Best way to trap and kill a fox?

[Chicken crossing the road]

The fox is shot!

You do realize that “the fox” is probably not the only one and you’ll have to keep doing this killing of innocent (Doing what wild animals do) foxes. I feel as a owner you are responsible for the fox getting your chickens if you don’t provide a secure space. Then the fox can’t get your birds and you will have rodent control in the area, a win win.
You could actually appreciate the fox instead of fearing it.

I have foxes and coyotes also raccoons, fisher cats all over my property but they can’t get my birds.

I have a question, if your dog or cat killed a bird would you shoot it?

We should be able to outsmart the fox without shooting it, plus losing birds and bullets are costly, not to mention not very effective in the long run as more animals will be moving in.
Just saying!!

 

[roosterhavoc]

You do realize that “the fox” is probably not the only one and you’ll have to keep doing this killing of innocent (Doing what wild animals do) foxes. I feel as a owner you are responsible for the fox getting your chickens if you don’t provide a secure space. Then the fox can’t get your birds and you will have rodent control in the area, a win win.
You could actually appreciate the fox instead of fearing it.

I have foxes and coyotes also raccoons, fisher cats all over my property but they can’t get my birds.

I have a question, if your dog or cat killed a bird would you shoot it?

We should be able to outsmart the fox without shooting it, plus losing birds and bullets are costly, not to mention not very effective in the long run as more animals will be moving in.
Just saying!!

The key is to trap and kill the foxes before you lose any birds. This will drastically reduce the cost involved. Since everyone is sharing opinions I think free ranging chickens are happier and healthier than completely penned birds. This way the birds can actually move freely at will and aren’t constantly walking and standing in their own feces. Free ranging birds can be cheaper since they will find most of their food on their own, aren’t as bored as being in a contained coop/run and rarely have the same feather picking, behavior and health problems. Completely secure can equal a prison depending on how you look at it. Open the gate and see if the chickens want to come out or not then decide why people make the decisions they do. What’s best for the chickens just isn’t always best for their owners.

 

[cmom]

You do realize that “the fox” is probably not the only one and you’ll have to keep doing this killing of innocent (Doing what wild animals do) foxes. I feel as a owner you are responsible for the fox getting your chickens if you don’t provide a secure space. Then the fox can’t get your birds and you will have rodent control in the area, a win win.
You could actually appreciate the fox instead of fearing it.

I have foxes and coyotes also raccoons, fisher cats all over my property but they can’t get my birds.

I have a question, if your dog or cat killed a bird would you shoot it?

We should be able to outsmart the fox without shooting it, plus losing birds and bullets are costly, not to mention not very effective in the long run as more animals will be moving in.
Just saying!!

Here the foxes and coyotes, our main predators, have no natural predators and we have a lot of fox and coyotes. Many of my neighbors have mentioned they have seen more and more in the past few years. I do agree about protecting the flocks but when a predator finds a way and kills my birds I will shoot it if I can. If you're free ranging then you have to expect a loss now and then. If I had a dog or cat kill my birds by somehow breaching, I'll either re-home or shoot them too. Just my opinion...

 

[Chicken crossing the road]

I think free ranging chickens are happier and healthier than completely penned birds.

What’s best for the chickens just isn’t always best for their owners.

I agree and would free range if my yard wasn’t a big pile of rocks with a sprinkle of pine needles on top. I think I would try it if it was fence in, otherwise aren’t we ringing the dinner bell?
And the chickens will only be happy and healthier for the fox to eat.

I’m sure arguments could be made either way on happy and healthier and you would probably need to ask the chicken.

I haven’t seen the problems you speak of as of yet. My birds get along pretty good and I try to add things to give them new experiences. How does the free range work with a couple feet of snow on the ground?
At least with a cover secured run they have some outside time during the winter. I’m doing the DLM and don’t see that much poop on top, it all seems to get mixed in by the birds.

I just wonder why an animal that has every right to be here (sharing the planet with us) has to be killed.
Probably because we don’t know how to share!

Coyotes and foxes get a bad rap its not right in my opinion.
Some pest problems can be solved by having enough to compensate for a loss or two. And if free ranging then you might want a few extras to feed the .

Totally agree with your last statement.

 

[cmom]

The key is to trap and kill the foxes before you lose any birds. This will drastically reduce the cost involved. Since everyone is sharing opinions I think free ranging chickens are happier and healthier than completely penned birds. This way the birds can actually move freely at will and aren’t constantly walking and standing in their own feces. Free ranging birds can be cheaper since they will find most of their food on their own, aren’t as bored as being in a contained coop/run and rarely have the same feather picking, behavior and health problems. Completely secure can equal a prison depending on how you look at it. Open the gate and see if the chickens want to come out or not then decide why people make the decisions they do. What’s best for the chickens just isn’t always best for their owners.

My birds don't free range unless I'm out with them. I have very large pens for my birds (20 feet x 60 feet for each pen) so they aren’t constantly walking and standing in their own feces. When I open their gates most often they don't come out and if they do they don't go far from it and very shortly they will all go back into their pens. If you have a small run maybe you want to let them free range. This is just my experience. When I had my first flock nearly 50 years ago I didn't worry about it, but now I see more and more predators.

 

[Chicken crossing the road]

Here the foxes and coyotes, our main predators, have no natural predators and we have a lot of fox and coyotes. Many of my neighbors have mentioned they have seen more and more in the past few years. I do agree about protecting the flocks but when a predator finds a way and kills my birds I will shoot it if I can. If you're free ranging then you have to expect a loss now and then. If I had a dog or cat kill my birds by somehow breaching, I'll either re-home or shoot them too. Just my opinion...

Well of course you would see more and more because we ( humans) are taking all there habitats for ourselves.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

This argument would probably be best in messages.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I think something we forget in these discussions is that everyone's situation is different...

Those living in the suburbs might actually have more foxes or at least fox problems than I do for instance, even though I live way out in the sticks with few neighbors and am surrounded by timber and under used cattle pasture. Trapping in the suburbs gets a bit dicey due to neighborhood cats, etc.... so sometimes the solutions that person-A can employ can not be used by person-B, unless they have some experience trapping, etc.

And then too there is the difference in types of chickens... a silkie and game fowl are barely the same critter ... as far as free ranging chickens and predator avoidance goes, one is far better at it than the other... same would be true of the dominiques vs faverolles that I kept... and they're a bit closer on the spectrum.

But in any case I agree with the general idea that chickens are generally happier getting to range... but still I keep mine penned.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Well of course you would see more and more because we ( humans) are taking all there habitats for ourselves.

It's actually maybe more (or as much) about how coyotes have expanded eastward and so states such as Florida are still likely experiencing new population growth

 

[Allie Grace Sanders]

You do realize that “the fox” is probably not the only one and you’ll have to keep doing this killing of innocent (Doing what wild animals do) foxes. I feel as a owner you are responsible for the fox getting your chickens if you don’t provide a secure space. Then the fox can’t get your birds and you will have rodent control in the area, a win win.
You could actually appreciate the fox instead of fearing it.

I have foxes and coyotes also raccoons, fisher cats all over my property but they can’t get my birds.

I have a question, if your dog or cat killed a bird would you shoot it?

We should be able to outsmart the fox without shooting it, plus losing birds and bullets are costly, not to mention not very effective in the long run as more animals will be moving in.
Just saying!!

I prefer to free range my birds. That way they are happy and healthy. Yes I know that I will have more preds because of this. I have free ranged for three years and this is my first pred problem. I understand that you may need to keep your birds penned. And I respect that. But please be polite on this forum and respect my decisions.