Fox killing my babies

[cmullet]

please someone help and fast~ started with 6 chicks, 2 were stolen out of the pen night before last, small opening in the gate of the pen. secured it 110% for last night, woke up this am and it looks like she pulled the chicken thru the chain fence without entering it!! its a chain link wrapped in a smaller wire so the smaller chickens cant fit thru it! we video taped it but i cant bring myself to watch it, husband will after work today and confirm its what i suspect ( a fox, one took out my whole flock 2 yrs ago and i just got the nerve to start again) the only thing i can think of was that since the chicken is young, she didnt know to be afraid?? and it grabbed her thru the fence, there is no access, fox even tried to chew thru a couple of spots. please help! i only have 3 left, i dont want to give up my girls again.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It sounds like a raccoon to me.

Do they have a coop you can close them in at night?

If not a large dog crate you can put inside the pen can work....they can be away from the wire that way.

I am sorry for your losses.

If you post pics of your set up we can help brainstorm ways to keep them safer.

 

[Trish1974]

It sounds like a raccoon to me

Agree.

 

[cmullet]

It sounds like a raccoon to me.

Do they have a coop you can close them in at night?

If not a large dog crate you can put inside the pen can work....they can be away from the wire that way.

I am sorry for your losses.

If you post pics of your set up we can help brainstorm ways to keep them safer.

yes, just spoke to the girl I got my chickens from and she said the same thing, sounds like a racoon. I cant bring myself to watch the video as my chickens are my babies and I don't want to see her being killed. they definitely didn't get into the pen this time and reached thru. yes I can lock them up in the coop at night, but its so hot here I may just do dog pen like suggested. but do I have to do this forever???? the girl I got the hens from says she has a trap that I can use. I would rather not kill it but relocate it. would that work?? we have a deer feeder and we have video taped a family of like 5 racoons eating the corn all at once! will it be never ending???? anything I can do to deter them as well??

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I actually say fox, because
A. You've had fox problem before
B. I had the exact same thing happen to my ducks. One hen ripped in half through the chain link.

My guess is they were in the pool in the corner. Fox spooked them, ducks did their goofy awkward trying to run away dance, one got too close to fence. Done.

This fox has since been terrorizing my farm. My shopping list this month includes a 30 aught 6.


To help secure your chain link, you can buy galvanized steel "hardware cloth." I only bought a 2' high roll since my birds are shorter than that and there's no roosting in the run yet.
I used metal twine, cut into twist tie lengths, folded over, and literally twisted with pliers (again like a bread tie) around the hardware cloth and chain link together. Pain in the butt, takes two people, but only needed ties every foot or so.
Don't forget to overlap gaps where needed, like poles.

 

[cmullet]

ok, I guess we will know for sure when husband watches the video. I am not a fan of killing, but I would kill whatever is doing this, husband may not agree with that.
I will let you know what is on the video later this afternoon when he gets home.
thank you!

 

[21hens-incharge]

yes, just spoke to the girl I got my chickens from and she said the same thing, sounds like a racoon. I cant bring myself to watch the video as my chickens are my babies and I don't want to see her being killed. they definitely didn't get into the pen this time and reached thru. yes I can lock them up in the coop at night, but its so hot here I may just do dog pen like suggested. but do I have to do this forever???? the girl I got the hens from says she has a trap that I can use. I would rather not kill it but relocate it. would that work?? we have a deer feeder and we have video taped a family of like 5 racoons eating the corn all at once! will it be never ending???? anything I can do to deter them as well??

I would be closing them in the coop at night, every night, for the rest of their lives.

If you have adequate ventilation it should be the same or similar temps to outside.

Even though I live in the middle of town I close my birds in the coops each and every night. We have owls, Fox, raccoons, hawks and more.


My run is chain link too. I have chicken wire over the top.

Adding hardware cloth to chain link helps but I don't trust just wire to keep birds safe.

 

[DuckWhisperer06]

I actually say fox, because
A. You've had fox problem before
B. I had the exact same thing happen to my ducks. One hen ripped in half through the chain link.

My guess is they were in the pool in the corner. Fox spooked them, ducks did their goofy awkward trying to run away dance, one got too close to fence. Done.

This fox has since been terrorizing my farm. My shopping list this month includes a 30 aught 6.


To help secure your chain link, you can buy galvanized steel "hardware cloth." I only bought a 2' high roll since my birds are shorter than that and there's no roosting in the run yet.
I used metal twine, cut into twist tie lengths, folded over, and literally twisted with pliers (again like a bread tie) around the hardware cloth and chain link together. Pain in the butt, takes two people, but only needed ties every foot or so.
Don't forget to overlap gaps where needed, like poles.

If you’re using a 30:06 on a fox, you won’t have any fox left.

 

[cmullet]

I would be closing them in the coop at night, every night, for the rest of their lives.

If you have adequate ventilation it should be the same or similar temps to outside.

Even though I live in the middle of town I close my birds in the coops each and every night. We have owls, Fox, raccoons, hawks and more.


My run is chain link too. I have chicken wire over the top.

Adding hardware cloth to chain link helps but I don't trust just wire to keep birds safe.

thank you! I will let everyone know what it is attacking them

 

[DellaMyDarling]

If you’re using a 30:06 on a fox, you won’t have any fox left.

Which is perfect, as far as I'm concerned.