To have had a go at the woman whose dog killed my chicken today

[IDoAllMyOwnStunts]

SO this is the story, bear with me but I don't want to be accused of drip feeding!

I have 3 free range hens who wander all over my garden and the surrounding area (rural).

My house is adjacent to a v quiet lane, walkers pass by daily, often with dogs and only a couple of times in 3 years have dogs ran into the garden to chase the chickens (the occasions this has happenned before the dogs have always ran back to the owners when called off and chickens have escaped unharmed). Still with me?

So today I'm in the kitchen and see a black streak across the garden and hear the chickens sqwaking. GO outside to see a collie type dog going hell for leather across the garden after a chicken. It runs after it into the field at the bottom of my garden, kills it and then plays with it - owner no where to be seen.

All this time my kids are watching (and me) in horror) completely helpless. I was yelling at dog but it just kept ragging the chicken until it was limp and its wings stopped flapping. Kids v upset (and me).

Dog continues to play with chicken in the field, I go out and see the dog owner, completely pathetically trying to get the dog to drop the chicken. I had a go at her, told her my kids had to watch that and she should control her dog, that it should come back when she called it. Nearly there don't worry..

She retorted by saying as the chickens were free range then I should expect this hazard and there was nothing she could do to stop her dog chasing the chickens - ie it wouldn't come back when called. She said it legged it from her when she was up the road as soon as it got a whiff of the chicekns and then wouldn't come back when called. To me, she should have control of her dog at all times, AIBU to expect this? If she calls it, surely dog should come back? Isn't that basic dog training? (I love dogs and have a collie myself)

She did say sorry and looked mightily upset and embarrased, but I was still peed off at her comment that she a)admitted she couldn't control her dog and b) the chickens were asking for it being free range. DH came home and spent ages in the field trying to convince the dog it needed to let go of the chicken - which it did eventually.

Sorry its a long 'un, AIBU?

PS. The woman only lives half a mile from me, know her by sight - her dog is usually acting like a looney whenever I see it.

Do your worse.

Report the incident.

Hi all. Just read everyones views and obviously I've had all night to stew think about it rationally. The whole thing just made me feel sick and then to have this woman imply I was to blame by having free rangers put the icing on the cake to be honest.

To clarify, the chickens are not fenced in - I live in a v rural area, the house is in the middle of a plot with the garden around which is surrounded by low stone walls. A dog/fox etc can easily jump the walls (and so do the chickens). The chooks do mainly stay in the garden but have been known to wander into the lane. In the 3 or 4 years I've had them I have not lost one chicken to an out of control dog.

The dog ran into my garden hell for leather after the chickens - surely I should not have to put up a huge fence because someone cannot control their dog? The womans view seemed to be that if I have chickens loose I should expect it - but the more I've dwelled on this the more unreasonable I think she is and I am not!

Anyhooos here's a turn up for the books - a letter was pushed through the door today with a £20 note in and a sincere apology for any upset caused. They have obviously dwelled on it too, the letter seemed very genuinely written.

Riven - not posted this before - it only happended yesterday.

Riven, there was a thread from a dog owner who thought a chook owner WBU when her dog had a pop, could you be thinking of that one?

Glad you had an apology and maybe she'll think twice about keeping her dog on a lead

YANBU - she should keep her dog on a lead if she hasnt got control over it. I let my dog off in certain places but she will always come back when called or I wouldnt do it.

Following on from your confrontation, did the chicken come back to life?

YABU btw - this is what happens to "free range" chickens. Who would you rage against had it been a fox for example?

YABDoublyU for getting upset because your children had their first lesson about nature.

It's the food chain in action. If not a dog, then a fox. They are fair 'game'.

Presumably your chickens are free range because it is 'Nature's way'? Well, Nature can be very cruel too.

A dog that walks to heel and has good recall can "forget" all it's training at the sight of a chicken/pigeon/pheasant.

I feel sorry for you wrt your chickens and the dog owner obviously feels bad hence their apology.

