I’m looking for some advice and opinions: I have an 18-month-old Siberian Husky who has eaten my neighbours' chickens. He dug a hole under the wire fence, dashed into the chicken coop, and killed 17 chickens in total. Of course, we paid them back for the loss; the owners were very understanding, so there wasn’t really any drama, and we made sure to fill the hole back in properly.
Two months later:
My dog managed to get out again. He went through another neighbour's garden and got back into the one with the chickens (they’d bought some new ones). I think he’s eaten more of them because he was covered in feathers.
I’m scared that this time the neighbours won't be so understanding and might even want me to give up my dog. They haven't come round to complain yet, so maybe I'm mistaken and it wasn't actually chicken feathers, but my dog was definitely gone for 20 minutes. No matter how much I called him, he wouldn’t come back, and the neighbours were likely asleep. What can I do? Can the neighbours report me? Could the RSPCA come and take my dog away from me?
Thanks for reading this long post :)
Translated from French
The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.
Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.
Well, let's hope so! But it happens more often than you'd think... a dog actually got shot just for wandering into a neighbour's garden (https://www.facebook.com/gratouille.refuge/photos/a.432301186909336.1073741829.430747537064701/466062803533174/)
So, when it's a dog that kills chickens...
For your dog's safety, make sure you properly reinforce your fencing. In the meantime, keep him indoors or keep him on a lead (just be careful he doesn't get his legs tangled up)
But if they come round to complain, of course we’ll pay up – we’re not looking for any trouble. But as long as they don't come asking for it, I’m not going to go over and say, "Hi, I was just wondering if my dog killed your chickens because he’s got out again?" For all I know, he might have escaped but not actually killed them. I just hope it doesn't go any further than just paying them back and that we don't have any trouble with the police or anything like that.
Your dog has killed some chickens; you need to take responsibility and face the consequences. Full stop. Like I said before, you don't get that kind of dog when there's a chicken coop right next door! So now, own it!
You need some proper solid wire fencing that’s high enough and buried deep... be careful though, because if a neighbour gets fed up they might poison them or even shoot them with an air rifle... I hope your neighbours would never go that far, but you never know...
Erm... No... If you know it’s your dog, keep being honest with your neighbours... And don’t. treat. them. like. idiots... Plus, reinforcing a fence for a Husky isn't something that happens overnight...
At the end of the day, they are neighbours but their land is right next to ours; it’s so huge it takes up half the street, and their house is way up at the top of the road. Surely if my dog had killed any chickens this morning, they’d have come round to complain by now, wouldn't they? The first time it happened, it was early in the morning when they were out, and as soon as they got back they came over to see us. We paid them straight away and were really decent about it; we told them not to hesitate to ask for whatever money was needed.
Plus, now that we’ve fixed the fence and everything, he shouldn't be able to get through anymore. So, if the worst comes to the worst and the neighbour comes to complain tomorrow, I could just say it wasn’t my dog (even though it probably was). I can tell her he couldn't have got out and that she has no proof (hoping she didn't actually see him).
What do you lot think? 😁
Yeah, that’s what we did today – we’ve made sure everything is properly reinforced. The neighbours have a massive garden and the chicken coop is right at the far end. To be honest, when we first got him, we didn't really think about there being chickens, but then again, there are loads of other breeds that love to hunt. No one’s come round to moan yet, anyway! 😋
After a while, I think they’d be well within their rights to make a formal complaint. No matter how many times you pay them back for the hens, they're going to get fed up pretty quickly. At the end of the day, if they want eggs and the birds end up dead before they can even lay any, it’s a bit of a nuisance 🙄
But if it does come to a formal complaint, the solution you'll be told to go with is reinforcing your fencing, so you really ought to get started on that sooner rather than later.
That’s only to be expected with a husky living next to a chicken coop...! Did you do your research before picking this breed for that kind of environment? I think if I’d had chickens next door, I wouldn’t have gone for a husky; I wouldn't want to be paying out for new hens every week xD
The only solution is to change the fence between you and your neighbours, putting up high fencing that's buried deep with the base set in concrete. If a husky wants to get out, they'll always find a way! And you really need to work on their recall as much as possible!
I’m not sure if your neighbours can make a formal complaint, as I’ve never been in that situation myself, so I’ll let someone else answer that for you.
