I Have a Fox Problem

[Folly's place]

Having a safe coop and run are essential, and fixes 90% or more of predator issues. Free ranging is always risky, and it's where I've lost 99.99% of my birds since having a safe coop.
Electric fencing helps outside a lot, if it's possible to use it for your flock.
Mary

 

[Member 482121]

The important thing is to have a chicken wire enclosure, or run, around a solid coop in which the chickens are closed at night with a good latch that raccoons cannot manipulate. If there are winged predators the run must be covered with chicken wire. The lower part of the chicken wire perimeter is folded outwards and buried so that there is about a foot of wire underground. A predator that tries to dig at the foot of the fence will find that metallic mesh and give up. The solid wooden coop is the second line of defense. So far no predator has gone past the first one. But I also trap and dispatch coons, foxes and opossums that meander around the coops at night. In Alabama the only furbearer that needs to be reported when killed is the bobcat. On one's property varmints (except cougars and bears, that are protected) can be killed any time of the year without a trapper's license and without need to report the killing. I only use a large live trap and coon traps. The latter do not catch cats and dogs. The live trap at times catches feral cats, and even though I'd have the right to kill them because they may endanger my chickens, I always let them go. I have always loved cats, God's perfect animal.

Speaking of coops, I have three of them, all of them built for me by my hired man (all I can build is suspense when I try to do something with tools--my wife sits in the house biting her knuckles wondering how long it will take before I come home with a swollen thumb or a cut that needs stitches!). One is made of plywood. It's been painted with oil paint, but it still warps and will eventually rot. The other two have been built with cypress boards discarded by a local mill when the logs were squared. They still have the bark on, and being rounded on the outside give the coop a log-cabin look and they will not rot or warp. And their price was right: free for the taking. To the mill's owner they are nothing but trash.

 

[coopersroost]

You cannot trap a fox. Illegal. Store bought coop Mistake #1 ( made this mistake also). How did it get in?? Did you bury the wire 18 inches out from your enclosure? Did it get under the fence? I have fox and it just watched my girls, it found out it was WAY too much trouble to try to get in. I have an enclosed 12x 24ft garden, their coop is inside, the fence is 6ft high, I have hardware cloth around the perimeter and buried 18 inches out. I've had Chickens going on 3 yrs, not ONE predator death. After my first year I realized I was in OVER my head, I studied and built my own coop.

Maybe in WI you can't trap a fox , but in NY if they are killing your animals you can shoot them legally as a nuisance. Same as coyotes.

 

[DIMBY]

I have an Overholt (pix attached, when it was brand new) but I have modified it in several ways. Chicken wire is worthless (my opinion), so I have a layer of welding wire, then vinyl lattice on all, including door. Plus, the whole thing is in my back yard, 8' high fence and two dogs that won't let anything touch those chickens (lots of training, including professional when they were pups). We have foxes, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, mountain lions and the occasional bear. I would not like my coop to be outside of the fence "in the open" so to speak, comfort level would be zero. P.S. this is my second coop, first was home-built by yours truly and pretty much a disaster.

 

[Larry Rose]

I only just started raising chickens. My chicks are about 4 months old. I have a store bought coop and I made an extra outside pen/run for them out of chicken wire (mistake #1). I only let them out in the chicken wire area when I'm home so I can keep an ear/eye out for them. I saw a fox on our property last week but it didn't go near the chicks. Today I saw another one, I think it was a different one. The fox snatched 3 of my 4 chicks. I'm pretty sure it was coming after the last one because when I went out to check on them I saw it running away and only one chick remained. I have 2 questions:
1. What is the best type of trap I can use to get him? I saw someone mention a spring trap in another post.

2. My friend has a farm with 20-30 chickens of all ages. Do you think she'd be better off there or would they pick on her for being new?

I don't feel comfortable bringing more chickens on my property until I have a better setup which I'll start working on this weekend. There are farms w/ chickens all around my property so it didn't occur to me that there'd be a predator issue.

Thank you so much! Sorry for such a long post.

I have a Farm, so I have an electric fence. I don't know if this is allowed where you live, but they work! A Predator will only touch it once and they will learn to stay away. It works for me not just to keep animals in, but to keep the ones I don't want, Out!

 

[Larry Rose]

My

I recently had the same issue, losing 12 of mine. We eventually killed the one fox (legal here) and have been setting a live trap for the other. However, I bought a solar powered radio that I play the weather channel on all day, since fox are scared of people), a motion detection alarm that emits lights and a high-pitched alarm, and 100% wolf urine to spray along the perimeter. The fox hasn't been since - two weeks now. I don't know if these things actually worked or if it decided to move on but it was here the day before I set it all up and now it's not, so... Anyway, good luck and I'm sorry for your loss.

My Coop has electricity, and I have always played a Radio 24/7 on a Talk Radio Station. So far, never a Predator. I also built a 5 ft scarecrow that holds 2 large metal pie plates on each arm that move constantly with the slightest breeze. I put it on a raised pole of 5 ft. And I also have a motion detector light for night time. Also I have an electric fence with a wire at the top of a 6 ft fence, and a wire at the Bottom 6'' off the ground around everything. The combination has worked for me!

 

[countryladyNH]

You cannot trap a fox. Illegal. Store bought coop Mistake #1 ( made this mistake also). How did it get in?? Did you bury the wire 18 inches out from your enclosure? Did it get under the fence? I have fox and it just watched my girls, it found out it was WAY too much trouble to try to get in. I have an enclosed 12x 24ft garden, their coop is inside, the fence is 6ft high, I have hardware cloth around the perimeter and buried 18 inches out. I've had Chickens going on 3 yrs, not ONE predator death. After my first year I realized I was in OVER my head, I studied and built my own coop.

It is NOT illegal to trap/kill a fox IF they are a threat to your livestock!

 

[countryladyNH]

We have seen a fox several times go after our hens in broad daylight, even with us out. (One was killed, which is extremely gut-wrenching). We tried the cage trap but never got a fox, so now we have a leg trap set at all times in the woods, at the edge. We have researched and done everything right, but so far have only gotten racoon and opossum. It is not illegal to protect your livestock. When free-ranging now, we have to be with our hens (and 2 ducks and a goose) all the time. We have a .22 rifle at the ready. Nothing will be peaceful again until we get the fox, and yes, he will be dispatched! (Our coop and run is like Ft. Knox, but our loved birds are at risk in daytime, anytime they are out).

 

[jlmckissack]

I too live with predator problems, bobcats, coyotes and stray dogs.

We have an automatic door on the coop. The run is 8’ tall.

However, I’ve lost hens ranging outside the run in broad daylight to a bobcat. I’ve surprised her twice during the daytime hiding in wait to grab a hen.

Each State has different laws regarding furbearers. Here in Oklahoma it’s always legal to kill nuisance animals. See extract from our hunting regulations below.

Exemptions from Regulations
Nothing in this regulation prevents the killing of furbearers actually found destroying livestock or poultry. In addition, nothing in this regulation prevents the running or chasing of coyote, bobcat, fox or raccoon with dogs for sport only, except on those public lands where such activity is prohibited. Animals taken with this exemption cannot be removed from the property.

 

[countryladyNH]

Don’t say the ‘R’ word unless you’re up for some preaching!

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LOL, SO TRUE! We have had leg trap set for several weeks, hoping to get the fox that got one of our hens in the middle of a sunny day while we were right at an open door. The rifle is ready, and it's going to Kingdom Come if we do. (We are not hunters and no one likes to kill wildlife, but when your pet livestock is at peril you sure better). We don't let any predator go to just move on to become someone else's problem!