several other birds are injured, whether the saliva from the dog bite infects the injury site is a case of wait and see. They have all been treated with an antiseptic wash.

 

[snifter]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Its unbelievable this can happen. Its clearly not your fault but the owners for not having control of their dog.

£50 for those birds is an insult. FWIW in the local garden centre the other day pekins were selling for almost £20 per bird and large fowl Sussex were £15. If all your girls were laying or POL then I'd say a fair price would break down something like this

2 x White Sussex - £20-30
3 x pekin bantams - £30 (if their colouring was unusual or hard to come by then make it £15 per bird)
3 x cuckoo marans - £30-40
1 x lohmann brown - Not sure, hopefully someone else can pipe up with a suggestion
1 x Welsummer - £10
2 x French Copper Marans £20-30
1 x Buff Orpington £15
1 x Buff Orpington Bantam £10-15
9 chicks - Cost of raising so far. Or £1 per week of age per chick. So if they were 3 weeks old, £27. That's how I work out pricing when I sell them on before they are 10 weeks old.

These are only a rough estimate and probably conservative as I don't know the age of your birds and I don't tend to ask really high prices for my birds. But I know other breeders asking £20 and more for some birds they raise. I'd like to hear from others what they suggest asking and then taking the best price, even if it seems on the higher side. But I'd be looking for that kind of money at least. If not a bit more for a few of the breeds.


That is a reasonable guide price for those birds from breeders I'd say. I don't think its unfair to ask for at all. To restock isn't going to be cheap and even then you may be out of pocket. I'd put together a proper breakdown of the cost of each bird and send the owners a full proper invoice. Also send one to your solicitor (if you are taking the legal aspect re the dog escaping further). If they quibble it or complain just firmly say that chickens do not come cheap and that not every breed is easy to come by or replace and that hens are not cheap. I think lots of people underestimate how much we can spend on some breeds.

Also, it may well encourage them to keep their blooming dog under control or muzzled in future. Seeing the cost of what their dog has done may encourage them to keep it under better control. If you've gone to the police they should have some powers to take the matter up with the owner. I'd see if you can request they muzzle their dog perhaps. Maybe the police can ask that as the dog can possibly considered dangerous or a risk to the public as not under control. Just some ideas, no clue if they are viable or doable.

 

[victorias poultry]

Had a look at last years wernlas price list, going rates are as follows:

2 x White Sussex - £30 each
3 x pekin bantams - £30 - £35 each
3 x cuckoo marans - £30
1 x lohmann brown - (didn't have but normally pol £15)
1 x Welsummer - £25
2 x French Copper Marans £30
1 x Buff Orpington £40
1 x Buff Orpington Bantam £30
Day old chicks £5 then £1 per week thereafter

Hope this helps

 

[victorias poultry]

You are also by law able to shoot the dog if it comes onto your land and kills any chickens as they are classed as livestock

 

[ncotb]

Had a look at last years wernlas price list, going rates are as follows:

2 x White Sussex - £30 each
3 x pekin bantams - £30 - £35 each
3 x cuckoo marans - £30
1 x lohmann brown - (didn't have but normally pol £15)
1 x Welsummer - £25
2 x French Copper Marans £30
1 x Buff Orpington £40
1 x Buff Orpington Bantam £30
Day old chicks £5 then £1 per week thereafter

Hope this helps

i would say this is about right as for compensation they would require a 'quote' from a business. Also include any vets fees incurred.

You are also by law able to shoot the dog if it comes onto your land and kills any chickens as they are classed as livestock

I would if it came near mine :evil:

 

[Lucylou]

I'm so sorry to hear your sad news, how terrible for you. Its even worse given that its a domestic dog which should have been kept under control.

I'm not so well up on costs of birds as Snifter & VP but for interest I bought 2 POL, RIRxLt Sussex last year & they were £15 each. Someone local to me sells Marans for £25
To get adequate compensation perhaps someone on here who is a breeder will be able to give you a printed quote. That would help prove replacement cost. Sadly replacement never does compensate, but goes somewhere to lessening the blow. Hope you get a satisfactory outcome.

 

[Anonymous]

I would if it came near mine :evil:

So would I!!!

Sorry to hear about your birds, I think I'd need counselling if that happened to mine


For everyones information, courtesy of BASC:

http://www.basc.org.uk/en/utilities/document-summary.cfm/docid/9F65FF5E-4A24-4411-9040F0825D4B8B8C

I inherited my first hens from a friend after they were attacked by a dog. The owner walked by my place with his dog shortly afterwards and it was trying to get to them through the fence. He was quickly advised to keep his dog away otherwise it would end up on the wrong end of whatever gardening tool I have to hand.

He now walks his dog a different way!

I don't like seeing any animals mistreated or harmed but I won't tolerate any nonsense around my pets.

Osric

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you all!

Have had to dispatch two more birds since yesterday due to internal injuries which weren't immediately apparent. Fortunately the remaing birds are showing no signs of distress or internal injury.

Will be contacting the Wernlas Collection when they open for their current price list.

Whist the suggestion of shooting the dog is a definate end to the problem its not a practical one. Were I a firearms certificate holder this would contravene the terms of my licence (with the exception of a shotgun) and being within 50 feet of the centre of a public highway would contravene even more laws as would shooting outside the boundary of my of garden without written permission of the landowner. The adjacent fields are full of sheep so the liklihood of a stray round causing detah or injury to another animal would be extremely high. Plus as the law stands only a farmer can shoot a dog and then only as a last resort.

