Darn fox!!

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So sorry for your loss. I would love to let mine free range, but i have a fox den about 75 feet from the coop. So we put the coop next to the dog pen and under the outdoor street light. So far so good
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as my neighbor has been feeding the foxes around here for yrs to keep her chickens safe.

Oh and that nieghbor of mine never has her chickens in a coop. last fall she had about 40 chickens but now only 6. Not that i would like to see her with no chickens but if she feeds the fox and never coops up the chickens. Then it all her fault if the end up gone.
 
Merry,
I feel your pain!
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Been there, done that! I live in the suburbs and have a dilapidated fence around the perimeter of my backyard. Beyond that are all woods (we live in a pretty private location at the end of a cul-de-sac). Last year at this time I began losing my chickens to foxes (had 32 chickens and lost 4 of those) and I became so frustrated I gave them all away. Long story but I now have six newcomers and I let them free range when I am out there with them. I've become quite fond of sipping a glass of wine in late afternoon while I "guard" them!
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I fixed the holes in the fence where the foxes were getting in and I have a dog that LOVES to go after the foxes but doesn't have the slightest interest in the chickens. So far, I haven't lost a one though I see foxes in the woods every day while I'm out there. I also know how you feel about getting chickens you didn't raise. However, you could consider getting a couple of BR chicks and raising them indoors. Now would be a good time since the weather will be nice when it's time to put them outside.
 
I don't think it'll keep a determined fox out but it'd keep the chickens in!! Don't think a fox would chew through it but a raccoon could. The fence around our property is made out of hardware cloth and it was there when we moved in. Over the years, it's gotten pretty beaten up but I've repaired it from time to time and it keeps the chickens from going in the woods. I have a pen covered with netting (stupid hawks) that is only made of chicken wire. I got some tent pegs and hammered them in at the bottom about every 8" or so which makes it more difficult to dig under the wire. I ALWAYS lock them up in the pen (attached to the coop) when I have to go somewhere and, so far, I've not had a single problem with a predator. But, as I mentioned before, I live in the suburbs so it's not like I'm in the wilderness where it's crawling with chicken eating critters. I highly recommend you make a pen to keep your chickens in when you can't be there to keep an eye on them and, maybe even attach electric wire to the bottom and half way up. Unfortunately, everything likes to eat chicken!
 
Yes. We have a large pen approx12 x 20 made of chicken wire with a cover. Tonight we left for a while and the fox didn't get in. The dogs smelled where he had gone around the pen. They will be in the pen during the day and locked in the house at night. Merry
 
Quote:
Man a racoon can chew through the wire?
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I was hoping to build a 'secure' run and be able to go away overnight once and awhile with-out worrying too much
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........
 
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Merry, we are really sorry, and we can comiserate. Our two hens, Kitty and Eva got killed by a fox yesterday too. We just let them run around the back yard during the day while we were at work, and there was never a problem. But yesterday a fox must have jumped the fence. we found the body of one and it was burried, so i guess the fox cached it because it couldn't jump the fence with it. we can't figure out what happened to the other, but we think that maybe it jumped the fence in an adreneline burst, and then got hunted down because we found feathers at the neighbor's house.

We saw a fox running down the street today, so we figure that's the guy.
 

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