Clodagh
Well-Known Member
I think it’s super unfair that Scotland isn’t in lockdown! (Not your fault, Peglo, but it shows the rest of UK lockdown is cruelty for nothing.
My hens have been attacked.
- Thread starter Peglo
- Start date
scruffyponies
Well-Known Member
A responsible dog owner with chickens nearby would make damn sure their dog knows not to chase chickens. You need to tell your neighbour, so that they can take steps.
ANY dog can be trained not to, if the owner takes it seriously.
ANY dog can be trained not to, if the owner takes it seriously.
HappyHollyDays
Slave to a house cat, 4 yard cats and 2 ponies
It makes a mockery of the whole thing. There’s absolutely no hope of eradicating it here anyway and as far as I’m aware France is the only other country in Europe where it’s rife that have any restrictions in place. Either we all do it or we don’t and chicks are vaccinated.
Reacher
Well-Known Member
Sorry about your chickens Peglo - people need to keep their dogs under control and not let them attack hens (or sheep or horses). But probably the only practical thing you can do is to make a well fenced enclosure.
millitiger
Well-Known Member
Can't you fence the boundary so dogs can't get in and chickens can't get out?
Clodagh
Well-Known Member
sadly no vaccination yet. But it’s being worked on. It is a complete joke though, the poor hens, especially in the large units.
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
I'm sorry about your hens, I hope their "defeathered" behinds recover as soon as possible. It must've been so stressful for you to find that trail of feathers.
That said, even though the probability sounds high for that your neighbour's dogs are the culprits, you don't know that it definitely was them. As you said, you do get plenty of walkers with dogs past the house.
@PurBee mentioned farmers right to shoot dogs that they catch on their land terrorising the farmer's animals. I'm not bringing that up because I think you plan to shoot the dogs, without to point out that you didn't catch the culprits that terrorised your hens on your land this time. Sometimes you're unlucky more than once in a row, and if so, maybe you don't catch the culprits in action the next time either.
You mentioned that you have far too many cockerels, which sometimes venture over to the neighbour's property, and they don't complain about it. According to google, a cockerel can start crowing from the age of 4 to 5 months old.
If some of your far too many cockerels likes to crow a little, and some of that crowing might take place on your neighbour's property, that sounds to me like something that they could have the right to complain about. And if you start to complain about their dogs...
I know that in an ideal world, since you're right about that the neighbour's dogs shouldn't be bothering your hens (nor your cat, or anything else) on your property, it is the neighbour that should be fixing the problem. But to me this sounds like an either you can be right, or you can try to make it safe for your hens as quickly as possible situation.
Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but if you mention to your neighbour that you think that their dogs did this to your hens, how likely is it, that they will immediately do something that keeps their dogs away from your hens?
Would the fastest way to try to keep your hens safe, not be for you to put up a fence meant to discourage your hens from leaving your land/a certain part of your land? With as some others have already suggested, the added bonus of also keeping the neighbour's small dogs out.
Hope your hens that got attacked are doing well.
That said, even though the probability sounds high for that your neighbour's dogs are the culprits, you don't know that it definitely was them. As you said, you do get plenty of walkers with dogs past the house.
@PurBee mentioned farmers right to shoot dogs that they catch on their land terrorising the farmer's animals. I'm not bringing that up because I think you plan to shoot the dogs, without to point out that you didn't catch the culprits that terrorised your hens on your land this time. Sometimes you're unlucky more than once in a row, and if so, maybe you don't catch the culprits in action the next time either.
You mentioned that you have far too many cockerels, which sometimes venture over to the neighbour's property, and they don't complain about it. According to google, a cockerel can start crowing from the age of 4 to 5 months old.
If some of your far too many cockerels likes to crow a little, and some of that crowing might take place on your neighbour's property, that sounds to me like something that they could have the right to complain about. And if you start to complain about their dogs...
I know that in an ideal world, since you're right about that the neighbour's dogs shouldn't be bothering your hens (nor your cat, or anything else) on your property, it is the neighbour that should be fixing the problem. But to me this sounds like an either you can be right, or you can try to make it safe for your hens as quickly as possible situation.
Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic, but if you mention to your neighbour that you think that their dogs did this to your hens, how likely is it, that they will immediately do something that keeps their dogs away from your hens?
Would the fastest way to try to keep your hens safe, not be for you to put up a fence meant to discourage your hens from leaving your land/a certain part of your land? With as some others have already suggested, the added bonus of also keeping the neighbour's small dogs out.
Hope your hens that got attacked are doing well.
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meleeka
Well-Known Member
This is the reasonable response. Electric fence on the boundary to “keep your chickens in” would be the easiest solution. Of course you’d know it’s to keep their dogs out, but this would seem the easiest solution all round.
