Foxes and Electric Fencing? Help PLEASE!

[therichhens]

Thank you. Excellent idea. I will propose it to my husband, who does all the electrical maneuvering.

 

[Shaneb99]

It's hard to tell from your picture but you might have a weak point between the bottom right corner of the gate and the post. It looks like there is a hole between the cinder block and the post. A fox can get through a 6"x6" hole easily. We had a fox problem 2 years ago. The only sure solution is to shoot them unfortunately. All of our attacks were in broad daylight. The birds are confined in a pen and house at night with 3 strands of electric fence around the perimeter but I like to let them out during the day.

Are all the wires on your fence hot? If so a fox could jump on to the fence without being grounded and not get a shock. I suggest alternating hot wires and ground wires so they couldn't climb without touching 2 wires. The fence around our house yard is field fence with the wires at the bottom 2" apart but gradually getting wider until they are 6" for the top rows 4 feet up. I watched a fox run toward the fence and jump from about 3 or 4 feet back and grab on to the fence and climb up like a ladder until it got to a spacing wide enough to get through. It was fast and they can climb like a cat.

I know the frustration you feel. Good luck.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Simple fix....

Get some fill and fill the bottom of the gate, the odds of anything claiming the posts are slim.

The only weak spot in any good fence is the gate, animals can smell the current so unless they can go over it( deer) they will try to get under but only if it's easy. A fox will not try to digg under a 4 inch hot wire unless there's a hole already there. If you put fill under the gate to make it level you shouldn't have any more issues.

If you still have problems after that the only other solution is a bullet.


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[vahomesteaders]

What is the power of your fence box? I have seen foxes ignore a 1 or 2 joule powered fence. Thats why I step all mine up to 6 or 8. Its just a quick jolt to dash under a 4 inch high wire for them. We actually line the entire bottom of our fence with shingles so the grass wont grow and run a line 2 inches off the ground. Its worked wonders keeping critters out. Same with the garden. No more groundhogs or rabbits.

 

[therichhens]

Thanks for your input. I think fortifying the gate (and underneath it) will be our weekend project.

A friend offered us two alpaca. I know llamas have been used to guard livestock, but I've read mixed reviews of alpaca doing the same. Anyone have experience with them?

 

[Shaneb99]

I think you'd be better off with a livestock guardian dog.

 

[JanetS]

Have you ever used a game/trail camera? This camera will take pictures of what the fox is doing during the day and night. This will help you know what time, where and how they are getting over or under your fence.

This will show you where your weak spots are so you can secure that area. Good luck. We have a big problem with Bobcats. We had to build a secure run for our chickens.


This picture shows the raccoon that is a nightly visitor on our property.



A bobcat. That's the chicken coop in the background.

 

[therichhens]

I would love one, but have neither the time nor the money to train another dog. And our Wheaten would be useless.

 

[therichhens]

Very cool! Can you tell me more about your camera? How does it work?

 

[slingshotandLAR]

More on the fence....

I didn't think about the fact that you may have a low voltage fence, i have black angus steers and the fence is 50,000 volts! Nothing goes near it lol

Those pics are from a game camera, motion detection day and night some are infer red and don't even flash. You can even set them to video mode, they are a good tool to tell you what's going on


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