Chicken killing Fox!!!! HELP!!

[Floppy Pheasant]

I am an animal lover,I take exceptional care of my chickens,I've watched them hatch from their egg,I'm struggling with a fox that has been killing my chickens, two of my hens were traumatized by the killing of their 10 siblings, my two hens were killed today ( they refused to be put in the pen,they slept in a large bush by my front door) That fox got them....I don't want to murder a fox but I can't continue to see my chickens slaughtered...what can I do???

 

[Shadrach]

That's terrible. It's really hard to lose chickens that you've watched hatch and grow.
There are lots of predators here but so far, the foxes are too human shy to hunt in daylight.
I think you'll have to kill the fox. It's sad if you're a wildlife lover but the fox will keep coming back.
It sounds like you free range (?) An alternative is make a run for the chickens and keep them in it; not a pleasing option if you've been free ranging.
There really aren't any other viable options unless you're prepared to get a dog and train it to guard the chickens. Just having a dog helps but the dog has to live outside and some people have problems with this.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

You'll have to give up the free ranging lifestyle if you don't want to kill the fox. The chickens will need to be penned up and you will need to ensure the pen cannot be penetrated by the fox (either burrowing, chewing or climbing over). Electric fencing is a very good protective measure. The fox knows where to go for an easy meal so you need to get whatever remaining chickens you have into a safe enclosure ASAP. I can understand peoples attraction to "free-ranging" chickens but you have to realize that chickens are very hopeless when it comes to self defense.

 

[ShanasCastle]

I am an animal lover,I take exceptional care of my chickens,I've watched them hatch from their egg,I'm struggling with a fox that has been killing my chickens, two of my hens were traumatized by the killing of their 10 siblings, my two hens were killed today ( they refused to be put in the pen,they slept in a large bush by my front door) That fox got them....I don't want to murder a fox but I can't continue to see my chickens slaughtered...what can I do???

If you don't want the fox harmed you can either buy a live trap or call your local wildlife and game office and they will come trap it for you and have it removed. Otherwise, the fox now has a food source so it will still come back over and over again. unfortunately once they become a problem they stay a problem until they're removed. At least that is the way here in my rural area. They pose a lot of danger other than killing your birds as well. Rabies mange and a host of other ickiness can be left behind buy a sickly Fox. I'm so sorry for your loss I can imagine how devastating and horrifying it is for you!

 

[mowin]

When I first read the title, I was thinking Where can I get some of these Chicken killing fox. Lol.

Had vision of a muscle bound chicken going ballistic on a fox.

Sorry your going through this. The fox has to go to be able to free range.
However, get rid of this one, eventually another one will move in.

 

[townchicks]

If you kill this fox, sooner or later another one will come along. Build a safe enclosure for your chickens, and consider at least an electric fence for when they are free ranging. Even if you eliminate all the foxes, there are plenty of other predators around that will happily take over for the fox.

 

[varidgerunner]

If you don't want the fox harmed you can either buy a live trap or call your local wildlife and game office and they will come trap it for you and have it removed. Otherwise, the fox now has a food source so it will still come back over and over again. unfortunately once they become a problem they stay a problem until they're removed. At least that is the way here in my rural area. They pose a lot of danger other than killing your birds as well. Rabies mange and a host of other ickiness can be left behind buy a sickly Fox. I'm so sorry for your loss I can imagine how devastating and horrifying it is for you!

No. Just no. Relocating wildlife is a bad idea, usually illegal, and is less humane than torturing the poor thing to death. Wildlife and game offices do not trap and relocate wildlife for the public. If they do, it is a huge waste of tax money. Usually they enforce the laws prohibiting wildlife relocation, and in the few backwards states that still allow it, they certainly aren't going to provide that service free of charge, when their job is to manage game for hunters. There are people that provide this service in the private sector, but you have to pay them, and they have to follow state laws on relocation, and most of the knowledgeable ones know better than relocating an animal because of the countless studies on how ineffective, or in some cases, dangerous or cruel, it is. The foxes that live out in whatever place it is that you suggest relocating to do not want your diseased and sick fox competing for their food until they can drive it to another chicken farm or to starvation. In the event that you actually put forth the effort to drive far enough that it won't be home by the next morning, which will take the better part of a tank of gas, it is likely to die a miserable death and take other innocent animals with it through whatever disease it harbors that the new location is not used to. Let me take you to North Korea and kick you out of the plane and see how you do. This is what it is like for relocated animals. Foxes are highly social. They will kill strangers at certain times of the year, and at others they will simply just out-compete them for food sources, as they have generations of acquired conditioning built up regarding what food sources there are in that area. Please consider flogging them to death with a section of garden hose before relocating, it would be a more humane end, and come much sooner.

 

[Shadrach]

The forest wardens still relocate particular species here; it's generally a disaster.

 

[Folly's place]

VR, Maybe overdramatic, but totally true! As a flock owner, it's our responsibility to see to the safety of the birds. This includes having a predator proof coop, a very safe run, and some wildlife management too.
Electric fencing works well to keep land predators at bay, and is well worth setting up if possible.
Here in Michigan, a fox, raccoon, opossum, etc can be relocated two ways; on the same property, or on private land within the same country with landowner permission. Neither is useful is keeping that varmit from returning, or attacking the next flock of chickens, and never going into a live trap again.
Only live trap if you will then shoot!
Mary

 

[JanetMarie]

Turn on a radio to a talk show. The fox will stay away from human voices.

If you don't want to have a radio on all the time your chickens are out, you'll have to invest in electric fencing (which is my preference).