Fox Problem :( - advise

[mimoo1234]

I've got a bit of a fox problem my set up currently is a large chicken house in an enclosed concrete pen that is protected and secure, but recently when i let my hens out to free range in the garden Mr Fox will appear within the hour and tries to take them. It happened the first time around 2 months ago where he got away with my rhode rock (unawares to me) and came back for one of my white stars but my dog saw it before me and chased him off, saving her life and making me realise that he was around this was around 13:00. They got shut away and I haven't let them out to free range at ALL since. I had never had a problem up until that point. I have CCTV in my garden and have seen 'him' which turned out to be a her in the night with her 3 babies, every night until about 2 weeks a go. Yesterday I made the decision to let them out at 18:00 to enjoy the last of the sun and pop them back at around 19.30. I didn't hear or see anything but came back out to put them away and one of my new hens was gone . I came back out at 21:00 to shut the house up and I found her... she had no head and Fox took the liberty of pooping on her too. What can I do to make my chickens safe in my garden? I thought about electric fencing but surely he could just hop over that?

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

Sounds like you have a bad fox problem I’ve had my 1st place mallard duck taken and other ducks also quite a few chickens. Now I lock up my birds every night, although my dad leaves the chooks out (they have a run but they go in the coop) and the fox(es) is never around.

 

[mimoo1234]

Sounds like you have a bad fox problem I’ve had my 1st place mallard duck taken and other ducks also quite a few chickens. Now I lock up my birds every night, although my dad leaves the chooks out (they have a run but they go in the coop) and the fox(es) is never around.

I don't have the problem at night, its during the day when I let them out the run to roam the garden. Its ridiculous. I've not lost a single one in the dark always during the day.

 

[centrarchid]

Head removed with carcass in place is not work of a Red Fox. Red Fox will cache what it does not consume quickly assuming it as not chased from a kill. You have another player operating now. Can you show a picture of the carcass with feces on it?

 

[varidgerunner]

My advice. If you are starting out with chickens, feed them in a secure area and only put the amount of feed they will clean up in a day in it. Build a secure compost bin, clean up your coop regularly and compost it, well away from the coop. Don't dispose of eggs or dead chickens, table scraps, or bones "over in the woods". Your house and the areas you frequent are scary places. If you leave lots of food laying around, even in the form of rodents, predators will become acclimated to your environment.

In summertime, when the days are long, predators are lactating and feeding young. They need more calories than at any other time and have a shorter period of night time to find them. Not uncommon for them to notice your chickens once they become acclimated to your routine and are there in the early morning looking for rodents.

If free ranged, your chickens should create a rodent free zone, because they should be scouring the land for anything a rodent can eat.This is why I have chickens. Most people feed too much, so on top of all the seeds that chickens don't need to forage for, they have a bunch of leftover chicken feed lying around. Foxes shouldn't ever hunt around your place, because it should be a food desert for them, that they never enter. Coons will still come, but not very often if there is nothing for them to eat.

Body with missing head is coon or possum.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Where are you located?

 

[mimoo1234]

Just so you guys know Im from the UK, we don't have Racoons or Possums here. Possibly badgers but i have never ever seen a badger near my house. Were quite a built up area with a school behind the house.

Unfortunately the carcass was placed in a bin bag and popped in the with food rubbish. The feces was very loose and almost mucus/watery and I believe smelt like fox. I will get rid of the feeders and use my elevated galvanised ones and just pop a scoop in a day and top up at lunch if needed. I know we do have some mice at the moment.

 

[mimoo1234]

Where are you located?

The UK

 

[JanetMarie]

A fox will take the entire chicken carcass with little trace but a few feathers. He will not just take the head and poop on the remaining carcass.

A hawk or falcon will eat the head first, then the chest and possibly poop on the carcass as it is perched on the chicken eating.

 

[mimoo1234]

Well i'm not sure what else it could be :/ I have seen as many as 4 foxes in my garden at one time so have assumed that thats what it is. Only other thing i can think of is maybe it was a Badger but again i've never seen one near the house or on the CCTV, which conveniently didn't catch what happened to poor Bailey

It was definitely not bird poop - it had the familiar smell of my dog when she's rolled in something bad out walking its got to be some sort of mammal. We don't get birds of prey round here really. Just seagulls but they have always left the chicken's alone never had problems with them.

However this is getting slightly off topic. I'm after advise on keeping my hens safe if i have them ranging in the garden x