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Author Topic: Yet another dog among my hens  (Read 4114 times)

Roxy

  • Joined May 2009
  • Peak District
    • festivalcarriages.co.uk
Yet another dog among my hens
« on: March 14, 2012, 11:11:34 pm »
A man from the village walks up the track alongside my fields on a regular basis.  He has two Brittany spaniels, not on leads.  I have told him to watch them as they pass the gate because they do seem to take an interest in my hens, but he insisted they would not touch them.

Well, one of them did.  Thankfully I was in the field when one of the dogs managed to get under the gate.  It ran among the hens, then trapped one of the cockerels against the fence.  Poor think was stuck, and was squawking in terror.  I ran over the field yelling at the dog, but the owner just stood by the gate.  When I got there, the cockerel has managed to get free and run for the dry stone wall, but the dog had followed and pulled all the tail feathers out.  He actually had the cockerel in his mouth, but I managed to take it off him.  Dog then chased the hens again.  Still the man did nothing, until I yelled at him to get his dog.

He did apologise, but that did not help the traumatised bald cockerel I was holding.  He had the cheek to say it was ok, as his dogs have soft mouths and would not have killed the hen ....don't know about that, but it broke the skin.  He also said that once the dog got among the hens there is no way he could have stopped it.

I told him to keep his dogs on leads on the track, but has he?  No ....still goes past with no leads on them.

I have had a couple of hens with their tail feathers missing, and feathers all over the field, and I now suspect this dog has been in the field before.

Dog owner tried to blame my gate, but I said the gate was closed, and he should have his dogs under control.  I cannot be there all the time, and do worry about my hens and goats and sheep, with the amount of dogs that we are getting along the track.

Hannes

  • Joined Jun 2011
  • Dumfries & Galloway
  • Loch Arthur and their animals
    • Loch Arthur Farms
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2012, 11:44:35 pm »
shoot the dogs first when they come in again. Then the owner. how irresponsible and arrogant can one be?! :o

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Qui? Moi?
    • ABERDON GUNDOGS for work and show
    • Facebook
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2012, 12:13:34 am »
Have PMed you Roxy.  I am the Scottish Rep (and past Treasurer) of the Brittany club of Great Britain. Brittanys are not spaniels - they are hunter pointer retrievers and need a firm hand.  He is right about the breed having a soft mouth as a rule but they ARE hunters and as such he needs to have more control over them.  There is NO WAY I'd let my dogs anywhere near even my own poultry - they'd possibly do the same - run after them and pluck them, and try to pin them down so they could retrieve them to me - and mine are trained for work!  It's the heat of the chase that gets them
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2012, 12:19:55 am »
We have had a local dog getting under a gate and chasing our tups around their field.  It's more likely they will kill him if they can trap him in a corner than that he will injure the tups, but to stop him we have blocked off under the gate more thoroughly so that now he simply can't get in. 
Of course the dog owner should have the dogs on a lead, and he is irresponsible not to, but it will prevent the situation from recurring if you make it impossible for them to get onto your property.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

StephB

  • Joined Feb 2010
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2012, 06:39:38 am »
I have lost hens to free roaming dogs before and it makes my blood boil.

Personally I would put a sign up on the gate stating "all trespassings dogs will be shot". and if you see the owner again inform him that you have a shotgun and are completely within your rights to shoot any dog that is on your land and harrassing your animals.  Maybe this might make him slightly more inclined to put a lead on his dogs.

We have bought a new smallholding and do not have a footpath on our land, but there is one on the other side of the hedge and I do worry we might have similar future problems, we will definately shoot first and chat later if it happens to us..

You could also threaten to name and shame in your local paper if you know his name, in North Dorset where we are, there are almost weekly reportings of rampaging dogs, it is becoming a REAL problem.

Fingers crossed you don't have anymore problems.

xx
Living on a 6 acre smallholding in Dorset.
Jersey cow, Aberdeen Angus cattle, small flock of Poll Dorset x sheep, Occasional weaner pigs, Geese, ducks and hens.
Polytunnel / Veg plot.

jaykay

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Cumbria/N Yorks border
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2012, 06:42:49 am »
Fingers crossed he sorts it out now. I'd also do what Fleecewife says and block the gate somehow, it'd make me feel safer about my chooks when I wasn't around.

Generally engineering out a problem, rather than trying to change behaviour, is a much more effective, less stressful solution - in many walks of life.

Sandy

  • Guest
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2012, 08:40:15 am »
I read this as yesterday I was cleaning out our hens and had my labs with me, they show no interest in the hens but the funny thing was one of my dogs sniffed into the hens nesting box and the hen ran out attacking the dog, my lab stood in amazement and the other Lab went up to the hen but did not do anything, I quickley got my dogs out before one of them got pecked in the eye...the hen certainly was standing up for herself and she then layed a round egg..think it popped out quicker than usual.....dogs do get excited with the chase and I think even my dogs that do not chase MY hens would chase others, never ever dare see how they would react to other live stock thats why I walk in placed well away from them!! dogs in packs love to run and hunt!!!

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2012, 09:05:17 am »
Our collies aren't in the slightest bit interested in the hens and the hens completely ignore our dogs BUT will run from other dogs that they don't know.

We lost 13 hens to a dog when we were in Alloa. I got the police but they weren't interested and when I said I wanted the dog destroyed, they said that was a shame for the dog. Obviously my hens didn't matter.

in the hills

  • Joined Feb 2012
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2012, 09:12:10 am »
My father worked and trained gundogs. Yes it is desirable for a working gundog to have a soft mouth but not ALL of them do!!! Even if the dog has a soft mouth, being chased and picked up would cause poultry considerable stress and cause them to become egg bound or worse. Also, even if the dog has a soft mouth, if there are two of them and they both chase your hens it could result in both dogs trying to carry the caught hen, and consequently a tug-of-war. This does happen and it is obvious from his reply that his dogs are not well trained and that is probably why he made no effort to get them back. Although it is their instinct a well trained and under control gundog will come back when called.

