Fox problem

[equustears]

Every year around this time I have a few chicken come up missing to a fox. Just a few hours ago I lost my first chicken of the year to a fox. I did lock all the chickens up and will keep them locked up for now. I haven't had a fox in the coop yet and don't want it to happen. Do motion sensored lights help keep them away a night? I have to work tonight and thought about getting a few to put up in the morning if it will help. I do have 3 chicken friendly dogs that do a good job at keeping them out of the yard, but my coop is right next to the wood line. Any help would be great.

 

[Sea Wolf]

I will not kill a wild animal because it's "doing what it's meant to do"....I don't want my chickens to die but I refuse to annihilate an animal that is instinctual.

The fox is doing what it is supposed to do. To be honest, I welcome them around as, not only are they interesting to watch, they will also catch and kill any stray rats around that have been attracted by the feed. The foxes job is to hunt for itself and family if it has one. My job is to protect my chickens. I do that with secure fencing and there are not any clashes. It is something you do just once. You don't need to monitor it and everyone is happy.

 

[Kekko]

I want to say I do love fox they are one of my favorite (predators) and I know they are just trying to make a living which is fine as long as they don’t do it in my bird yard. We have a lot of them around the area and I see them often out in the fields I haven’t had a fox problem for about three years. Last time was when I had a female teaching her 3 pups to hunt. The bird yard was easy training for them. Finally found where they were slipping through the fence and set my snares. That eliminated that problem in about a week. This winter I found a single set of tracks in a skiff of fresh snow one morning. Fox had jumped the 6 foot chain link fence and wondered around our back yard and into the bird yard. Lost his tracks down in the ditch where they have lots of cover. Snow melted but in the next three nights we lost 7 of our Free Range chickens. Then we got another skiff of snow and I managed to find where he was squeezing through a 6” by 8” hole in the field fencing by the ditch. Set my snare and ended the problem that night! He was a young male figure he was run off from the family group when they started breeding.

 

[equustears]

I had a fox issue the first year here. I have motion lights on all corners of the house and they do light up the coops with the geese , ducks, and chickens. I can tell you those lights go on all hours of the night .
I also keep the weeds around the coops mowed , clear to the tree line. Helps dogs see what’s coming
I have a fence around the coops also so that they have a chance to get away or I can close gates and leave for a while and not be real worried.
I also have heard that placing fabric softener sheets along bottom of coop helps but doesn’t do much for free range chickens
I think that the most important addition were the geese. They are unbelievable at watching and setting of an alarm that my dogs have learned (basically because I start screaming, running for the birds and l look like I’m losing my mind) that this alarm means trouble and they start running and barking even if they can’t see the predator. The geese alarm for hawks , neighbors dogs, cats , Fox, coyote, people. My one dog has even begun looking up if he can’t see anything on the ground.
I lost 2 of my sweet hens the first summer and it broke my heart . The fox were cheeky and would come right in as close as 20 ft from me. My dog was young but that first summer I spent hours on the porch with him. The hens and geese were also young but they knew where we were was safe . I’ve watched my dogs run fox clear off property and last year I didn’t see one fox here. I’ve added 6 ducks to the flock and they all free range . I try to leave barn door open so they have s place to hide, coops are left open for a hiding place but at night we are in tight lockdown. Dusk comes and everyone knows coops are where it’s safe.
Hope you can get some ideas from my story. First year I really got a lot of gray hair.

 

[two j farm]

I had 14 birds killed two years ago...by a weasel, I never went after the weasel(I miss my birds every day)....I was angry but you can't stay angry at a predator (It's all they know) I don't "give predators" human feelings, they're wild animals,I hand raised a new flock..Killing wild animals.....I just won't do it.

Would you kill it if it attacked you??

 

[usmcpilot06]

my .223 takes care of any pest problems nice and fast. Once in a while a coon or fox still shows up unaware what he is getting into.

 

[duncan5]

Every year around this time I have a few chicken come up missing to a fox. Just a few hours ago I lost my first chicken of the year to a fox. I did lock all the chickens up and will keep them locked up for now. I haven't had a fox in the coop yet and don't want it to happen. Do motion sensored lights help keep them away a night? I have to work tonight and thought about getting a few to put up in the morning if it will help. I do have 3 chicken friendly dogs that do a good job at keeping them out of the yard, but my coop is right next to the wood line. Any help would be great.

 

[two j farm]

Make your wire either chicken wire or hardware cloth. The fencing you show on your run has holes that are too large. If that is around your run that is where the fox is probably getting in. They are not a large animal and they will be able to fit through those holes. Find your holes and weak spots in your fencing and close them up and you won't even need electric fencing. Keep your chickens in the coop until after dawn and then let them out. Foxes rarely hunt in the daytime.

Every time I lose a chicken its been in the day time. Between 12 and 4pm.

 

[Jack Speese]

I think an electric fence is a good solution. It's worked for me in the past. The only other sure fire predator-proofing method is a solidly-built coop and a run with a top, preferably made out of turkey wire and/or hardware cloth (even a small determined predator can tear chicken wire, and since I live in the South too, I know how fast it can rust). And you need to bury or firmly anchor the bottom edge somehow. I've done it both ways, bury it a foot deep and/or flare it out and cover it if I can't dig deep, or line the bottom of the pen with landscape posts and nail it to them. I know a lot of folks don't like salt-treated lumber but I don't know any other way to keep it from rotting or eaten by termites, especially here in the South. And your electric fence could help here too. You may not be able to keep as many birds because building a big pen like this can be expensive, but I'd rather keep fewer and have them healthy and safe then keep a lot and always be losing some to predators. I occasionally let my birds out to forage but most of the time I keep them penned. For me hawks are the worst predators. And domestic dogs. Again I know a lot of folks will disagree with me and I respect that, but I'm not above applying the 3 S's when it comes to predators - shoot, shovel, shut up! But you have to actually catch them in the act to do that, and most of the time they come when you're not around. Prevention is the best remedy, even if it means keeping fewer birds.

 

[Jack Speese]

I think an electric fence is a good solution. It's worked for me in the past. The only other sure fire predator-proofing method is a solidly-built coop and a run with a top, preferably made out of turkey wire and/or hardware cloth (even a small determined predator can tear chicken wire, and since I live in the South too, I know how fast it can rust). And you need to bury or firmly anchor the bottom edge somehow. I've done it both ways, bury it a foot deep and/or flare it out and cover it if I can't dig deep, or line the bottom of the pen with landscape posts and nail it to them. I know a lot of folks don't like salt-treated lumber but I don't know any other way to keep it from rotting or eaten by termites, especially here in the South. And your electric fence could help here too. You may not be able to keep as many birds because building a big pen like this can be expensive, but I'd rather keep fewer and have them healthy and safe then keep a lot and always be losing some to predators. I occasionally let my birds out to forage but most of the time I keep them penned. For me hawks are the worst predators. And domestic dogs. Again I know a lot of folks will disagree with me and I respect that, but I'm not above applying the 3 S's when it comes to predators - shoot, shovel, shut up! But you have to actually catch them in the act to do that, and most of the time they come when you're not around. Prevention is the best remedy, even if it means keeping fewer birds.