Peglo
Well-Known Member
So fencing our property would actually be pretty difficult
this is the front of our house and shed so we are right next to the road. The neighbours are behind me. So if we were to fence off we would have to put up mesh gates at both entrances and then mesh the whole way along the front. We would then have to park blocking the road to open the gates each time we wanted to go in/out of them.
the wooden fence was put up so the farmer next door could move his cattle along the road easier and they just have to block of the entrances now.
at the back of the property we have a garden up to the farmers field (barbed wire fencing) and a post and rail paddock so this would also have to be meshed. There is 2 decent sized gaps between the neighbours garden and ours which their cats use but no humans, although it’s human sized if we wished. These would also need to be fenced.
and so by this point I am thousands of pounds in on fencing my land (which I don’t have) and would be a fair inconvenience too.
I do have quite a few cockerels and they crow a lot, which they haven’t complained about but they don’t go over to their property. The one used to take his hens over a look to theirs but hasn’t since the dogs started chasing him a year or 2 ago. But they didn’t complain about that either so I don’t want to upset/annoy or accuse them of anything. When they call their dogs to come in the dogs usually pop back home.
I really appreciate everyone’s views and opinions. We all get along pretty well around here although we keep to ourselves, so don’t want to make any trouble.
this is the front of our house and shed so we are right next to the road. The neighbours are behind me. So if we were to fence off we would have to put up mesh gates at both entrances and then mesh the whole way along the front. We would then have to park blocking the road to open the gates each time we wanted to go in/out of them.
the wooden fence was put up so the farmer next door could move his cattle along the road easier and they just have to block of the entrances now.
at the back of the property we have a garden up to the farmers field (barbed wire fencing) and a post and rail paddock so this would also have to be meshed. There is 2 decent sized gaps between the neighbours garden and ours which their cats use but no humans, although it’s human sized if we wished. These would also need to be fenced.
and so by this point I am thousands of pounds in on fencing my land (which I don’t have) and would be a fair inconvenience too.
I do have quite a few cockerels and they crow a lot, which they haven’t complained about but they don’t go over to their property. The one used to take his hens over a look to theirs but hasn’t since the dogs started chasing him a year or 2 ago. But they didn’t complain about that either so I don’t want to upset/annoy or accuse them of anything. When they call their dogs to come in the dogs usually pop back home.
I really appreciate everyone’s views and opinions. We all get along pretty well around here although we keep to ourselves, so don’t want to make any trouble.
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Mrs. Jingle
Well-Known Member
Peglo I do understand were you are coming from, we live in a similar situation but thankfully no direct neighbours. However we did have to completely wires mesh fence the whole of the 1 plus acres that the house part of our property sits on. The horse fields are just normal hedging with electric fencing and totally separate.
When we moved here nearly 25 years ago we brought our dogs and horses with us, so naturally being right in the midst of farming country, it was essential that all our animals in particular our dogs could not roam and annoy livestock and end up with a bullet from irate farmers. We post and railed two paddocks within that area, not cheap but has lasted nearly 25 years, they also had small holed wire mesh on the outside, but in your case I imagine that wouldn't be necessary. The entirety of the house land was also wire meshed using just round poles and the mesh. That was not prohibitively expensive and maybe something you could consider? We also put two steel farm gates on both entrances with wire mesh one side to stop even our JRT escaping, and both open inwards onto our property so no big deal with open and close when using them.
We have in the recent couple of years acquired a true escape artist labrador that was easily scaling the fences we had, or burrowing underneath to go off hunting. We resolved this by dedicating a large nearly half acre paddock that is directly outside the back door of the property purely for the dogs to use. Making it demented rat bag Labrador escapee proof was fairly expensive but far from mind boggling expensive and nowhere near thousand of pounds, and so worth it. The biggest part was my son's labour and that came free! My dogs are safe, neighbouring animals are safe from the would be hunter. And even if I kept chooks they would also be entirely safe within my dog's paddock.
As you obviously have a very good relationship with your neighbours, would it be worth perhaps just choosing a large free range area on your property that is exclusively to keep the chooks in to ensure their safety and to keep neighbours dogs away from them while not rocking the boat with your neighbours as you are obviously (for all the right reasons IMO) not inclined to do?
When we moved here nearly 25 years ago we brought our dogs and horses with us, so naturally being right in the midst of farming country, it was essential that all our animals in particular our dogs could not roam and annoy livestock and end up with a bullet from irate farmers. We post and railed two paddocks within that area, not cheap but has lasted nearly 25 years, they also had small holed wire mesh on the outside, but in your case I imagine that wouldn't be necessary. The entirety of the house land was also wire meshed using just round poles and the mesh. That was not prohibitively expensive and maybe something you could consider? We also put two steel farm gates on both entrances with wire mesh one side to stop even our JRT escaping, and both open inwards onto our property so no big deal with open and close when using them.
