Electrify the fence. Other thought is offer them food and befriend them, you now own two dogs.
Get a cheap power supply and electrify the fence. You'll just need to keep it up until they get zapped once. They won't want a second helping of that.
edit: you will have to make sure there is no electrical path from the fence to ground... So that when the doggies bare feet are touching the ground, and they touch the fence, pow
My MIL has a pen that's slightly bigger than yours . I drove 8 ft. tee posts and erected a 6 ft. welded wire fence. Haven't had any serious problems with predators aside from snakes getting into the eggs.
Something like that would stop those dogs and they're big enough that you need a 'heavy duty' solution because now they've figured out where the fun is.
If you're unwilling to shoot them, then I would try to capture or trap them and take them to the pound yourself. Or hold them hostage until the owners show up (then shoot the owners ;) )
2"x4" welded wire fence is relatively cheap and should keep dogs out and even people. The problem is the chickens will just freak out until the dogs can grab a wing or leg and kill another, so maybe a smaller opening would be safer
I saw you other thread, enclosure is big and if they can get over the fence there's nothing you can do. Let your wife shoot them if she's game. Loose dogs kill other people's chickens and likely dogs, they chase bikes, horses, and other livestock and maybe children
Put up plywood on it until they forget? Tho those dogs are probably going to be back when you take it down.
I agree on the pellet gun. But it's going to be hard to catch them at the right time.
Is this in The United States? It’s super illegal to knowingly let your dogs roam around freely. Personally I’m in the shoot the dogs camp, but I also know that I would have a super hard time with that if it were me. Can you get some bean bag ammo or something?
Sorry but my spouse who is from here is very much along the lines of they are killing our livestock, kill them. And I don't wish to shoot 2 dogs trying to figure out their natural lives unless I know their owners say fuck you, it's your problem... Then I'll have to agree with her and feel terrible for years
.410 or 20 gauge open bore with a rock salt load.
Pepper em up every time you see em. Mostly non-lethal (even blanks can be lethal at point blank)
However
Canines can be tenacious. You'll have to kill them, dissuade them to the point of absolute fear, or harden your coop with a full enclosure of welded fencing. But your chickens will definitely be stressed if you let them keep coming, hardened enclosure not withstanding.
Is getting a donkey an option? Personally if I were in your shoes I'd either kill them or pain them so much they have Regret. Yes they are following their instincts, but if they're feral (and possibly if they're tame) their instincts will also allow them to kill a small child. An 80lb dog can do a lot of damage.
If you eat meat you're already okay with taking life out of necessity. This would, in my mind, be a necessity
You could either lock up the dogs and wait for an owner to show up, or maybe air tag them so you can find the owner that way? If you know what type of person the owner is you can ask them for compensation for killing your animals, or go your wife's route.
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