Chickens are stressful!

[swampfox440]

Welcome to BYC ! Hope you can get an electric fence soon .

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Hot wire is the way to go if you are reluctant to shoot the fox.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Predators can be brutal and relentless. I got tired of dealing with them and built my birds a large run. Supervised free ranging only. I know this isn't feasable for everyone, especially those with large flocks, but it is an option.

Good luck and welcome aboard!

 

[Grammy60]

Hello and welcome to BYC We are happy you have joined us. Best of luck with getting rid of your predator issue.

 

[N F C]

Hello, you've been given some good advice from the previous greeters so I'll just say thanks for joining and best of luck!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I feel ya! Same day July 3rd, middle of the day with me and my husband outside a coyote snatched one of my ladies and I couldn't save her. Next morning though I shot him as he came back for seconds. Don't think it was fatal but he hasn't been back.

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens, the pulse beat of the poultry community.

 

[BuffetChicken]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
The trick with using hot wires when you have a predator jumping the fence is to run a hot wire AND a ground wire up near the top of the fence so when the predator jumps to the top of the fence, it puts a foot on the ground wire. The high hot wire has to be positioned in such a way that the nose will make contact.
But even before that, run a wire at fox nose height and bait the wire with thin strips of bacon wrapped around the wire and use a very punchy charger. I use a 10,000 volt/1.6 Joule output charger. It keeps all the local ground predators out. By baiting the wire, you are drawing attention to it with the scent. Then when the predator goes for the bait, they get a jolt to the mouth/nose they will not soon forget. The high wire should be baited too.
Good luck.

That's helpful, thanks.

 

[BuffetChicken]

Welcome to BYC. I am so sorry that you are having all this stress! We don't want it to ruin your experience with chickens.
If you can't do the hot wire, consider buying fender washers and wood screws to attach your hardware cloth. You can easily find them at any hardware store or farm store. I would do this anyway, in case of power failure.
I've had a dog chew a hole through 19ga hardware cloth but fortunately he didn't make enough of a hole to get in. So, if you can get the hot wire, do both.
I hate shooting animals that are just hungry, but I am obligated to protect my chickens too. A gun is sometimes a big deterrent. Even a pellet gun can make an impression on a persistent predator.
Best of luck with your flock! I hope you get to enjoy the lighter side of chicken keeping soon.

Thanks. I saw a picture of another user's coop and run last night and noticed the fender washers. I didn't know the name, though. This will help when I go to the hardware store.

 

[BuffetChicken]

I feel ya! Same day July 3rd, middle of the day with me and my husband outside a coyote snatched one of my ladies and I couldn't save her. Next morning though I shot him as he came back for seconds. Don't think it was fatal but he hasn't been back.

I'm sorry you lost her.