I wouldn't however keep any animals without my property being fully secured. Cats and foxes are a case in point so I keep my rabbits in a hutch and run surrounded by a pen that they only have access to during the day.

Responsible animal ownership works both ways. It's a tricky one.

Oh for goodness sake, so it's a lesson in nature then? Well a dog will also chase sheep and cats, if it kills them off the lead is that a good lesson for the pet owner/farmer? What about all those irresponsible sheep farmers needlessly grazing livestock all over the place, should they consider lambs fair game?

Of course it's a lesson in Nature?

And farmers protect their lambs with walls and guns, as others have pointed out.

Warm fuzzy regards...

If you can't handle the country move back to London. :)

Farmers should not need to protect their lambs from dogs off the lead, that's the point. The OP had a wall and is justified in shooting the dog legally as it happens.

Alpine, I live in Devon and have farmed my whole life .

I agree with Alouiseg. She should definately have her dog under better control or leashed. You need to ensure your chickens are safe and cannot escape.

YABU as your chickens are at risk as they free range not just in your garden but in the surrounding area (as you state in your OP). Your choices for your livestock means they are at some risk. IMHO it's an acceptable risk for a good quality of life (as with outdoor cats), but you have to accept that you will possibly lose some in distressing circumstances.

She was walking on a public road and legally her dog must be 'under control' - for our well trained dog with an excellent chase recall this would be off lead as I can recall her off any running 'prey'. For most dogs this would mean on-lead. She could not recall her dog thus SIBU. What bothers me most about her is the attitude though - this is NOT responsible dog ownership and she displayed very little humanity. The dog was not at fault - the owner who failed to train it or properly control it was.

Ooops just read your update - it seems that she has learned a salutary lesson, so hopefully she'll keep her dog under better control. Glad you got an apology.

Yes the dog should have been on the lead on a public road. Yes dogs get shot if they stray onto farmers land. But if the chickens are walking around on public land too, not just your garden, I guess you have to be prepared for something to happen to them. So in a way it was an accident waiting to happen.
As an aside my dog used to chase rabbits, catch them, and then lick them all over, excitedly. I used to find him eventually drag him away and a very wet and sticky rabbit raced off. However my parents got a totally mad dog in older age and she would race into the fields and kill pheasants with one snap of her jaws. She was a dog not to be trusted, despite training classes. So I do think all dogs are different and some are more likely to kill than others.

I've had free range chickens (of the popping into the next door field/along the road variety) and also a chicken-chasing dog (who would occasionally bring down one of ours). My dog would not be off lead unless it was under control. That's how it works. Accidents will happen with roaming chickens but it is the dog owner's fault (particularly if the dog goes onto the chicken owner's property). It's crazy to somehow say that the chickens might have been asking for it.

Yes you expect to lose chickens to foxes/cars. However you don't expect to lose chickens to domesticated animals. The owner should be in control. If they're not (and accidents do happen) there should be a heartfelt apology.

I'm curious: what percentage of the people saying that the chickens should have been inside the property at all times live/have lived in rural locations? It was completely the norm to have chickens wandering around outside the garden where I grew up. Maybe things have changed.

Pofakked my dog licked our rabbit. She escaped from the pen and he was licking her fur! The dog is also a bit scared of cats

We had a cat though Aloiseg that used to drag fully grown rabbits up through the kitchen window and then kill them indoors.

naughty cat - obviously enjoyed the kill.

Hi all, gone through the replies and there's some interesting ones in there!

To those that think IABU and the chickens take their chance as they are free range and wander into the road. Is it acceptable for dogs to chase cats and kill them then as they are free range? Or would you say that the owner was to blame and should have her dog under control? Why is a wandering chicken any different to a cat?

DH saw the woman earlier walking her dog - he said it was straining on the end of a very tight lead - she looked like she was hanging on for grim death!

Dogs rarely kill cats though. Cats can run fast. Chickens are number one prey. What if one of your chickens was run over by a car?
But yes dog should have been on the lead.