Are there anyways to deter foxes?

[Red Mangrove]

Wondering how much time one has to invest in shooting a fox? Lie in wait for hours -and hope they appear? They are incredibly wary and will run as soon as they sense any person approaching. Seems a big live catch box trap would work best.

Even better would be to live in harmony with the foxes rather than fight against nature forever. Modern chicken keeping that turns the entire planet into an enemy is nonsensical

Chickens have been domesticated for 10,000 years now, since the early neolithic age

 

[chickenlover8969]

Even better would be to live in harmony with the foxes rather than fight against nature forever. Modern chicken keeping that turns the entire planet into an enemy is nonsensical

Chickens have been domesticated for 10,000 years now, since the early neolithic age

thats what we have been doing but were just gonna relocate the two if they treathen the chickens the coop and run is pretty secure so i dont think they will but if they do we will relocate them

 

[roosterhavoc]

I have a large fox den on my land as well as 50 free range chickens that live outside 24/7 and sleep in trees. Healthy chicken breeds should be able to evade foxes with no problem. Red foxes really aren't sneaky enough to catch gamefowl, feral chickens and landraces

Dogs and fences also help but aren't necessary. I had American Gamefowl and Red Junglefowl living around foxes for a year before I had either dog or fence. They breed like rats in my woods and I'm grateful the foxes are here honestly

If you free range birds and have foxes around sooner or later they will get eaten. Gamefowl are usually more wary than other breeds but generally the gamefowl that are loose are young with some hens being the exception.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I keep seeing people post this same thing comment. However, I live in an area that is rural but teeming with fox & other predatory critters. The amount that I have in my area is very marginal & even slim because I eliminate the problem as soon as I can. I almost never see fox or opossum any more.

I live in an area with lots of predators as well. I get foxes, both gray and red, coyotes, opossums, skunks, and more on my trail cameras. I used to feel angry when I saw one in the yard, but now I love knowing that they are still here...and my chickens are still here too, inside a fence.

Even better would be to live in harmony with the foxes rather than fight against nature forever. Modern chicken keeping that turns the entire planet into an enemy is nonsensical

Totally agree.

 

[Folly's place]

Again, relocating foxes is not a solution, and illegal many places. Check first!
Live trapping a fox, very difficult.
Mary

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I've been very fortunate. When I relocated to a 2 acre parcel surrounded by 80 acres of farmed land (they grow & rotate corn or soy), I noticed a few foxes that had dens in the farmland & next door wooded lot, that also enjoyed sunbathing on my grassy area. I love wildlife, often photographed or sketched what I've seen since childhood. Here, I have been able to observe quite a variety...Hummingbirds, Osprey, various types of hawks, falcons, Bald Eagles, various duck species, Canadian and Snow Geese, many types of song birds, the occasional raccoons, Opossums, otters & of course lots of fat rabbits & those pesky groundhogs. The foxes like to hunt rodents, so I'd get a kick out of watching a fox look at the ground, tilt the head listening, then do a beautiful jumping swan dive type of pounce & come up with a mouse, mole or rat. I don't mind them on rodent patrol at all!

I've had Homing Pigeons for decades & the only type of predator that really goes after them are hawks. So I do limit free flying in winter months.

When I decided to get chickens in 2015, I found your site here as I researched all types of potential issues, and built a predator proof coop and large pen. I do free range my chickens but only when I am outside there too, doing yard work, gardening or some other type of project close by.

The cool thing is, the foxes have come to know me as the lady that appreciates wildlife. They can be in my yard most of the day, and not even go near the chickens or pigeons. They have their favorite spots to sunbathe or play. Seeing kits play is a real treat, they roll around and chase eachother like puppies do.

The one older Vixen, became very friendly with me. I called her Lady Fox. She would lay down by me when I sat at the fire pit. When I saw a particularly stunning sunset, she would notice me taking photos, and she'd look up at the sunset, then sit down by me & we'd literally watch the sunset & it's changing colors for a good 15 minutes...she would be gazing up at it too.

