Stray Dogs attack & kill pet duck in broad daylight at Mossflower Woods

[MossflowerWoods]

In reality I know there is nothing I could have done even if we were not separated, because I was at work at the time, but...

Yesterday afternoon two stray dogs, and brown and black pit bull, and a black lab, came onto my property and attacked my daughters pet 1-winged female duck in her pen, and the male duck they have been nursing back to full health all winter (he got sick in the fall and then he got frostbitten, lost half a foot and his caruncle off his bill, the other ducks/chickens in the pen pick on him if they put him in now).

Some of you may know these two ducks live inside the house at night, and out in the yard in small pens during the day. They are completely pets. First pic is the male "Cyclone", second is the female "Syrrus" sitting on my buddies lap.

So the girls hear barking and come out, scaring the dogs into the woods, but it is too late.

Their princess duck, who's left wing was ripped/chewed off by a racoon last spring, was unhurt yesterday, the pen collapsed around her but the dogs did not get in. the male duck busted out of his pen and they chased him and chewed him up big time. he has at least one hole the size of a silver dollar on the top side of his tail, and he was bleeding terrible bad in the girls laps after the attack. They put him inside in his pen, and from descriptions he was in shock. I fully expect he will not be alive this morning when they get up.

This property has had so many harsh lessons for my wife and girls, it really is no wonder my marriage is on life support and my kids are very unhappy...

My daughters, and my wife are traumatized by this viscious attack.

I called the neighbor to the north, and he had seen same dogs earlier that morning and ran them off his place. He is the one who told me they were a pit bull and black lab. I've called the animal control folks, and the deputy will be out today I assume to take a statement.

Even if I had still been in residence, and armed, I was at work.
Candidly, by the time they heard the barking, it was all over but the bleeding and crying.

I need to learn from this. When I can reconcile my marriage, if I EVER expect to live out in the country with my family again, there are certain things I MUST do differently to prevent such traumatizing events (in as much as they can be prevented in our fallen world).

So... Teach me brothers & sisters.

What do I do differently next time?

Be well & God Bless,
David

 

[TripleR]

Sorry to hear about that, but in my experience growing up on a farm, it is just one of the vagaries of living on a farm. You can work to mitigate your loses, but I don't know that you can ever totally eliminate them absent a great deal of effort and expense.

I gave up as did my sister in law and father in law, so maybe someone can offer you their solutions.

 

[Stick895]

I don't see how you could, short of keeping things penned all day in a stronger pen and standing guard to ward off dogs, foxes, 'coons, hawks, owls, coyotes, etc. Rather than prevent it, maybe just use it as a life lesson, cycle of life type of thing.

 

[PsRumors]

How old are your daughters? May be time for a 410 and the lesson of protecting their own animals over other's animals.

 

[KTurner]

Yea, multiple lessons from this. First, I would say that your girls need to know to STAY IN THE HOUSE when there are attacking/rabid/etc animals outside, unless they are adequately prepared to put down the threat. This could have been easily turned into a MUCH more tragic situation.

As far as traumatizing events. You're going to have to find a balance between sheltering them and preparing them to deal with the real world when you aren't there to shelter them. Do you let them grow up thinking that nature is accurately portrayed in Disney movies and that meat comes in a box from God? Sometimes nature/life is unpleasant. Being able to cope with that is much better than just trying to hide from it all the time.

Keith

 

[jimmyj]

This sucks, so sorry to hear. I remember when stray dogs killed one of my pet goats. I had just turned the electric fence off for a bit of repair and forgot to turn it back on. i was so mad I wanted to go find them and shoot them, boy was I pissed.

Dog owners, don't let your dogs run!! Please.

As for lessons, you can't anticipate everything nor can you prevent it. Ducks are everything's favorite prey it seems. When you have animals in the country the lessons are about guard animals, containment, your own protection (i.e. gun) and sadly, acceptance.

 

[Bikewanderer]

This is just part of living in the country. My tenant at the property said his beagle wet missing last weekend. We both heard gunshots while there when the dog went missing but disagreed about the direction. He thinks the neighbor shot it. My response was that the dog has bitten me and been agressive towards my mother and that I can't think the neighbor shot the dog without good reason. He agreed but was lamenting the fact that nobody came to tell him they shot his dog.

Who knows, being agressive or chasing livestock is a good reason to shoot a dog.

 

[Stimw]

As far as I am concerned the only good stray dog is a DEAD stray dog!!! Their pack mentality makes even family pets dangerous when loose.
I spent $4000.00 to fence my property and they dug holes to get in to attack my cats.
I keep a loaded pistol and a Mag Light at the ready.

