Fox attack?? (Warning- content could be considered graphic)

[Chicken_Little11]

Fox have done that to me. My whole flock of guineas in 3 days. They are hard to capture or shoot too. "Sly as a fox" is true.
Keep the birds pennd up in the run. Dont let them free range anymore. Thats the only solution i have for you. Increase the size of your run if needed. It sucks not being able to free range but no matter what time of day, those fox will show up and there quick.

Sorry to hear you lost your flock, too. That’s always sad to hear. Thanks for the good advice. We currently don’t have a run but maybe we will consider building one after this incident. Would having roosters around help prevent/deter future attacks? Also, once you have a predictor like a fox in the area, would setting a live trap and trying to capture and relocate be advised?? I know you mentioned they are “sly” and hard to trap. Thanks again.

 

[Punkybrewster]

Capturing/trapping doesnt usually work. They always come back or have another to take their place.
Roosters are great to have but fox sneak up and grab. A rooster would be useless except maybe give a warning after its too late. Sorry to say the only way to solve a fox issue is to pen them up.

 

[Chicken_Little11]

So so sorry for your loss! Just heart breaking

Thank you.

 

[Chicken_Little11]

Capturing/trapping doesnt usually work. They always come back or have another to take their place.
Roosters are great to have but fox sneak up and grab. A rooster would be useless except maybe give a warning after its too late. Sorry to say the only way to solve a fox issue is to pen them up.

Yeah, I figured as much...where one fox is, there’s sure to be others. Sad I will have to stop free ranging but it does seem like the best way to protect the girls. Thanks again.

 

[Hidrainja4]

Ohio it is illegal to relocate. So check with your state Department of Natural Resources.
My house cast a shadow onto the coop in late afternoon and my chickens start hanging out like, Oh it is getting dark we have to go inside. So I put them in way before sunset. It just happen that way. I let them out well after sunrise because I have seen raccoons in early morning. Just about everything eats chicken. Free ranging sounds so much like the garden of Eden not the real world. A secure run with something on top to keep the hawks out and something along the bottom to keep the diggers out. My situation is different. I have a dog who loves to sit with the chickens for hours, never trained just is fascinated with chickens.

 

[Punkybrewster]

A good dog will keep the predators at a distance. Very true.

 

[Punkybrewster]

We never had issues till our dog died.
Finding a good outside farm dog who doesnt eat poultry is a solution

 

[hayley3]

Posting tonight with a heavy heart—just lost my entire flock (all seven sweet hens) to what I can only imagine was a fox??

My husband went out to put our girls in the coop for the night. They free-range and roost on top the coop at dusk. He discovered something had killed all of them by eating the heads but leaving their bodies completely intact. Could this predator be a fox? No skunk odor in the air.

Thanks.

I am so sorry...it is devastating to find your flock killed.
I recommend having a baby audio monitor in the coop if you have electricity out there.
I always put my chickens in before dusk and don't let them out until I am sure the raccoons are sleeping and the fox has passed which is 8:30 am cst.
Beheaded chickens are probably the work of a raccoon "family" since all of them were headless. I can't imagine an owl doing all 7. They will all return tonight so maybe you can watch and see them.

 

[aart]

Thank you. True- the focus should be on security; however, knowing what attacked my flock can help prevent future attacks if proper deterrent measures are implemented (i.e. motion detector lights, etc.) Open to suggestions...

Lights are not going to help.

Also, once you have a predictor like a fox in the area, would setting a live trap and trying to capture and relocate be advised?? I know you mentioned they are “sly” and hard to trap.

If you trap, only relocation should be 4 feet under the ground. Yes, they are very hard to trap.

 

[ericswan_1]

Could be Racoons, but here were we are from in ohio we have alot of mink problems(captive bred farms also). We have lost every flock we have ever had to mink, so bad we wont raise any more. Mink would be my guess as to you problem, those little ******* will kill eat head, drink the blood and leave the body lay. All the hundreds of chickens we have lost to them over the years, have not found an ounce of blood. They topically wait till dark and will slaughter a whole flock in a matter of minutes. Like fox they are extremely hard to trap unless you have a very knowledgeable trapper in your area. Like other have said dogs seam to be the best way to keep them at bay. We had the best luck raising birds when the were beside our beagle kennel. Free range birds dont stand a chance and once they know they can get food there they will continue to return. Good luck!!!