Fox Help! :O

[starforever61]

For a while now, some fox have been digging and trying to get into our coop. They're getting close and it's getting harder and harder to "redecorate" to keep them out. I told my friend and he set up some traps. Turns out they're either very smart or very light weight that they can get in, eat the bait, and get out without setting off the traps. What should I do? Can I use poison? Anybody have any ideas or experience??? AHHH!!!!!

 

[starforever61]

So does anybody know if I can use poison? Will it have another effect on something else? eep!!!

 

[bobbi-j]

The problem with poison is that an unintended target might eat it. Do you have cats or dogs that could get into it? Can you put an electric fence around your coop? One other thought that's frequently mentioned here. Dig in 1/2" hardware cloth around your coop. Either flat, or dig a 8-12" trench and bury it. Supposedly the predators will get discouraged by the wire and quit digging. Good luck!

 

[arch_cpj]

WOW you need to discourage that little bugger NOW heres a trick I use works well AS LONG AS YOU DO A GOOD JOB IN THE ELECTRIC FENCE!!!! You need a rol of 17 ga electric fence wire... a fencer TSC sells a couple of ones ones 20 bucks the other is 40 ish you want the ones with the continuous power to em get some insulators that are the extension type some go out to 5 inches from your run or you can use regular insulators and pump em out with wood etc whatever you want that wire stickin out from the run and you eant in 3 inches or so off the ground so he tries to dig around it he hits that wire.... Now run 2 or three of those going up 3 - 4 inches everytome outside the run it will be secure hammer in a ground roud at least 4ft into the ground and use a fence tester to make sure you are gettin power to the fence... keep the grass trimmed under it or spray it to kill the grass... now if you want to really get the point across get a couple little metal pie tins wire em to the fence and smear a bit of cat food into it and think about what happens if a wet nose or tonge touches that... Around here we usually hear a good yip and off they go usually never come back but leave the fence on anyway...

 

[starforever61]

There are bricks AND wire dug about 1 and a half feet down. My mom won't let me run electric out there.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Quote:
This is a great suggestion. Maybe you could get a solar powered electric charger?

 

[starforever61]

Solar powered sounds magnificent! I'll try to find that. Also, if we used poison, the dog is too big to fit into the trap that the animal goes into to eat the bait every day. The cat is indoors. The chickens are in the run. Anything else I should know about poison that might discourage/encourage me to use it?

 

[starforever61]

I'd rather the fox be poisoned than the chicken's head be ripped off.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I think if at all possible, you should install the electric and see how that works ckeeping the fox out. There will always be predators that want to eat your chickens, and from what I have read, electric is one of the best ways to keep your flock safe. In my opinion, if you can keep your flock safe with the electric, no need to bother poisoning the fox. Probably the fox will get zapped and move onto easier prey to eat. Won't bother with your pens anymore.
What kind of wire is your run made of?

 

[starforever61]

Nobody in our area uses electric and the place where we got our chickens from have been in business for so long and don't have a problem with predators even though they live right next to a park with no hunting allowed! I don't know what they do, but they don't use electric or poison. Maybe a deterrent spay? I wasn't even allowed to run out a cord for a heat lamp over the cold cold winter. Not gonna be able to do electric. My mom is really paranoid that it will blow up. No idea why. I really want to try your suggestions! Thank you so much. I will try to talk my mom into it.