Fox buried neighbor's chicken in my garden this morning

[Chicken poppy]

That's one brave hawk! A fox is a completely different animal with a different risk-benefit equation though, you can't equate the two scenarios. If the hawk fails or things turn against it, it can just fly away. The fox is a ground animal and, attacking another ground animal of comparable or larger size, especially another carnivore with teeth and claws, is a huge risk with no clear path to escape. The dog can attack in self defense and give chase, and seriously injure the fox. Foxes aren't stupid, they know that.

I have seen a fox get into a pen of chickens (my neighbors chickens) with a few golden retrievers. I’m sure it‘s not to common though, i just think if they are desperate enough they might get in with a pen of dogs. I know one with mange would because i’ve had a few mange ones by our house and they would literally do anything for food. (Though this is a different scenario because this fox doesn’t have mange, just thought it was worth mentioning.)

I’m not sure where the conversation started before i had replied, i realise now your probably talking about a dog twice the size of a fox and the fox attempting to eat it being impossible, if that’s the case sorry I misunderstood. I assume you meant some self defense or a smaller dog.

 

[K0k0shka]

I have seen a fox get into a pen of chickens (my neighbors chickens) with a few golden retrievers. I’m sure it‘s not to common though, i just think if they are desperate enough they might get in with a pen of dogs. I know one with mange would because i’ve had a few mange ones by our house and they would literally do anything for food. (Though this is a different scenario because this fox doesn’t have mange, just thought it was worth mentioning.)

I’m not sure where the conversation started before i had replied, i realise now your probably talking about a dog twice the size of a fox and the fox attempting to eat it being impossible, if that’s the case sorry I misunderstood. I assume you meant some self defense or a smaller dog.

If it's desperate, then yeah, things change and it can be braver than usual, but usually they don't like taking unnecessary risks. Or maybe the fox is smart enough to know that golden retrievers aren't exactly the scariest of dogs

The dog in question is about the same height as the fox, but only because his legs are short - his torso is thick and chunky and his head is bigger, and he's overall heavier. If it was a tiny thing like a chihuahua, I'd be worried, but this guy isn't all that tiny. I only mentioned him because I thought it was funny how he could scare away the raccoons, when they are easily twice his size (we've got some chonkers over here!) I don't think the fox would mess with them either. Except maybe their babies if the mom is away.

 

[Denisea3465]

I get where you are coming from, but obviously the people didn't really care about losing the chickens or they would have done something to protect them. Sad for the chickens, but it's kill or be killed and the fox happened to come out on top this time.

Not necessarily. I have been working my rear off for the last two years shoring up, rebuilding, buying what I think will help but still keep losing chickens and ducks to foxes. I would't assume they don't care.

 

[rockymountain]

A few years ago on my property, by the road. A person dumped a large floppy ear rabbit with babies. The babies got hit by cars, but noticed mom was surviving in the trees. I tried to catch it but couldn't. I was going to set a trap but changed my mind thinking something happened to it. During the winter I saw the fox tracks chasing a rabbit tracks, so haven't seen the rabbit since. A few weeks later the fox entered my fenced area, I am guessing under our gate. Dug up one of my chickens I had buried about a foot down and had a cement block on top. Never found the body of the chicken. A few weeks later the fox found an opening in one of my coops and killed two young chickens that were in a separate area for joining the flock. I was so angry. They were both eaten, not buried. Later my dogs found a dead raven that was buried on my property, not sure where. We have a lot of predators including coyotes, so I am guessing something happened to the fox as I haven't seen any signs or tracks. I am guessing the raven was feeding on a dead deer and the fox was able to grab one and killed it.

 

[Geena]

Not necessarily. I have been working my rear off for the last two years shoring up, rebuilding, buying what I think will help but still keep losing chickens and ducks to foxes. I would't assume they don't care.

That's a completely different scenario. In this case the people allowed the chickens to run loose through the neighborhood, get out in the road and be picked off by predators.
I hope your rebuilding helps. Foxes are very intelligent and determined. Have you tried electric fence yet?

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

We used to let our chickens range all day. I really didn't feel comfortable with it, but DH said that's what we were going to do, and it was fine for several months, no incident. Until a fox finally came along, just shortly before we got home from being out, and took two of our birds in one day. So the next day he took the fox with the bow from 40 yards, through the basement door, so the neighbors wouldn't see.

We started keeping them locked up most of the day since then, with only limited, immediately supervised ranging. I feel bad for the chickens not having more space - they will once we move - but at least they are safe. He has seen at least one more fox since then of course, and I have seen hawks swooping down, even right next to the enclosure! Must have realized they couldn't get in and flew off.

We also lost our drake, which DH buried out back and now you guys are making me wonder if his body is still there, either. But then once he was gone, we could start keeping the hens all together so at least everyone is safe. It really is a hard tradeoff that keepers need to work out for themselves, one way or another.