Yes, try and make it so that they cant get in but gundogs can easily clear a stock fence so in a polite way perhaps it is best to have a quiet word with this man when his dogs are not on your property about his responsibility as a dog owner. I have a retriever who can be left alone with my hens with no problems but I wouldnt think it acceptable to let him venture onto anyone elses property where there was livestock. Being soft mouthed is not a reason to do so!!

Good luck with this Roxy

norfolk newbies

  • Joined Nov 2008
  • Grantham
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2012, 09:52:09 am »
We have trained our gun dog (retriever) to leave our very free ranging chickens alone, but he is overly interested in chicks and faster moving pulty so I leash him when they are around. He ate one of my escaped quail quicker than I believed possible....it was only when he licked his lips and a feather stuck out that I realsied what he had done (I was crouching next to him trying to catch the quail at the time).
We recently had a neighbours dog ( spaniel) come into the garden ( side gate not closed) and attacked 2 of our chickens, feathers every where but fortunately they survived.  The dog had escaped, but  we were told to report it as the dog is on a 'warning' as it had been on the rampage previously.  We did not report it as a) we had left the gate open and b) we lost 3 hens to a fox a week previously and the dog attack chickens had actually survived ( I agree with roxy, we thought that the shock had killed one as we did not see her for 2 days).

I agree with the doing all you can to protect them, now you know of the threat, but equally it is probably worth mentioning it to local police and then it will be logged, so if something happens ( hopefully not) then it  will be taken more seriously. You could also mention this to the owner, and they might take it more seriously.

I often have our dog off the lead, but I would be mortified and desparately trying to recall him if he started to worry other peoples livestock.

xemonsus

  • Joined Jan 2012
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #10 on: March 15, 2012, 10:24:35 am »
Failing that get either alpaca, geese or goats either one of ours chases off predators and u would imagine dogs as their treatment of our dogs testifies neither will go in the paddocks with them for fear of the short shift they get on entering!
Some dog owners are truely a menace to man and beast!!

chrismahon

  • Joined Dec 2011
  • Gascony, France
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #11 on: March 15, 2012, 11:18:56 am »
I would have absolutely no hesitation killing a dog amongst our chickens. Problem is it has to be done humanely or you can be prosecuted for that.

Old Shep

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2012, 11:25:46 am »
Hope your cockeril is ok Roxy.

It's irrelavent whether the dogs are soft mouthed or not they should not be on your land chasing your stock. What is wrong with having dogs on leads?  It gets me really cross - is it some macho thing or just laziness?  I wouldn't dream of walking my dogs off lead unless it was a really safe area, and definitely not past hens!  If I were you I would continue to request him to put his dogs on leads as he obviously cannot ensure that they do not trespass onto your land. Or get the alpaca, gees etc.  I used to have a ferocious pygmy goat which did a very good job of discouraging walkers on our footpath  ::)
Helen - (used to be just Shep).  Gordon Setters, Border Collies and chief lambing assistant to BigBennyShep.

Henstock

  • Joined Jun 2010
Re: Yet another dog among my hens
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2012, 01:46:48 pm »
I posted this on another forum but the information is still current and up to date and I thought it may be of use to people here :D

Should you find your poultry attacked by a dog, you may find the following links useful, these will provide you with all the legal information you will need to fight your case against the owner for recompense and also your legal rights in relation to dogs straying onto your land in the future.
For those who have questioned the information I have previously imparted, I know this information is correct and legal because it is what I used in my case against a dog owner to successfully gain compensation and also the matters I discussed with the Police following the attack in relation to my right to destroy any animal found worrying my livestock.
I sincerely hope none of you ever have to witness the devastation I did when I came home to find many of my birds dead or injured, but if you do, look here first as it will save you alot of the legwork I had to do when I was most upset.
To those of you who question my tone in replies, I believe you have taken a dislike to my writing style and take every opportunity to 'have a dig', you know who you are. And to those who tried to support me, thank you I apprieciate it.
Those who know me know that I will always try and help people in any way I can, if that ruffles feathers, so be it!

Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/1-2/28
Particular attention should be made to this section...
3 Interpretation and supplementary provisions. E+W+S.(1)In this Act—.
“agricultural land” means land used as arable, meadow or grazing land, or for the purpose of poultry farming, pig farming, market gardens, allotments, nursery grounds or orchards; and“livestock” means cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, or poultry, and for the purposes of this definition “cattle” means bulls, cows, oxen, heifers or calves, “horses” includes asses and mules, and “poultry” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese or ducks.

Animals Act 1971
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/22
Particular attention should be made to the following sections
3 Liability for injury done by dogs to livestock. E+W.Where a dog causes damage by killing or injuring livestock, any person who is a keeper of the dog is liable for the damage, except as otherwise provided by this Act
9 Killing of or injury to dogs worrying livestock. E+W.(1)In any civil proceedings against a person (in this section referred to as the defendant) for killing or causing injury to a dog it shall be a defence to prove—.
(a)that the defendant acted for the protection of any livestock and was a person entitled to act for the protection of that livestock; and.
(b)that within forty-eight hours of the killing or injury notice thereof was given by the defendant to the officer in charge of a police station..

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/199 ... troduction

Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1991

DEFRA Advice On Dangerous Dogs
http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/dangerous/

Finally, it is most important that you report any incident involving a dog to your local Dog Warden, and get an incident number, this means if there are problems in the future there is already a history built up in relation to a particular problem animal, this came direct from our local Dog Warden.

 

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