She also would accompany me on my walk to the mailbox down the road and back. Neighbors said they wished their own dogs would walk as nice while on leashes, so perfectly matched was her gait to mine. Lol

She would bring her kits out to show me, she'd sit down to calm them so I could get photos. I enjoyed each litter, watching them grow, then they'd eventually leave to find their own turf somewhere. I don't know where they went, but once a year, every May, there would be a family reunion of sorts. Literally on the very 1st warm sunny day in May (usually near the 15th) I would see 15 to 30 foxes of various ages, all rolling around & playing. They'd stick to the area of nice grass where it meets the cornfield, in back of my big barn, about 100'x75' and just hang out, like some family picnic. It is truly awesome. Before my father passed, we both witnessed this, and one time 2 adult foxes greeted eachother, both front paws on eachothers shoulders then walking on hind legs only from one end of the yard to the other! Both my dad & I exclaimed "Wow, they're doing the Fox Trot!" & we could not believe we were able to see such an amazing thing in person. I've watched nature shows & documentaries my entire life & never got to see foxes doing the Fox Trot...this was a gift.

Lady Fox was quite the endearing "dog" & she kept her kits in line. One day 2 Springs ago, her male kit was checking out my Guineas...he started walking towards them & I said "No" & I was amazed to see Lady Fox trot over to him & grab him at the scruff & drag him away from my Guineas. He hunkered down & sulked by her for 20 minutes. Lol I have no idea if she really was trying to teach him they were to be left alone, but honest to goodness he never went near them again, & made huge detours to avoid their coop from then on, too.

Lady Fox was wonderful, she loved posing for photos & sketches, loved a good relaxing fire at the fire pit, & treated my dad & me like friendly neighbors. She was unique. She was quite old & sadly died this past September. She lay down not far from my fire pit, right next to the wildflower garden, curled up as if to nap & passed away. She is buried there.

Her last 3 kits still hang out here, 1 of which has decided to be like her mother. I call her Little Girl. She follows me around at times, sits and gazes at sunsets, relaxes right by my chair at the fire pit, accompanies me to get the mail, & let's me know when the coyotes are nearby by acting nervous & looking in their direction, then back at me. When she acts that way, that night we will hear coyote calls.

She has let me know when she catches rodents, she actually plays tossing the rodent in the air & catching it, then brings it over to the steps by the back door. She has left 2 mice & a rat there the past month, then once she sees that I've seen them, she takes them away.

Well, I did not mean to write a book, but my encounters with nature always touch my heart. I have not lost a single chicken & there hasn't been a single hole dug to try & get into the chicken pens. One of the young male kits did try to grab a big hen once, all he got was a few feathers in his mouth & me hollering, swinging a 5 gal bucket at him. My hen is still the biggest girl & that male never came back for more. The look on his face as I nearly hit him with the bucket as he ducked & ran off was priceless. If you've ever seen the expression your dog makes the 1st time they run around a pool, make a wrong turn & realize they can't walk on water...yeah, that look. Lol

I guess I am blessed, because I practically have a wildlife channel live, right here in my own yard. Yes, I build predator proof pens right from the get-go, and I am glad I did, because it allows me to appreciate nature. I always will try to have a more harmonious approach whenever possible. If I had issues with bears, wildcats or something vicious that actually tore into the coop or pens, I'm sure I'd be singing a different tune, but the foxes are welcome.

 

[Huntmaster]

They mean don't take it waaaay far away like in other state or county but relocating it to next road over isn't a big deal.

So, you think its ok to drop it off in my neck of the woods as long as it's just the next road over? Not a good solution for anybody.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

So, you think its ok to drop it off in my neck of the woods as long as it's just the next road over?

Would I drop it off near someone else with chickens? Absolutely not. We have a lot of people around our area that own 600+ acres that they don't live on, also state land is nearby. Dealership property. Let it out on the side of the road and it runs up in the woods.

 

[Folly's place]

The sick mangy fox who killed ten of our hens a few years ago was shot and killed a MILE away from our property! Critters travel, and have big ranges, even this poor sick individual.
Mary

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Take the lyrics from the Motley Crue song “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and change it to “Dogs, Dogs, Dogs.” Sing it to yourself a few times. You’ll etch into your mind for as long as you live the secret to free-range predator control.

Foxes are at the bottom of the canine food chain. Coyotes and wolves eat them. A domestic dog is a wolf. Big, tough, territorial, free-range dogs will go a long way towards keeping foxes deterred. You don’t have to kill most predators. You just have to make them feel like they will be killed if they linger too long around your farmyard.

My fox deterrent: