Fences and Foxes

[Aunt Angus]

I've been seeing foxes more lately because breeding season. I've read about a million posts on BYC and the interwebs, but can't find concise answers to my particular questions. Sorry if this has been asked already.

1. If I install 5 wires (3 hot with interspersed negative wires), will a 3 ft fence work? I know foxes can jump....

2. If 3' won't suffice, how tall should it be?

3. How high should the lowest wire be to discourage it going under? It won't be able to dig because of a cement barrier.

 

[mowin]

My fence is 4.5’, no hot wires. while I've never seen a fox actually jump it, I've seen fox and coyotes in my fenced in yard.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My fence is 4.5’, no hot wires. while I've never seen a fox actually jump it, I've seen fox and coyotes in my fenced in yard.

Good to know.

Our setup is... odd and def not ideal. It was *supposed* to be temporary, but you know how it goes... The coop is next to an 8' tall retaining wall. At the top of the retaining wall is a 3' fence. So they could potentially jump the fence and onto the coop roof.

Honestly, those foxes would have a hard time getting into the yard without the electric as the entire area - coop, roofed run, and yard - are covered with heavy duty aviary netting. If it got over the fence and onto the coop, it'd be 8 ft down from the coop roof through the netting to the yard. The fix would be stuck in the yard within the electric netting fence. It would have to make an 8ft jump to the coop roof and over the 3ft fence to get out.

My hope is to keep the dang thing off of the coop roof in the first place. Here are some (hopefully helpful) pics of it.

 

[mowin]

They are crafty little buggers. If there is something shorter for it to jump onto, then onto the roof, it's possible one could make it out. Definitely a unique setup.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My plan for now is to run electric wires along that top fence. I'll see if I can extend it. How high should it be, do you think?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do an internet search on "fox climbing fence video" to get an idea of what they can do. They are pretty impressive.

What typically happens with a fox, coyote, dog, or bobcat is that while they may be able to jump over a fence, they explore it first, usually with their nose or their front feet. Once they get bitten by the electricity they run away. Your greatest protection will not come from height but by making sure that if they touch a hot wire they are also touching a ground so they complete the circuit and get shocked.

With electric netting the soil is your ground. With electric wires the soil might be your ground but often the fence itself is the ground with the hot wires insulated from it by using insulators. I don't know what the conductivity of the base of that fence is or how you would wire up that fence to be the ground. I think that is where you should be concentrating your effort.

 

[ChickensComeHome2Roost]

I've been seeing foxes more lately because breeding season. I've read about a million posts on BYC and the interwebs, but can't find concise answers to my particular questions. Sorry if this has been asked already.

1. If I install 5 wires (3 hot with interspersed negative wires), will a 3 ft fence work? I know foxes can jump....

2. If 3' won't suffice, how tall should it be?

3. How high should the lowest wire be to discourage it going under? It won't be able to dig because of a cement barrier.

I would put a couple strands of electric fence on the 3 foot fence to keep them out. Its important to bait it. Once one touches it with their nose your chickens should be safe. I wouldn't be too concerned about how one would get back out because they're excellent climbers and can jump. An electric fence might make it harder to get out though.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thanks, everyone! I'm feeling much more confident now.

We have foxes on this property. They lice in the heavily wooded ravine that borders the west side of our land. The last sighting was the first time I'd seen one while there was any light out. I feel as though getting electric on that fence is the best I can do until we build the new coop in the pasture.

What we're planning to do is actually put something along that fence - woven wire or something similar - and put hotwire along that. We have multiple energizers because of our goat fencing, so we will make sure it's good and hot. Our other fence puts out 8k on wet days and 10k on dry ones, so we should be able to make that sucker "spicy."

 

[rjmyooper]

I was once told to put in a hotwire then bait it. For bear use sugary stuff. For deer use peanut butter. For fox, idk. But they will try to lick it, get a shock, then never come back.

 

[ChickensComeHome2Roost]

I would put a couple strands of electric fence on the 3 foot fence to keep them out. Its important to bait it. Once one touches it with their nose your chickens should be safe. I wouldn't be too concerned about how one would get back out because they're excellent climbers and can jump. An electric fence might make it harder to get out though.

My plan for now is to run electric wires along that top fence. I'll see if I can extend it. How high should it be, do you think?

Can you attach fiberglass rods (or pvc pipe)& extend the fence posts to make it taller? If so you can run a couple strands above the 3 ft fence too. Best to run the first wire 5" off the ground and the others 8" apart