My first Fox attack that ended in a kill

[Shellz]

Look, I don't mean to jump on anybody here. It just grinds my gears when folks think they know better than us how to raise our flock. Sure, I would love to not have to shoot anything in defence of our flock. So far, its a perfect world right now. Will it stay that way? I doubt it. They have safety at night in their coop & daytime brings great things for them to eat, reducing their supplemental feed costs.

Free ranging isn't for everybody. It can be tough at times, finding piles of feathers from the last attack. Or your favorite bird left behind, dead. There are the magnificent mornings though, when our birds are released for the day. We love the sight of our acreage filled with a beautiful variety of poultry. Watching their behaviour is very entertaining. You just don't get the same effect with penned birds. How can we possibly give that up? It's not going to happen, simply because we find the rewards so great! We have very challenging terrain here & we can't imagine the thousands of $$$ it would take to fence in 3 acres.

Our dogs are doing a super job so far. We can only hope they continue to do so. Otherwise, lethal methods are our "go to" solution. I know there are many others who will agree with me (thanks, chickortreat & others in this thread) & understand our position.

In closing, no I don't know you & you don't know me. I'm sorry for any erroneous assumptions I made about you. I'm sure as we are all flock keepers, we all have things in common. We all make different choices based on our experiences, education & resources. We are all just doing the best that we can. I am always doing research & learning about all aspects of poultry raising. We have a lot invested in them. Now I must take my leave of this thread, as I have embarked on a large & exciting project that requires the rest of my attention. Best of luck to everyone on their journey of poultry raising!

 

[heidi586]

We have had chickens for 5 years and have never had predator issues - until today. It was around noon when I heard a lot of unusual commotion outside. When I ran outside there was a fox with the tail of one of my hens in his mouth. Just as others stories - this fox was very brazen, even going so far as to come toward me as I yelled and ran toward it - waving like a mad woman. The second time I saw it was approximately 1/2 hr. later when it circled round our fence line to come at it another angle. Once I got back out with my 9mm he was gone; I waited in hunt all afternoon, but it never appeared again. I had hoped my missing rooster and hen were just in hiding, but at head count tonight they were still missing.

Sad day! I guess there will be no free ranging for awhile.

 

[Shellz]

That sucks! Fox will be back for more for sure. I like to call them in, then its on my terms. They will come to a call within 5 minutes usually. If fox manages to see you & you miss the shot, he will become call shy. Makes it harder, but not impossible to get him another time. I sure hope you get that sob! They are clever, brazen & persistent!

 

[Zigmont]

Yesterday morning a gray fox was in our horse paddock near the chicken run. Our lab caught it, and they had quite a scuffle before the fox got away and jumped over the fence. Now, I am so worried it will come back. They are on lock down at night, but during the day, it could dig under if it had enough time. Does anyone know if they scare away? I have seen several in the 15 years I have lived her, but only one other near the house and it never came into the open paddock area near the coop. I chased that one and it never came back. That was a Red fox so I know it was different. I would think this one would be really scare after being attacked. Any ideas?

 

[Shellz]

Good question! We don't have gray foxes around here. I imagine that would have been a good scare for sure! Since my dogs are out all day, there's no sign of foxes anymore.

 

[victoryrolld]

We think a fox (or coyote) killed 4 out of our 5 turkeys. Whatever it was, it ripped the latch off the coop. I just hope my last tom is okay. . .I've heard they get really depressed when they're lonely.

 

[Devilsrejects]

Beware of foxes!

I had never seen a wild fox in our area until I caught one staking my chickens after 14 were killed, most of them were not even eaten. They many be beautiful wild animals, but they are blood thirsty and will kill more chicken at a single time than a fox could carry away or eat.

Be especially careful in the early spring when foxes may have pups to feed. They are smart. This fox started coming earlier and earlier in the evening when I started locking the girls up well before dusk. Also, once the fox found an easy food supply, it managed to jump more than six feet into the air to pull chickens out of a ripped screen.

Foxes are not shy of populated areas, but I believe I finally scared it off when I saw it for the first time and ran as fast as I could off into the woods following it. Before this I assumed the killer was a pack of coyotes because I couldn’t think of anything other predators in the area that would kill 4-5 chicken in a single night.

I went back with my children the next day, found its well used trail into the woods and tracked it as far as I could, making it clear we were following it by tromping all over the under growth and “marking our territory” (my boys were more than happy to help with this part).

Afterwards, no more chicken were kill and I saw no more signs of the fox. I hope this will help save someone else the anguish of find chicken raised from day old chicks just slaughtered and not even eaten. Killed for the sake of killing. I almost gave up on my backyard flock. I will be much more careful next spring.

 

[Shellz]

Sorry to hear & all too familiar.

Exactly what happened to us. Could be a female with kits to feed. She would probably come back for the rest of the kills left behind. You may experience a lull until its time for her to teach her kits how to hunt. I used to experience 2 major attacks every year. I now have 0 losses this year due to my 2 dogs out on patrol when I can't be there.

 

[Devilsrejects]

Thanks shellz for your reply.

Do you remember about how long the lull was? What you are saying makes a lot of senses and is worrying me! My cat won’t stand up to a fox

 

[Shellz]

I believe it was a couple of months later. Also I was mistaken - it is the father that teaches the kits to hunt. Kits are able to hunt for themselves by 3 months of age. Hope this helps some. Good luck to ya!