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

[neo71665]

Sounds more like a coon to me. As said foxes generally kill and run off with their prey. Possums and skunks tend to go for the belly.

About the only way to trap a fox isn't with a live trap. In my 30ish years of trapping I've only seen one live trapped and it was really young.

 

[JoCoKS]

My chickens were outside —roosting on top of the coop. We put them in and secure the coop every night. We believe a fox jumped up and startled the flock which then fled and it picked them off, one by one.

My husband caught the predator in the act because he said he saw something run off. I just don’t think it had time to carry off the birds.

Anyway- looking for suggestions to prevent further attacks...Motion detector lights on/near coop?? Obviously, secure my ladies inside at dusk- not wait until it’s dark.

Thanks!

Why not have your chickens go directly into the coop and lock it up like I do, I do not worry about my girls at night because their coop is built like a small house even the walls, floor and ceiling are insulated and the plywood on the interior is even painted to make it easier to clean. A predator would have a hard time getting into their coop. FYI: I am a retired professional architect so I built them a nice home.

 

[Chckn Whsperer]

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.

so sorry about your girls . Over the years,I have lost chickens and ducks. I have had fox, raccoons, eagles, hawks and a small weasel/mink. It is so hard to keep free range birds safe. I always feel when they are in their run, fenced in on all sides and top, that I'm somehow doing something wrong. I sell some eggs, neighbors, strangers and some clients. I have a cooler with a coffee can inside. Honor system. Ive never had a problem. Everyone has always told me my eggs are delicious and tasty. This is because I feed them bugs.Even though they are in a large area, have different objects for play/boredom, i want to give them the best “free range” experience. I have cows too. I make different piles of manure for compost. Hay is mixed in. As it breaks down and becomes dirt, there are many bugs!! I scoop up a bunch from each pile every few days and put it in run for my girls and roo. This allows them to scratch and find treats. I also provide sand. They need to take their dust baths. Keeps mites away-mostly. I spray with an essential oil mix too Springtime predators are the worst. Everyone is really hungry after winters slim pickings and of course babies. More mouths to feed. I do let girls out sometimes-but only late mornings when im around, and they need to be in way before dark. I have learned this the hard way. More than once
Keeping everyone safe is literally a full time job. We have tons of land so there are lots predators. I also have seen raccoons and skunks eat eggs. Fresh. Fertile/incubated. Terrible. Broody momma ducks can hide a nest from us, but not other animals. Babies that are about to hatch or have just, are vulnerable to raccoons, skunks and weasels. I have seen skunks pawing through a nest and eating everything. I never would have believed it. Ever.
good luck. I hope you raise more hens. I can’t imagine life without mine now

 

[Exiragirls]

So sorry about you flock. I too lost my 4 hens a couple of months back and believe it to be a fox or coyote. All four gone! Just feathers left behind. So heart breaking for sure. It is true, the safest way is not free ranging but they are happier free ranging rather than being locked up even in a big run....I think locking them up before dusk will help. But free ranging will always have risks....I like them happier and free so the risk will always be there.

 

[Thomas70]

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.

Foxes are mostly nocturnal but one showed up more than once between 9 and 10. I have not seen one past that time. After I learned its time frame I was able to keep watch and kill it. I had set out cage traps but caught raccoons and possums.

 

[Thomas70]

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 doubt it was a fox because one came and caught a rooster and a duck and carried them off to their den. I saw it with the rooster in its mouth. I shot at it from a distance and it dropped the rooster and ran, and the rooster was shook up but OK and doing well. The fox showed up each day between 9 and 10. Knowing his time frame I watched was was able to kill him a day or two later. He was walking around the pen trying to get in.

 

[Sarkchick]

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.

A fox would take the whole chicken. Since it was just the head, I'm thinking a possum got to them

 

[LizzzyJo]

I am so so sorry for your loss. Certainly build a run, but I would’nt take their freedom away entire by no longer free ranging. Just do an hour a night before dusk. Supervised by you or a dog? Or maybe free range for a bit during the day (3-4 hours) if you generally only have nighttime predators and then call them into the run for tasty treats and lock them up in there. Then you can go back out after dusk to lock them in the coop. Remember to secure the run like Fort Knox if you plan to use it like this. Take in to consideration how long you free ranged without issues. If it was a long time then maybe you can consider doing it again after some time has passed. It’s just so good for their happiness.

 

[50-45-1]

Dont know what took 7 heads and left with no bodies, but my post would be about your coop.
I am thinking you have a small prefab.
Your chickens were roosting on the roof likely because inside the coop is to small, maybe not ment for 7 chickens, not well ventilated, ill placed roosts or just not a good setup for them.
Im not aware of your location, what state or county you are in, how much room you have, or if you are in a city situation or country setting. All of these factors make a difference.
Chickens know that roosting high as possible is safer from preditors. Thats why they were on the roof.
Rethink your coop before you replace your hens. Think about a walk in.
Your prefab would be fine for a broody hutch or isolation pen.
Sorry about your sweet hens.
The coop i have today is a direct result of multiple preditos showing me where the flaws in my set up were throughout the years.

 

[Howard E]

For those who think they are doing their birds a favor by allowing them to free range, you are probably correct to assume they are happy......right up to the moment when the varmint nabs them.....at which point the fun is over. But the one who must be positively giddy in all that is the varmint. He can't believe his good luck.

There seems to be two tracks of thought on this......Option A is to free range and accept losses. Option B is lockup.....and less happy birds.....but still very much alive.

Then there is Option C.....create a set of bubbles or zones of protection. At night, when birds are most vulnerable and predator activity is high, birds are protected inside Fort Knox. This Fort Knox coop does not need to be made of bricks or stone or bars, but is made sturdy and tight. Nothing gets in. It really is not that hard to do. Most who fail at this do so out of ignorance....which is not stupidity. Stupid is not doing what you know you ought to do and assume it won't matter or you simply don't care. Stupid has gotten a lot of birds killed.....but so has ignorance.

Then there is the question of what to do during the day. Wide open, anything goes free ranging is highly risky. So filters have to be employed. These filters are all porous to some degree or another. Dogs, guns, traps, etc, are probably the most porous, but are better than nothing. Fully enclosed runs are the least porous....but are also restrictive. The key is to find a balance of both worlds.

So long term, what has proven to work as daytime filters most of the time are fences. Physical fences are often employed, but these also have problems. Many varmints negotiate these on a daily basis and except for the most restrictive of them, may not even slow varmints down.

What does baffle them and takes the fun out of chickens entirely is an electric fence. The same unsuspecting predator that would crawl under or through a physical fence will try that with an electric fence and get lit up in the process. I saw one of my barn cats get it and he jumped 5 feet in the air and went crazy.....running around in circles out of panic he was going to get it again. Has never been near it since. He has no clue what an electric fence is, only that if he goes near it, it bites. So he avoids it. Long term, predators learn the same thing. They come, they get the crap kicked out of them, they leave. Big time negative reward.

Chickens do the same thing. They learn to leave it alone........so will stay inside. So knowing that, you can enclose an area that is large enough to satisfy the birds (and just as important.....you) with this goal of allowing them access to the great outdoors......where they can chase bugs, eat your garden and do all the things we like to see them do. Only then get to do it in relative safety.

Does this work? I'm going into my 5th year raising birds, and employing the methods outlined above, I have had zero (0) birds lost to predators. That would be none.