We have in the recent couple of years acquired a true escape artist labrador that was easily scaling the fences we had, or burrowing underneath to go off hunting. We resolved this by dedicating a large nearly half acre paddock that is directly outside the back door of the property purely for the dogs to use. Making it demented rat bag Labrador escapee proof was fairly expensive but far from mind boggling expensive and nowhere near thousand of pounds, and so worth it. The biggest part was my son's labour and that came free! My dogs are safe, neighbouring animals are safe from the would be hunter. And even if I kept chooks they would also be entirely safe within my dog's paddock.
As you obviously have a very good relationship with your neighbours, would it be worth perhaps just choosing a large free range area on your property that is exclusively to keep the chooks in to ensure their safety and to keep neighbours dogs away from them while not rocking the boat with your neighbours as you are obviously (for all the right reasons IMO) not inclined to do?
Bradsmum
Well-Known Member
In that case, if it was me, I'd get a moveable run or electric mesh fencing to make a safe enclosure for the chooks.
Esmae
Well-Known Member
Can I just say that you live in the most gorgeous place.
PeterNatt
Well-Known Member
I would suggest that you need to fence your fields so as to prevent any dogs getting in to them.
Clodagh
Well-Known Member
When we had the farm my hens free ranged and used to spend time on a footpath. To my mind it was dog walker’s responsibility to keep them safe. So Peglo if they are really precious to you I’d shut them in a run or if you’d rather they had their best life it’s a gamble that they’ll get chased.
My precious breeding stock live behind electric but my Dutch bantams do what they like (when not in lockdown). The odd one gets taken but on the whole they have a fabulous life.
And I’m waging war on next doors cat
My precious breeding stock live behind electric but my Dutch bantams do what they like (when not in lockdown). The odd one gets taken but on the whole they have a fabulous life.
And I’m waging war on next doors cat
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
What a lovely view you have.
How much does your hens really need to use the part of your garden that is facing the road? On the photo it looks like a somewhat narrow strip of land, and all of it very close to the road. (I'd be worried sick if my pets was loose next to a road like that without me nearby, but that's perhaps because my family's first cat got run over, and killed on a road when I was a child).
Anyhow, would it be possible to fence in your land from your house, and backwards?
Would it be possible to get something like a Bump gate, so you wouldn't need to get out to open/close a potential car gate?
How much does your hens really need to use the part of your garden that is facing the road? On the photo it looks like a somewhat narrow strip of land, and all of it very close to the road. (I'd be worried sick if my pets was loose next to a road like that without me nearby, but that's perhaps because my family's first cat got run over, and killed on a road when I was a child).
Anyhow, would it be possible to fence in your land from your house, and backwards?
Would it be possible to get something like a Bump gate, so you wouldn't need to get out to open/close a potential car gate?
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
Here's another type of non-electric automatic gate:
Gloi
Too little time, too much to read.
Would an Orpington cockerel make the dogs think twice?
Cortez
Tough but Fair
Good fences make good neighbours.
Your neighbours should fence their dogs in and you should fence them out. Electric poultry mesh is not terribly expensive, I think it cost me about £80 to do approx 20m X 80m. This was to protect them from foxes, with the added advantage that it also keeps dogs out (and teaches them not to mess about with fences, or hens).
Your neighbours should fence their dogs in and you should fence them out. Electric poultry mesh is not terribly expensive, I think it cost me about £80 to do approx 20m X 80m. This was to protect them from foxes, with the added advantage that it also keeps dogs out (and teaches them not to mess about with fences, or hens).
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PeterNatt
Well-Known Member
I am afraid that if you have an equestrian property then one should expect to spend large sums on fencing the property to ensure that the animals within it are safe and secure. In your case this would prevent dogs getting in to it.
KittenInTheTree
Well-Known Member
Chickens aside, the dogs shouldn't be running loose around livestock or on a public highway.
Rowreach
Adjusting my sails
Dogs don't need to actually chase or attack sheep in order for them to spontaneously abort. They really shouldn't be able to leave their own property, but since they do, I'd be containing my chickens to protect them, for my own peace of mind.
Palindrome
Well-Known Member
I'd say if your hens are on the neighbor's property or outside then it's fair game for a dog to chase them, but the dog shouldn't be getting onto your property even if it's not fenced.
Since you have seen the dog going into the fields with animals, I would tell the owner to make them aware.
Since you have seen the dog going into the fields with animals, I would tell the owner to make them aware.