FOX: Is there ANY way to get EVICT them from the premises?

[Astrid]

We have a large Victorian home in a neighborhood of large Victorians on small, in-town lots. Behind our house we have a big carriage barn, and part of the barn has been our coop for several years. Two years ago I lost my whole flock to a fisher. Prior to this, we have had a small flock of 8 hens for 15+ years and never had a predator attack. One of the hens we lost was 8 years old. Anyway, I didn't replace them right away, and for two years (that we know of-- most likely longer!) a family of fox have been living in under the barn, cavorting in the back yard. We set up a trail camera and they're very active. Last summer they raised 4 kits under there, despite our many attempts to get them to leave, and the fact that we also have three big dogs in our fenced yard. They don't seem to care. This year we need them to GO because we have chicks ordered, set to be delivered on 4/28.

Is there any effective way to get fox to LEAVE?! Other than shooting them; as I said our lots are small and our neighbors are close. We have tried everything: solar powered flashing "predator" eyes, ammonia-soaked rags, motion-activated water blaster, radio, dog urine, husband urine, coyote urine (bottled. who knew?) tin foil, hardware cloth, crushed red pepper flakes... all to no avail. Latest was heavy-duty no-dig spike strips that are buried in the ground, to deter digging under. Last night they moved several cubic yards of dirt and rock and dug down 16" and got in again. We are at our wits' end.

Is an effective fox solution that doesn't involve firearms a rare unicorn? Does ANYTHING work?

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Thankfully I’ve never had to deal with anything other than hawks and opossums. But maybe @aart and @azygous could pitch in here.

 

[aart]

Thankfully I’ve never had to deal with anything other than hawks and opossums. But maybe @aart and @azygous could pitch in here.

Really, give the forum more than 7 minutes to respond.

Latest was heavy-duty no-dig spike strips that are buried in the ground, to deter digging under. Last night they moved several cubic yards of dirt and rock and dug down 16" and got in again. We are at our wits' end.

Pics of this dig in would help.
About the only things you can do is make your coop and run impenetrable, add hot wire, disturb the den.

 

[Astrid]

Really, give the forum more than 7 minutes to respond.


Pics of this dig in would help.
About the only things you can do is make your coop and run impenetrable, add hot wire, disturb the den.

Hubby already piled in some boulders and filled in the dirt they moved. This is what he installed at the edge of the barn, securing hardware cloth from the ground to the underside of the barn:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...animal-barrier-10-pack-dd3103210?cm_vc=-10005

 

[azygous]

I highly recommend hot wire. The principle behind hot wire is tempting the predator to engage with the hot wire and receive a strong, very unpleasant shock. Many people mistakenly think hot wire is to provide a protective barrier. It does not. Most predators will ignore the wire and proceed to find a vulnerability in the run to access a free meal. The secret of making a hot wire setup work to repel predators is to bait the hot wire at intervals with something the predator finds irresistible.

My most persistent predator is the black bear. This animal will defy any and all barriers, electrified or not. A bear is like the Hulk. It will effortlessly take apart any barrier between it and chicken dinner. The difference is a little substance called peanut butter. I dab it at intervals on the hot wire and the bear comes around and is distracted by the peanut butter as it comes near the run. I've watched as a bear licks the peanut butter and gets a searing message deep in its brain via its wet tongue.

The experience is so painful, that individual bear will never ever return. This will work on foxes, coyotes, stray dogs, and raccoons. The cat family requires a somewhat different bait in order to deliver the lesson as peanut butter isn't a huge thing for them. But fish is.

I had a bobcat kill one of my hens by jumping on the run enclosure and panicking the hen into escaping through an unlatched gate. I chased the bobcat off, and knew it would return the next day, because this has happened before. I opened a can of mackerel and rolled the fish into a "burrito" of chicken wire and then I attached that to the hot wire with more wire to form a continuous circuit. The bobcat returned and received its lesson when it tried to eat the electrified fish. That cat never returned.

 

[aart]

Hubby already piled in some boulders and filled in the dirt they moved.

Might have to keep doing that.

This is what he installed at the edge of the barn, securing hardware cloth from the ground to the underside of the barn:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...animal-barrier-10-pack-dd3103210?cm_vc=-10005

This might be would probably be more effective...along with the hotwire.
Good examples of anti-dig apron installation.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wire-around-coop.1110498/#post-17093528
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/new-coop-project.1169916/page-2#post-18481208

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Really, give the forum more than 7 minutes to respond.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just need ta be helpful.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just need ta be helpful.

And you helped, no?

 

[PepsiCatt]

traps, maybe, if they big enough

 

[TenderfootFarm]

I highly recommend hot wire. The principle behind hot wire is tempting the predator to engage with the hot wire and receive a strong, very unpleasant shock. Many people mistakenly think hot wire is to provide a protective barrier. It does not. Most predators will ignore the wire and proceed to find a vulnerability in the run to access a free meal. The secret of making a hot wire setup work to repel predators is to bait the hot wire at intervals with something the predator finds irresistible.

My most persistent predator is the black bear. This animal will defy any and all barriers, electrified or not. A bear is like the Hulk. It will effortlessly take apart any barrier between it and chicken dinner. The difference is a little substance called peanut butter. I dab it at intervals on the hot wire and the bear comes around and is distracted by the peanut butter as it comes near the run. I've watched as a bear licks the peanut butter and gets a searing message deep in its brain via its wet tongue.

The experience is so painful, that individual bear will never ever return. This will work on foxes, coyotes, stray dogs, and raccoons. The cat family requires a somewhat different bait in order to deliver the lesson as peanut butter isn't a huge thing for them. But fish is.

I had a bobcat kill one of my hens by jumping on the run enclosure and panicking the hen into escaping through an unlatched gate. I chased the bobcat off, and knew it would return the next day, because this has happened before. I opened a can of mackerel and rolled the fish into a "burrito" of chicken wire and then I attached that to the hot wire with more wire to form a continuous circuit. The bobcat returned and received its lesson when it tried to eat the electrified fish. That cat never returned.

This. Make them touch it. Most predators seem to know to steer clear of hot wire, but if you can get them to lick it...