At this point in time I'm not entirely sure that I want to continue keeping poultry. The dog owner isn't prepared to do anything more than replace the snapped chain and the police don't seem to think they can do any more than suggest he keeps his dog securely tetherd which it was before it broke free. I'm hoping hitting him in the wallet will make him see that its a serious problem. But I'm assuming that this will happen again.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi i'm so very very sorry to hear about your loss of your birds & i can deeply understand how you feel. A friend of mine retired last year & so i hatched him out some light sussex bantams to which i gave him for a retirement present. But 3 months later a neighbors dog gained access to his garden & killed all the birds except for one little hen. To which the neighbor did not care about what the dog had done. The remaining hen was badly scared & became very depressed & sad. My friend was going to stop keeping anymore birds. I have since managed to hatch him a few replacement birds & we have now had to house them inside a new fully enclosed run with coop with very strong welded mesh wire which is well dug in & goes fully accross the bottom so nothing can dig underneath As well at over the top. It is the only way he can now keep some birds. It's not as good as having them free ranging about. But so far the last time the neighbors dog again gained access it was this time unable to get to the birds which are now fully enclosed.

John

 

[Anonymous]

Could the loss of livestock be classed as criminal damage? I'm surprised the Police haven't done more, what about something relating to the dangerous dogs act?

I'm becoming very cynical in my old age, there's often a massive difference between law and justice. :evil:

Osric

 

[Anonymous]

As far as the police are concerned at the point I recieve compensation then its case closed. Thye're prepared to send an officer to tell them that they're very naughty and need to make sure their dog is tethered, which it is. I went there on Sunday, having phoned for permission first, to see for myself and it was securely tethered to a 6 foot radius of its kennel. No wonder it runs for freedom at every chance it gets.

Released the remaining girls from the confines of their house yesterday morning and five hours later the neighbour appered to say the dog was loose again. Spotted it lurking along the boundary to the house very shortly afterwards. Hens were back shut inside asap. Have purchased fencing to extend the fence height to 6 feet in the hopes that the dog can't jump over that. Owners still aren't taking it seriously. Yesterdays incident was described as "a bit embarrasing".

Now having problems with the boys in that their harmonious boy:girl ratio has been severly reduced and they're fighting constantly. have segregated them but am also concerned that the girls will be excessively treaded so am likely to need to remove one of the boys permanently.

 

[Anonymous]

Similar thing happened to me last Friday.

I came home from work to find all my birds dead in the garden. I have CCTV so rewound the footage......
I saw a man walk up my drive with a dog under his arm, when he got no reply from knocking the door, he dumped the dog and left. the dog then went round the back & killed everything

The dog was from the farm over the road, must have been found wandering in the road again (a regular occurence)

I know the owner - a very rich old lady. She came with her cheque book and some cash & asked me how much I wanted. I told her I was uncomfortable talking about it - so she gave me £30.

I'm now even more mad I didn't say the Croad Langshan broody her dog ripped off the nest & shook to pieces was £30 alone!!!!!

(Oh & I agree with others, your buff orp would be £40)

 

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about going to the press? If you can make the public aware of local irresponsible dog owners (not mentioning any names of course!) maybe something constructive could come from it?

Osric

 

[Anonymous]

I am so sorry about what has happened to your hens and you.
How does the farmer feel about this dog running through his sheep fields?When ewes are pregnant,they give off a stronger smell that attracts dogs to be more likely to attack them.
I also think the police are being b****y useless,if you live in a rural area,I would have expected a better response from them.
Is it worth telling the police you want this matter taken to court?As far as i'm aware,the dangerous dogs act was put in place to protect people,not livestock.Even so,I would have expected the police to enforce not only 'tethering' the dog,but secure premises that it can't escape from.
Six foot fencing should deter it,but,depending on breed may not.Whippets can clear a six foot fence,as can quite a few other sight hounds,lurcher's can jump a lot higher.
As to the price of lohman's,I'm sure they vary from £15-£20,they are very good layer's so very lucky to buy them cheaper.
I think contacting the paper,is a very good idea,other people may have had problems with this dog,that you are unaware of.
Although this isn't your dog,if you see it anywhere near your premises,and,it is not a danger to yourself,I would shut it in,call your local dog warden to collect it.Obviously,remove any id from it,collar with tag.
If they trace it back to the owner,they will be fined by the coucil for the dog being lose with out an id tag.
Also,it will be the dog warden's discretion,if they charge/prosecute for the dog being lose.If it gets lose again,they would be severely fined if picked up by the council's dog warden.
The owner's also have to pay to get the dog back,so will either not bother getting it back(it would then be destroyed humanely)or,after paying should make more effort to keep it in.
If I can think of anything else that may help,I will post it on here,or pm you.
I realise my last suggestion may appear very distastefull,but,I do think that if the authorities cannot take this seriously,you are not left with much choice.
If the dog is too dangerous for you to approach,but is in your garden,ring the police,have hysterics down the phone to them about a wild,viscious dog in your garden and see how quick they can shift then,it is quite amazing.
With a bit of luck,they will be too scared to approach,and will shoot it themselves.