 

[brin]

Just last week two stray dogs killed Lilly one of my grand daughter's cats....then yesterday Tigger, her other cat disappeared...we feel certain it was the stray dogs or a coyote ....

David....these things happen in the country...they even happen in the suburbs...go to the inner city and it is people getting murdered...Like others have said...just have to prepare them to survive in any environment to understand life is full of risks and dangers but joy and reward also...

 

[creekbend]

Good to hear from you again. On the other hand, I wish to point out several things. Mother Nature is Mother Nature. When dogs start running in Packs, they become Wild. They tend to lose their fear of man. No matter where one lives, there will be situations that will arise and must be dealt with. We lived and worked in Florida for many years. Before I moved my Family to North Carolina, Coyotes became a problem in the area where we lived in Florida. Even in the wealthy sections on the Gulf, people lost their pets to Coyotes. I even saw on a local TV station, where an elderly man was walking his Poodle in a Cul-de-Sac, a Coyote snatched his dog right in front of him. The Poodle was on a leash and it was broad daylight. I am sincerely sorry about your Family's pets. In Mother Nature, as in Life, the Strong will attack the Weak. Take care of yourself and Best Wishes.

 

[jinman]

My neighbor had 25 goats killed in one afternoon by another neighbor's Rottweiler and German Shepard mix dog that was allowed to roam free. He got home just as the dog was trying to drag a goat over the fence so he could take it home to snack on. His 357 magnum he carries took care of the dog problem. The neighbor with the dog was all apologetic and promised to pay him for his goats, but never gave him a cent. He didn't even come and help bury them.

I hope you complained to animal control. Virginia seems to have good laws regarding dogs allowed to roam that kill domestic animals. The first time the owner gets warned. The 2nd time the dog is classified as a dangerous animal and put down plus the owner gets a big fine. That's the way it was when I lived in Chesapeake, Va in the '70s. Things may have changed due to location and different laws. I'd surely report the incident to the authorities.

 

[Gary Fowler]

We fenced in our 42 acre tract with 4 foot net wire with 2 strands of barbed on top. It keeps our dogs inside and others out. Anything that digs under, jumps or flies over is fair game for my target practice with shotgun and rifle. So far we have only lost chicken to the hawks. Last time one bravely killed one of my chickens and sat in a tree close to my porch, he got a good dusting with 7 1/2 shot. I don't think it hurt him too bad as he flew away, but he and his mate haven't been back in about 3 weeks and they were staking out my chickens every day for a couple weeks prior to me peppering him with the #7 1/2 bird shot. That was his last warning shot, now I have #3 shot and if he comes back again, protected or not, I will try to bring him down. He and his mate killed at least a dozen chickens and 3 guinea fowl.

 

[GregbkH]

Livestock guardian dogs. They protect your family and your property including, of course, livestock.

 

[aczlan]

Livestock guardian dogs. They protect your family and your property including, of course, livestock.

Llamas work as well to a certain extent (in a pasture)... They also keep hawks away from the chickens.

Aaron Z

 

[dmccarty]

Sorry to hear that this has happened.

The wifey and the youngest insisted for two years that we get chickens. PITA are the chickens. One now has a new name, Miracle, because it got sick and should have died. It lives in a dog kennel in the dinning room until it gains more weight. We had to give Miracle antibiotics for close to two weeks, twice a day, which saved the birds life. The chicken gets out in the yard once or twice a day by itself because the other birds attack it. I think they know it is sick and thus they hen peck the poor critter.

These things are pets and I danged well know it. When Miracle got sick the wifey did not know what to do. I told her to call the vet, who happens to be a neighbor, and the only vet in the area that treats chickens. I figured it would cost us a LOT more to treat Miracle than to go get a new chick but remember, these things are pets, not farm animals. We got lucky in that the vet charged not one red cent. :shocked: She is using Miracle as a test case since she has treated few chickens but expects to treat more as more people raise back yard chickens. The antibiotics she had on hand from another case and where free but she did not charge us for XRays. :confused3::thumbsup:

I was working at home one day last week and the youngest said there were stray dogs in the yard. Sure enough two black lab puppies were running around the garden. The puppies looked to be 9-12 months old and they were circling the garden like sharks. Why? I moved the Chicken Tank into the fenced garden over the winter so we could let the chickens out without having to watch them too much. The chickens were doing chicken stuff in the garden and the dogs wanted to do dog stuff to the chickens. I should have a planted garden right now but I can't because I have to set up a chicken run to move the Chicken Tanks and chickens into... PITA.

