Crap....They can climb over 6 foot fence and Hop over 4 foot fence...They dig....Total Buggers!...
dealing with a FOX.. erghhh
- Thread starter twilightgecko
- Start date
My Run is total Fort Knox ....My Husband built it...
Took forever...
Took forever...
All the above. They are most likely to attack free rangers but will also dig under a fence and jump/climb if given the opportunity.
A three year Fox problem....5 dogs now and still the Fox out smarts them...Killed two in 3 years and Kits born every spring..We shoot when we can...Fox was chased by my one Dog and scaled my hay bales like a Cat....It was gone and fast.....Run on top of my Coop...digging isn't an issue though..Not here...Friends have other stories ...
rookhomestead
Songster
A dog catching a Fox is definately like trying to catch a cat. Mine can't do it. The only dog I had that could come close got shot by our neighbor . If the area looked like a drag strip, they might be able to, but Fox are WAY more agile. We have a 4ft fence and I'm pretty sure the Fox we got just hopped over it. And it was a little thing to boot (like the size of a Jack Russel) then again, one that size could easily squeeze under the fence. Free range is a prime target, but a friend of mine had one pull apart her cages and snag a few birds.
So sorry to hear that you have a fox problem. From experience the best thing to do is get a couple of NiteGuards. The NiteGuard flashes a single red light every few seconds. This makes a predator think that a larger animal has spotted it and the fear of being discovered is the predators biggest fear. You can buy them from Strombergs chickens.com or your local tractor supply store
Can you see the blue shed in the background of this photo?
That belongs to a neighbor who tells me momma fox raised 5 kits under that shed this spring. It is that close to the yard where my birds run around in daily, yet I never see it in my yard and have never lost a bird to it.
You may also be able to see my electric fence.......which is why I think I have not had any losses to a fox or any other varmint. Just saying.
That belongs to a neighbor who tells me momma fox raised 5 kits under that shed this spring. It is that close to the yard where my birds run around in daily, yet I never see it in my yard and have never lost a bird to it.
You may also be able to see my electric fence.......which is why I think I have not had any losses to a fox or any other varmint. Just saying.
I believe they only flash at night though, and OP's fox is coming in during the day (or was at least captured on camera during daylight hours). Plus you have to keep moving those things around or smarter predators like a coon and fox will get used to them.
The night guard also flashes at dawn. That’s interesting that you have to move it. I had mine up in the same spot for a year without moving it and it kept the fox away from my girls.
I think the term is 'shoot, shovel, shut up' 
The 3 S's.
There is always going to be a big chasm between hunters/protectors and non-hunters. Not all shots are clean kills no matter how badly that you want them to be. It bites but it happens and you always cannot follow the animal you have wounded to give it a killing shot. I shot a ground hog once that was threatening one of our dogs. Went back to reload, came back, ground hog was gone and I couldn't find it.Hated it but it happens.
When you live on a farm you get a different POV about things. I have spent a lot of money on my birds, just as our Amish neighbors have spent a lot on their goats, cattle, sheep and horses. Yet each year the Amish men get together in January and go on a predator drive and shoot. Then try to take out all the small and large predators that they can before lambing/calving/kidding season. From what I've heard, not every first shot is a lethal shot and one of the predators they shot was a mountain lion. It took three shots to dispatch it.
Each infant taken by predators (I've heard nightmare stories of a coyote dragging a lamb across a pasture, tearing at it all the while, torturing it before it is killed and it's mother helplessly following) is money out of their pockets and food out of their large family's mouths. Each chicken taken means no eggs and no fried chicken for Sunday dinner.
We understand that predators need to go. Period. There are hundreds of miles of forrest timber around us that they are welcome to hunt on all they want, including our own timber. But bother my chickens, all you four footed foxes, raccoons, possums, coyotes and yes, mountain lions and you will die. True I will try my best to give you a quick and clean death but if I don't, at least I know that you will not be back to kill my livestock.
My unspoken contract with wildlife is that unless you are a deer, or threaten my husband, myself or one of our dogs, I will not hunt you in your home or threaten you. But bother my family, my pets or my chickens and all bets are off.
I'm glad you got a shot at the fox. Even if wounded and recovers, it knows that you are now a threat and will probably avoid your territory. Only a fox knows how a fox thinks so keep your eyes open and stay alert.
Sorry if I've stepped on toes but this is my humble opinion and I am entitled to it.
The 3 S's. There is always going to be a big chasm between hunters/protectors and non-hunters. Not all shots are clean kills no matter how badly that you want them to be. It bites but it happens and you always cannot follow the animal you have wounded to give it a killing shot. I shot a ground hog once that was threatening one of our dogs. Went back to reload, came back, ground hog was gone and I couldn't find it.Hated it but it happens.
When you live on a farm you get a different POV about things. I have spent a lot of money on my birds, just as our Amish neighbors have spent a lot on their goats, cattle, sheep and horses. Yet each year the Amish men get together in January and go on a predator drive and shoot. Then try to take out all the small and large predators that they can before lambing/calving/kidding season. From what I've heard, not every first shot is a lethal shot and one of the predators they shot was a mountain lion. It took three shots to dispatch it.
Each infant taken by predators (I've heard nightmare stories of a coyote dragging a lamb across a pasture, tearing at it all the while, torturing it before it is killed and it's mother helplessly following) is money out of their pockets and food out of their large family's mouths. Each chicken taken means no eggs and no fried chicken for Sunday dinner.
We understand that predators need to go. Period. There are hundreds of miles of forrest timber around us that they are welcome to hunt on all they want, including our own timber. But bother my chickens, all you four footed foxes, raccoons, possums, coyotes and yes, mountain lions and you will die. True I will try my best to give you a quick and clean death but if I don't, at least I know that you will not be back to kill my livestock.
My unspoken contract with wildlife is that unless you are a deer, or threaten my husband, myself or one of our dogs, I will not hunt you in your home or threaten you. But bother my family, my pets or my chickens and all bets are off.
I'm glad you got a shot at the fox. Even if wounded and recovers, it knows that you are now a threat and will probably avoid your territory. Only a fox knows how a fox thinks so keep your eyes open and stay alert.
Sorry if I've stepped on toes but this is my humble opinion and I am entitled to it.
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