LlamaGirl4
Crowing
About 2 hrs ago as I was checking on the poultry for the last time I heard my German Shepherd puppy going ballistic from inside the house. My puppy, rascal is being trained to protect my flock and other livestock safe from predators and he is trained to not bark unless he smells something dangerous. I knew something was wrong and I could hear loud hissing coming from the chicken coop.
I went and investigated and saw about half of my flock(about 30) were sitting low in a tree. The rest were either already asleep or hiding somewhere in the coop. The door was open for the chickens to go in and they have always just gone inside the coop. Well on the side of the coop opposite of the door I saw this pair of eyes and at first thought it was a coon. I quickly turned on the coop lights to see what it was and saw a dark red fox. I ran over to it and it ran away into the woods. I have never seen a fox around here but I know they are very smart. I couldn’t find any chickens bodies but I’ll have to count the chickens tomorrow to make sure *sigh* that’ll be a lot of counting. I double checked the ducks and they were all sleeping soundly. I put the remaining chickens in the coop and searched the ground And for holes and weak spots using a flashlight. Nothing.
I’ve never seen a fox around here before and it worries me.
Will foxes hunt during the day? My chickens and usually ducks are free ranged.
What is my best bet on keeping the flock safe from foxes?
Should I start letting my German Shepherd puppy out? He is only 6 months old and not done with training. I don’t want him to accidentally killing or hurting one of the birds thinking he was helping.
TIA
I went and investigated and saw about half of my flock(about 30) were sitting low in a tree. The rest were either already asleep or hiding somewhere in the coop. The door was open for the chickens to go in and they have always just gone inside the coop. Well on the side of the coop opposite of the door I saw this pair of eyes and at first thought it was a coon. I quickly turned on the coop lights to see what it was and saw a dark red fox. I ran over to it and it ran away into the woods. I have never seen a fox around here but I know they are very smart. I couldn’t find any chickens bodies but I’ll have to count the chickens tomorrow to make sure *sigh* that’ll be a lot of counting. I double checked the ducks and they were all sleeping soundly. I put the remaining chickens in the coop and searched the ground And for holes and weak spots using a flashlight. Nothing.
I’ve never seen a fox around here before and it worries me.
Will foxes hunt during the day? My chickens and usually ducks are free ranged.
What is my best bet on keeping the flock safe from foxes?
Should I start letting my German Shepherd puppy out? He is only 6 months old and not done with training. I don’t want him to accidentally killing or hurting one of the birds thinking he was helping.
TIA