Chicken all alone. Please help

[NatJ]

you can set up traps and take the fox far from your home

In many areas, it is illegal to take a wild animal somewhere else and release it.

Even if it is not illegal, it is a bad idea, for people and for foxes:
--the fox might kill someone else's chickens at the new location
--the fox might get chased away or killed by other foxes or other predators that already live at the new location

Of course, those same points apply for other predators and pests too, not just foxes.

 

[NatJ]

I’m not sure if I should keep my last chicken outside in the coop by herself or make a makeshift one inside the house as I stay next to her? Would she be more comfortable outside where shes familiar with her surroundings?

I don't know which one would make the hen more comfortable, but she might be safer inside the house. You already had one hen die inside the run, so you should check thoroughly before trusting it again.

I’m currently looking for 1-2 chickens that need adopted/rehomed, but not finding any luck.

Depending on the size of your coop and run, you might be able to divide it in half and raise some new chicks in one half, while the remaining hen lives in the other half.

Once the chicks are 2-3 weeks old, make some small openings in the divider. That way the chicks can go visit the hen if they want, but can run back to their own area if she picks on them. After a while, you will not need the divider any more, because the hen will have gotten used to the chicks, and accepted that they can share the space with her.

 

[The WinterWolf]

ahhh... you see that? you stop learning you stop living.

 

[cmom]

id just break out the 12 gauge.... however if you dont want to, then you can set up traps and take the fox far from your home

In many areas, it is illegal to take a wild animal somewhere else and release it.

Even if it is not illegal, it is a bad idea, for people and for foxes:
--the fox might kill someone else's chickens at the new location
--the fox might get chased away or killed by other foxes or other predators that already live at the new location

Of course, those same points apply for other predators and pests too, not just foxes.

We are rural on a dead end road and have been the recipients of others relocations. My suggestion is, if you are going to trap and plan to relocate, contact a wildlife rescue in your area. They usually have relocations sites. In many places it's illegal even though many people still do it.

 

[cmom]

Here I have heard critters test my electric wires at times. Most of the time once they learn I think the adults teach their young that a bird isn't worth getting zapped for.

 

[The WinterWolf]

lol

 

[MeowthLover_ThatsRight]

Oh no im so sorry

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

Just today I unfortunately came home from school to one of my four chickens dead in the run. We decided to let the other three free roam even though I didn’t feel like it was safe enough. I went outside when it was getting dark to make sure the chickens went into the coop and I came out to one of them by themselves. I shut her in the coop and went looking for the other two. After searching with my family, we found remanence of one of the chickens. An hour of looking later, we couldn’t find the third one. There has always been a fox around, but it never seemed to be a problem until today. I now only have one left and I’m extremely devastated as these are my first ever chickens and my love for my pets is so strong. The coop and run are both very predator proof so I have no idea how my first chicken died in the run. I shouldn’t have left the others out that same day. It’s currently night and I’m not sure if I should keep my last chicken outside in the coop by herself or make a makeshift one inside the house as I stay next to her? Would she be more comfortable outside where shes familiar with her surroundings? I’m currently looking for 1-2 chickens that need adopted/rehomed, but not finding any luck. Also, in the future, is there anything I can do about this fox? I still would like to free roam them, but now with this incident I’m going to find it extremely difficult. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand your feelings. I have worried and worried over one of my hens, my favorite because she is so cuddly and interested in me and always comes when I call her, whose health hasn't been good for a long time and it rained 2 nights in a row and she hid underneath the coop and wouldn't come out to be put up with the other chickens. In the POURING rain I was trying to take the bottom of the coop apart to no avail and ended up worrying to death over her for 2 nights. Thankfully she ended up being ok and I'm hoping she recovers but there are reasons to believe she may not live long. God bless you.

 

[McChooky]

Just today I unfortunately came home from school to one of my four chickens dead in the run. We decided to let the other three free roam even though I didn’t feel like it was safe enough. I went outside when it was getting dark to make sure the chickens went into the coop and I came out to one of them by themselves. I shut her in the coop and went looking for the other two. After searching with my family, we found remanence of one of the chickens. An hour of looking later, we couldn’t find the third one. There has always been a fox around, but it never seemed to be a problem until today. I now only have one left and I’m extremely devastated as these are my first ever chickens and my love for my pets is so strong. The coop and run are both very predator proof so I have no idea how my first chicken died in the run. I shouldn’t have left the others out that same day. It’s currently night and I’m not sure if I should keep my last chicken outside in the coop by herself or make a makeshift one inside the house as I stay next to her? Would she be more comfortable outside where shes familiar with her surroundings? I’m currently looking for 1-2 chickens that need adopted/rehomed, but not finding any luck. Also, in the future, is there anything I can do about this fox? I still would like to free roam them, but now with this incident I’m going to find it extremely difficult. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I couldn't bear the thought of one of my chickens being killed by a predator much less two! Maybe you could re-home the one thats all by itself before a predator comes back for it? A friend,family member? After you've put an electric fence up you shouldn't have any problems .Meanwhile keeping the lone chicken before making it safer will only encourage the predator to come back. Sorry for your loss!

 

[kmfmstar]

Just today I unfortunately came home from school to one of my four chickens dead in the run. We decided to let the other three free roam even though I didn’t feel like it was safe enough. I went outside when it was getting dark to make sure the chickens went into the coop and I came out to one of them by themselves. I shut her in the coop and went looking for the other two. After searching with my family, we found remanence of one of the chickens. An hour of looking later, we couldn’t find the third one. There has always been a fox around, but it never seemed to be a problem until today. I now only have one left and I’m extremely devastated as these are my first ever chickens and my love for my pets is so strong. The coop and run are both very predator proof so I have no idea how my first chicken died in the run. I shouldn’t have left the others out that same day. It’s currently night and I’m not sure if I should keep my last chicken outside in the coop by herself or make a makeshift one inside the house as I stay next to her? Would she be more comfortable outside where shes familiar with her surroundings? I’m currently looking for 1-2 chickens that need adopted/rehomed, but not finding any luck. Also, in the future, is there anything I can do about this fox? I still would like to free roam them, but now with this incident I’m going to find it extremely difficult. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Im so sorry for your loss! The same happened to us; we had 16 hens and in the middle of the night a group of raccoons (5) dug under the wire and ate the heads off of 6 of our girls. My husband shot them and we brought the survivors on our screened back porch for the night. Our daughter’s friends had built the enclosure for us and buried the fencing less than a ft in the ground, not deep enough.

The next day i had a mini excavator delivered and built a run 60’ x 20’. I buried wire 4’ deep, fenced and cross fenced it because i wanted my hens on fresh grass at all times. I built nest boxes about 4’ tall and rotated the hens when the section they were occupying was tilled and almost barren. I used hog wire and lined it from the ground up about 4’ with hardware cloth. I also enclosed the top with hog wire (it was 10’ tall so we could walk in comfortably). The nest boxes were placed in the center of the runs so that no predator could reach their little heads at night while they were roosting. We fed them scraps from the kitchen, and by the time they needed to be rotated the vacant runs were overgrown with vegetables and tall grass. There is no joy like seeing your girls ecstatically frolic in waist high fresh grass and produce! We ended up with 60 hens; our friends would attempt free ranging and learn the hard way, as we did, that predators will discover their new hunting grounds soon enough and they didnt have the time or resources to build a run like ours so we took their hens in.

i hope you find a companion for your little survivor soon. So so sorry for your loss