It's a fox!!!!! Help!?

[Orpington2813]

Ok I posted about a week ago that something had been getting my chickens and I put out a trap. Well I haven't gotten anything in my trap and I think I know why. The past few evenings I have seen a fox creeping around the hen house! It comes and gets a chicken every 5-7 days so the timing is perfect. My poor hens have been put up for a week and our quite miserable. Of course the trap is to small for a fox. So now what? Has anyone had this problem before? How can I catch/kill it? Should I get a guard dog to stay with my chickens?

 

[chicknmania]

With a fox, it's very difficult. We discouraged ours by using a radio, bright lights, pee, crashing pan lids, fireworks, bird bombs, going out there several times a day and night at different times. Ours was a mother fox and her two kits. They were coming during the day and snatching the chooks. After a couple of weeks of extreme diligence, mostly just mixing up methods to discourage the foxes and doing something different every couple of hours, the foxes gave up and left. Please try not to kill them if you can help it. They are very diffiicult to trap. If you can keep your flock locked up and safe to where the foxes can't get in, do that for a couple of weeks. A dog is a good idea, if you can get one that gets along with your chickens. If it's coming at night, you could try motion activated lights or sprinklers, depending on where you live.

 

[CORNISH_MAN]

Ok I posted about a week ago that something had been getting my chickens and I put out a trap. Well I haven't gotten anything in my trap and I think I know why. The past few evenings I have seen a fox creeping around the hen house! It comes and gets a chicken every 5-7 days so the timing is perfect. My poor hens have been put up for a week and our quite miserable. Of course the trap is to small for a fox. So now what? Has anyone had this problem before? How can I catch/kill it? Should I get a guard dog to stay with my chickens?

If you can get a livestock guardian type dog like a great pyreneese that is your best bet for protection. But if you get a chance to kill that fox do so. If you dont you will be sorry later, and may not ever get another chance to do so.

 

[Orpington2813]

Is there a fox call or something I can get like that? I was thinking about trying to sit and wait for it on the roof of my hen house one night. I would like to kill it because when it comes to protecting my chickens I will do what I have too. I had a rifle with me when I saw it but couldn't get it out in time or I would be done with this problem.

 

[acl68025]

Look up predator calls. Most likely a distressed rabbit sounds will bring it running in

 

[blucoondawg]

Yep many different types if predator calls available, a live trap is not going to work well if you go the trapping route see if you can find someone with leg hold traps who can trap it for you or teach you a proper set to catch the fox, then kill it.

 

[megalomaniac]

yes, agree with leghold trap. Use a dirthole set, bait the hole with a bit of raw chicken/ feathers, a shot of fox pee on the backing, and you should have him the next time he comes through. It's tough to catch a fox in a live trap.

Either call a local ADC (animal damage control specialist), or you can learn all you need to know about how to trap yourself from trapperman.com forums.

I actually have a red fox right now that periodically gets caught on my trail cameras outside my chicken coops/ runs over the past 6 months, but he hasn't yet tried to dig underneath the buried welded wire runs, so he's been getting a pass. If I lose a bird, then he'll have to go, as they will keep coming back over and over till all the chickens are gone.

As an aside, trail cams have gotten much better over the past years and have become quite affordable. I'd recommend everyone with chickens set up at least one near their coops. It will amaze you just how many critters come by in the middle of the night. Just this past month, I've gotten pics of the fox, a possum, and 4 different dogs.