fox keeps coming every night

[farmer12]

please help what should i do

 

[sourland]

The two quick answers are fortify your pens/coop and shoot the fox. Unless you do something, it will continue to return until there are no more birds left.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The two quick answers are fortify your pens/coop and shoot the fox. Unless you do something, it will continue to return until there are no more birds left.

I agree!!!!
Foxes will soon begin birthing. At that time you can often smell a fox den further than you can see it because of all the dead prey that first the father and then both the father and the mother brings back to the den and drops for the kits to either eat, play with, or allow to rot. They know where the neighborhood Denney's Restaurant is, and its your chicken coop. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said. "I'll be back!"

 

[farmer12]

ok thank you

 

[XavCas]

Just make sure you lock everybody up everyday and watch out. I was out of town and the neighbors were watching our chickens and I had a Buff Orpington sitting on eggs and the fox came at around 6 ( when the time was changed, so it was daylight ) and got her.

 

[centrarchid]

Are you suffering losses?

If yes, you may be able to deny fox with modest modifications to your night-time containment. Prior to present dogs, I had to tolerate fox coming into yard and patrolling pen area. I made so chickens roosted outside of fox's reach. If fox could make chicken bail from roost, then I had so fox could not work perimeter of pen easily. Fox would try to get chicken to walk to edge of pen where it could be grabbed. When fox was successful, this resulted in bird being decapetated or loosing a wing. It does not take much to make so fox cannot use this strategy. I also went out when birds were disturbed but this required opened window.

You can also use trap (live or otherwise) with penned birds used as bait. Such return foxes are easy to catch. Dispatch fox if captured live since homing abilities make relocation impractical.

 

[farmer12]

no i have not lost any yet

 

[Shellz]

You have a gun? BB won't work. I have had chicken losses every year from the first we moved out here. Grrr! Finally, I got all the legal requirements taken care of (Canada stuff) & ready to get those @$!!!?&@$! foxes! I have a .22lr ready & waiting for this spring! I will harvest the tail for future coyote decoy. Those buggers are here too!

 

[centrarchid]

if your birds are not being taken, then fox likely visiting for rodents. This would be OK with me so long as effort not redirected at poultry. Upgraded containment of birds should keep birds out of harms way. A couple years ago I had coyotes going through my yard every night yet did not loose any penned birds to them. Often predators present but other targets are of interest. Hammer them only when they are causing trouble.

 

[Shellz]

By then, you've probably lost a bird or more. It's just a matter of time......with spring coming, they'll have hungry kits to feed. Then when kits are older, the parents train them to hunt. Good luck!