Dog chewed through chainlink fence—8 chickens dead.

[JerseyFresh]

Got a call from my wife just as I sat down at work this morning. Apparently the neighbor's dog got into our backyard neighbor's yard then came through the chain link fence of our run, killed two chickens in the run then went up the ramp and into the coop and killed six more. One bird was smart enough to fly out of the run and escape. It was a small/young husky that has been allowed to run free in our residential neighborhood.

My wife had the presence of mind to take photos of the dog in the run with the dead birds before I came home. I got home as fast as I could and went out back with a shotgun just in time to see the dog get out through the hole in the fence. We then called animal control and they came out to take a report. The officer was very grateful for the photos and told me to shoot the dog if it comes back. He also mentioned that with each count of bird killed plus a dog at large charge the owners are facing over $1000 worth of fines and a mandatory court appearance. Then there's restitution for the birds. I valued them (all beginning to lay and more than half were FCBM) at $30 each.

This feels like justice to me as it's someone's pet and Johnny Law is coming down pretty hard on them. I will not be so understanding if/when the dog comes back, especially with the officer's comments to me regarding "defending property".

Thanks for letting me vent but dammit I worked hard raising these birds to this point (hatching, building coop, etc) and they literally just started to lay a week ago. On the upside, my wife's grandpa gave us some of his birds so we'd still have chickens. Just doesn't feel the same.

 

[colebarnhart]

Sorry for your loss, hope you get it all worked out.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Oh goodness I am so sorry.

I literally had a nightmare the other night wherein my three Dominique pullets I hatched some 6 months ago were killed by a dog. I woke up very worried about them because I put so much work into getting them from birth to point of lay. Your story gave me shivers...I am so sorry you have to see your hard work, time and the love of your birds be washed away by some irresponsible dog owner. You have my sympathy!

 

[kesali]

Terribly sorry to hear about your loss. I have two dogs and make sure my yard is secure so they can not take off somewhere. It infuriates me that other people can not keep their dogs at home. Go after this owner legally. These lax dog owners should be hit where it hurts the most, in their wallets!!!

 

[TheChickenCameFirst]

I'm sorry! We just lost all 6 of our pullets to some critter we have yet to capture. Just seems so wrong that it be a dog! Hopefully you'll get the best justice possible! I know We will be getting more chickens, but you're right, it's not the same. :-/

 

[calista]

Quote:
First, condolences on your trauma and losses -- how awful. I hope you are able to track down the dog's owner and collect on the maximum recompense allowed by your local ordinances.

Second, please don't give up on raising your backyard flock with replacement birds, or the dog owner will have "won."

And third, maybe this has been addressed in a thread I wasn't able to find on BYC, but I always thought it was an urban legend that dogs could "chew" through chain link fencing. I'm sure a determined dog with strong enough jaws could grab hold of the links and pull and twist them until the metal weakened and gave way, but chewing?

How did the husky "go through" your particular chain link fence? Did you find a hole?

I'd just like to know more about this concept because I have a friend whose run is also protected with chain link fencing, and she is also dealing with dogs on the loose in her neighborhood.

 

[BooBear]

Wow, I never heard of a dog able to do that. Sounds like the run will need refortifying to prevent further loss. Maybe electric wire along the area/level he accessed.
Sorry for your loss and am glad that you received a good response from the animal control officer.

 

[florida lee]

a few years ago I got a rescued Great Dane ( 18 months old)....put him in a chain link kennel. He chewed and pulled the chain link until he was able to slide out. Broke the wire securing the chain link and bent the chain link so badly that I could not fix it.
Kept him , he's now 5 years old and has been a real good dog.
he seems very concerned with the chickens and goes with me to let them out and feed them. When I hold them he licks their faces.(chicks, aren't crazy about that) but has never made a threatening move toward them. However I would not trust him or the other two dogs with them alone.....once wings start flapping and the running starts not sure how he would react.

Just to say that some dogs can go thru chain link fencing.

 

[JerseyFresh]

Quote:
I was very surprised at how much work took place to get in the run. There was cement under the fence where he came through and it looks like a grown man yanked and pulled that fence up and apart. The dog was smart enough to exploit the weakest spot and small enough to get through what little space he created. Chewing/eating, no. Pulling and twisting, yes.

My plan after I get home from work is to lay more chain link fence along that side and extend it out a bit to keep this from happening again. I talked with the neighbor behind us earlier this summer about it and he's fine with that plan. He's even been talking to me about getting chickens himself. He's a good neighbor whose dog completely ignored the chickens. I've also been in the process of putting up lattice around the run and hadn't gotten to that part (it's a big run at 20' x 50').

I'm totally not giving up. What else would I do with that awesome coop I just built?

 

[chi-rn]

What a great thing your wife took pics... my husband says he does't think that's the first thing he would have thought about grabbing! So sorry for your loss.