If we had not been home or if the youngest had not look out the window, those dogs might have been able to get into the garden and started killing chickens. The dogs were not barking and I had no way of knowing they were out there. I am surprised the chickens did not squawk. THAT I would have heard.

I would have thought that the bird in a cage would have been safe. Short of building VERY strong, fenced in fowl runs there is always a chance of this sort of thing happening. A month back we saw a raccoon on our place for the very first time. I have always been amazed that we have seen no sign of coons. I built the Chicken Tank to keep out coons and other critters but we let the chickens out in the afternoon after the hawks have sorta settled down for the day. Even then I have seen hawks in trees watching the roaming chickens and we have seen an owl during the daytime doing eyeballing the chickens.

I don't see what you could have done differently except build a very strong chicken run. I am about to put up a run for the chickens but it will only keep out a determined K9 for a short time. The real protection for the chickens is the Chicken Tank but when the chickens are loose in the afternoon they are vulnerable. I might put up some netting in the new chicken run to protect the chickens from hawks and owls though since they are a much bigger threat. The dogs were only the fourth set of dogs I have seen on our place in over a decade. I think they escaped from a house to our SW or W. We also have seen a cat around the house. I can't tell if it is a stray that was dumped on the road behind us or if it is a cat from a house to the W. It has hung around the garden fence a few times which I do not like.

Even with a strong run, one of the Rhode Island Reds likes to fly out of the garden since the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. :laughing::laughing::laughing: If that chicken had been out of the garden the day when the dogs showed up it would not have been pretty. The chicken might escape one dog but two is long odds for the chicken.

Later,
Dan

 

[joshuabardwell]

That was his last warning shot, now I have #3 shot and if he comes back again, protected or not, I will try to bring him down. He and his mate killed at least a dozen chickens and 3 guinea fowl.

All raptors are protected in the USA, Gary. If you shoot a hawk, best not to let anybody know.

To the OP: what to do? I spent $2k+ putting an electric perimeter fence in at least in part to keep my neighbor's dogs off my property. One had been taking my chickens. But there is only so much you can do. If you keep poultry, eventually something is going to take a mind to eat it. A fence, a good strong pen, and a hav-a-hart trap are three steps you could take.

 

[jerrybob]

Sorry to hear about your problem. Some good advice in these posts. Seems....you and your family need a new mind set. Living in the rural country is different. Nature has it's rules and predators will kill things if given the chance. We moved from the city. Even there....we had cats killed by coyotes. Since moving to our property.....I have lost cats to coyotes, seen a neighbors cat picked up my an eagle, had bears walk through our property and even had to put down an injured baby elk myself a few weeks back with Game Warden approval. It's just a different world......still better than city life.....but a different pecking order. Some folks deal with it well....others can't adapt. As for your stray dogs.......I love dogs but...in your case...you need to protect your property.....become the predator. Hope things are going better for you....I know you have been going through a lot. Thoughts are with you and your family.....hang tough!

 

[Western]

A fence, a good strong pen, and a hav-a-hart trap are three steps you could take.

What I was thinking when I read your post, I would add a firearm, donkey or as mentioned, good guard dog such as an Anatolian Shepperd (Google them, I have 2, great dogs)

I have let many a dog go, if my gut told me it was (a one time deal where a dog got loose), but I have had to put down many also. It's the owners and irresponsible people (pet dumpers) that should be hung, but yet stray's have to take the heat for going "astray".

Build good strong pens, expect to need "fort Knox", 1st your livestock/pets have to depend on you for security.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I have let many a dog go, if my gut told me it was (a one time deal where a dog got loose), but I have had to put down many also. It's the owners and irresponsible people (pet dumpers) that should be hung, but yet stray's have to take the heat for going "astray".

I never found a gun to be that effective, because I could never catch the fool dog in the act of actually attacking anything. I would see it on my property sometimes, and other times, a chicken would disappear. I was sure it was that dog that was doing it, but I never had the heart (or the guts, I suppose) to actually shoot it when all it was doing was walking around.

 

[DKCDKC]

I'm lucky now. I've got three dogs and more than a half-mile of property around me. The dogs run free and have never left the property - they hang around the house and me. They also keep strays away, but I have little to protect at the moment. A boy me and my Dad once jumped six dogs while we were hunting groundhogs, and the dogs were attacking our sheep. We got five of the six, and recognized the one that got away. Being a farming community, we simply went to the owner of the living dog and told him we'd seen his dog in the sheep. He calmly handed it over to us. All six were buried with the dead sheep. It was an expensive lesson, but those dogs never troubled us again.