Well hopefully they learn from this incident, which is in no way your fault…
I would be very angry that they put me/ my pets in that position in the first place.
If they don’t learn send them a bill for “dead stock removal” a.k.a your time to remove the turkey/clean up the mess. No one wants to come home from work and deal with that.
Why are the birds coming over the fence?
They are most likely eating something in your yard.
If you find out what that is, and get rid of it, they may stay away.
Not practical to clear my property of all bugs. They just wander, come this way every few days.
The way I see it is that if my dogs escaped and injured or killed an animal on that animal’s property, then of course I am responsible. If another animal comes onto my property and is injured or killed by my dogs (or horses or whatever), then I don’t think I’m responsible. Of course I’d feel bad for the turkey, too, but I would feel that the owners were responsible.
Personally I think it was good that you told them what happened. When people let animals wander and they disappear, many times you hear that they must have been stolen, etc. Now they know that their birds aren’t safe on your property. What if someone with bird dogs moves in? While some dogs do tolerate free range fowl, not all do and it isn’t a fair expectation.
I have one neighbor like this. My 6 acres is behind their 6, so my driveway goes past their property. In addition to blowing trash, chickens, ducks, dogs, and a pet turkey who met his end in my horse’s field (not by my dogs, but it had been driving my dogs NUTS before that), they had a jack russell that would actively attack my son when walking in his own driveway home from school. As much as I love animals and would never want my son to harm one, I told him to pick up a handful of gravel to throw at the dog if he got close, and if he still came at him, to kick him as hard as he could. That dog has died, and the neighbors other dogs (still loose) are at least not mean.
Since you had your dogs contained in their own yard, I don’t think you have any responsibility for the turkey.
OP, your animals were contained inside your fence. I should think even in a fence out area (which you say you are not, I realize) you have done your job by providing a barrier. I can not imagine it is the responsibility of everyone to provide a flying animal proof fence.
[QUOTE=csaper58;8683272]
Why are the birds coming over the fence?
They are most likely eating something in your yard.
If you find out what that is, and get rid of it, they may stay away.[/QUOTE]
I do not think it is the responsibility of the OP to make sure her property is not at all attractive to anything and everything.
[QUOTE=hb;8683235]
Does the pound take chickens and turkeys?[/QUOTE]
:lol:Probably not. I meant the dogs. Birds that commit suicide by flying into your dogs pen are SOL.
[QUOTE=Casey09;8683341]
The way I see it is that if my dogs escaped and injured or killed an animal on that animal’s property, then of course I am responsible. If another animal comes onto my property and is injured or killed by my dogs (or horses or whatever), then I don’t think I’m responsible. Of course I’d feel bad for the turkey, too, but I would feel that the owners were responsible.
Personally I think it was good that you told them what happened. When people let animals wander and they disappear, many times you hear that they must have been stolen, etc. Now they know that their birds aren’t safe on your property. What if someone with bird dogs moves in? While some dogs do tolerate free range fowl, not all do and it isn’t a fair expectation.[/QUOTE]
Agree 100%. You took reasonable measures to confine your animals and they were confined. I would fee BAD (because the turkey died unecessarily) but not at fault.
I live in the country, only have about an acre and there is one other house within view of mine-- we’re bordered by hayfields an 2 sides and woods on the other sides. I have a fenced-in portion of my yard for my dogs, but I do keep a small flock of 4 chickens (all hens) that I let out to free-range when I’m home. For the most part, they stay on my property, but occasionally they wander over to my neighbor’s yard. (Luckily they do come when called, so at least they’re easy to get back!)
Thankfully my neighbor doesn’t seem to mind-- I did outright ASK her if she minded when I moved in and started letting the hens free-range, she said she didn’t mind at all-- but I would never in a million years think of asking her to reimburse me if her grandson’s dogs killed one of my chickens if it happened to wander over to her property. :eek: Now if her grandson’s dog came to MY property and killed one, that might be different story… But if the chickens get in trouble off my property, then sadly, that’s the price they paid.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;8684038]
OP, your animals were contained inside your fence. I should think even in a fence out area (which you say you are not, I realize) you have done your job by providing a barrier. I can not imagine it is the responsibility of everyone to provide a flying animal proof fence.
I do not think it is the responsibility of the OP to make sure her property is not at all attractive to anything and everything.[/QUOTE]
No where in my post did I suggest that the OP should do that. But…
If you are having a significant issue with a particular species (be it rabbits, deer, coyotes, or turkeys) and you have it within your power to eliminate what draws them, you should.
If possums are coming into your barn every night, put away the cat food.
If all the male cats in the 'hood are yowling and fighting in your yard, spay your female.
If deer are in your pasture in the winter, plant some rye grass close to the woods.
In the long run… making the wrong thing difficult, and the right thing rewarding, is a great way to influence the behavior of most animals.
And a lot of neighbors.
I understand, but there is nothing special here that isn’t in any of the other yards they go through. They just wander and my yard is on their loop. It stopped for awhile after we put in the fence, but now they’ve figured out to hop over it so they come by every couple days. It’s not realistic to think I can clear my property of all bugs.
I’m back to checking around all the corners before letting the dogs out. At least I can chase them back over the fence and they stay out for awhile, so it’s an improvement.
There are coyotes in the area, so they may not be a problem for long…
[QUOTE=hb;8684842]
I understand, but there is nothing special here that isn’t in any of the other yards they go through. They just wander and my yard is on their loop. It stopped for awhile after we put in the fence, but now they’ve figured out to hop over it so they come by every couple days. It’s not realistic to think I can clear my property of all bugs.
I’m back to checking around all the corners before letting the dogs out. At least I can chase them back over the fence and they stay out for awhile, so it’s an improvement.
There are coyotes in the area, so they may not be a problem for long…[/QUOTE]
Yup…coyotes could solve this issue right quick.
Be careful shooing them. Tom turkeys, like roosters, can turn mean as they mature. Especially if they don’t see you as higher in the pecking order.
Maybe something like this sprinkler for deterring unwanted ‘guests’ would help?
It is portable, you can move it around the garden, and it has a reservoir that holds water, so no hose to hook up. Adding a table spoon of vinegar or ammonia can up the repellent factor.
Or just keep your hose hooked to a spray nozzle and blast them when you see them.
www.havahart.com/spray-away-elite-hoseless-motion-activated-sprinkler-repellent
www.scarecrowsprinkler.org Edited to add the link on this site is to an older, discontinued model sprinkler. But watch the video! 
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