Fox Problem :( - advise

[centrarchid]

Owl will also take head and neck only leaving carcass in place. I know routinely leave a carcass in place and setup camera to monitor who visits. Subsequent visitors not always killer.

 

[JanetMarie]

You can turn on a radio.

 

[centrarchid]

Mink or your UK weasel?

 

[Dona Worry]

Foxes do poop ann urinate on food caches, but I've never heard of one leaving the kill behind like that.

Unfortunately, in my experience the only way to get rid of a fox problem is to kill all the foxes.

 

[varidgerunner]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...t-devastate-native-wildlife-expert-warns.html

Article was from three years ago.

This one from 2011
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ea...-Bushy-tailed-bandits-ready-to-go-native.html

If they were spotted in 2011, they have had time to colonize the entire island. There are probably far more than anyone knows, I'll bet a pack of coonhounds could find out how many there are, but hound hunting is illegal over there. Oh well, enjoy your coons. How does it feels to be colonized? (My Native American heritage allows me to ask that.)

They are doing pretty well in Germany.
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2012/08/13/hordes_of_raccoons_invade_germany.html

I hear they are in France too. That is an easy swim for a raccoon to get to your house, but doubt they would have to, they like to ride in boats.

 

[Folly's place]

Electric fencing!!! Howard E has good information on this site, and Premier1supplies has an excellent website too. If it's legal where you live, several strands of electric with a good charger, always on, will deter most land predators.
It's difficult to trap foxes in live traps, and only if you can then shoot them will it be worth trying.
I do hope you won't have raccoons!
Small weasels are difficult to keep out with electric fencing, but this isn't a typical weasel story either.
Keep your flock in for now!
Mary

 

[Kfults]

Can you build a secure run? Hardware cloth 1/2 inch top and sides with an apron all around out at least 18 inches? Even a hardware cloth fence with bird netting and an apron would give them more protection

 

[Dodoman]

My edvice is to seek the foxes territory and if you have a gun try to take him/her down.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

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?

If you want them to free range around your garden area, then I HIGHLY suggest getting the electrified poultry netting 48" high and a strong energizer that puts out at least 1 joule of energy. I have attached an example of what it looks like. I live in Ontario, Canada and we have lots of fox around as well lynx and black bears and wolves. A fox will not jump over the fence. Instead, when they see a prey, they will run full blast straight at it. I've seen a fox run right into the electric fence and nearly get stuck. He jumped back and ran off when the shock was delivered. I also suggest reinforcing the netting fence poles as they flimsy. I used wood stakes with plastic zip ties. Use plastic pegs to hold the bottom wire down to the ground.

 

[cmom]

A fox is generally a digger and an opportunist. I had a fox dig under a gate to one of my pens. It killed several birds. I would kill one and drag her out then go back for another and on and on. I tried a live trap but she wouldn't go in it so I put out leg traps and caught her. She may have had pups but she killed several of my birds. I put electric wire around my coops and pens. I have heard especially in the spring when the pups are wondering around and don't know about the electric until they touch it and they don't try again once they get zapped. My voltage is around 9000/10000 volts. It will make your heart skip a few beats. I put concrete under my gates and heavy duty netting over my pens.