Fox repellers?

[centrarchid]

See some of how of my ground is laid out. Areas defined by netting need not be perfectly flat or allow for square pen.

 

[chicknmania]

yeah, I do see, and it looks nice, but how do you know there's no predators INSIDE the fence? We have mostly woods.
Incidentally, the foxes have not been around for two days now. I heard gunshots yesterday evening.....not that that's not too
uncommon around here, but I just wonder if someone dispatched them. We even had a chick get out of the tractor this afternoon,
and it remained whole and in one piece, for a few hours, til we rescued it....hmmmm...

 

[centrarchid]

Your efforts to protect chickens whether free-range or in a coop is a numbers game where desire is to at least reduce losses. Occasionally predators do get inside fence but occurrence with poultry netting much less than it would be otherwise. In my case my dogs can get into netting resulting in a very bad situation for predator that is often not as good at getting out as in. Dogs do multiple sweeps during day for bad guys and chickens are very good about notifying dogs that a bad guy is present.

chicknmania I think you are going to loose a few more birds before you take proper actions.

 

[Michael Apple]

Build a pen large enough and secure enough like Fort Knox and you won't lose birds. Range birds when you will be present, set out traps and cull predators to keep the population down. Remind surrounding predators by hanging carcasses out on a field fence. Vultures will clean it up before too long. They don't like the smell of death when it comes to their own. Sounds cruel, but it is either your animals or those animals.

 

[chicknmania]

WEll, day 3 and the foxes have not been back. Knock on wood. And, today in the local news they were talking
about the declining fox population in Ohio, due to the overpopulation of coyotes, and that is the reason foxes are
seeking shelter from humans. .

Think I did mention in the very beginning of this post that I know that culling predators is an option, and that I preferred to only do that as an
extreme last resort. We've had chickens since 2005, have always free ranged, and have lost a few to predators. A few. We prefer repelling predators, rather than killing them.

WE have been out on our property at irregular times, have not been releasing the flock til afternoon, and have been turning the talk radio off
and on at unusual times throughout the day, and moving it around. Seems to help, maybe. .

Thanks.

 

[chicknmania]

Your efforts to protect chickens whether free-range or in a coop is a numbers game where desire is to at least reduce losses. Occasionally predators do get inside fence but occurrence with poultry netting much less than it would be otherwise. In my case my dogs can get into netting resulting in a very bad situation for predator that is often not as good at getting out as in. Dogs do multiple sweeps during day for bad guys and chickens are very good about notifying dogs that a bad guy is present.

chicknmania I think you are going to loose a few more birds before you take proper actions.

WEll, we'll see. I've heard that in the past too. There are lots of ways to play the game. And, we've had some chickens for eight years, ever since they were chicks, and we still have em. Quite a few, as a matter of fact. Always been free range, except when they were small, and always lived here. So I think "proper actions" when it comes to dealing with predators,...is a matter of opinion. Chickens in an enclosure can die just as easily as free range chickens, under the right circumstances.. I was just asking for thoughts on repelling the foxes, not a judgment call on how we take care of our flock really. Thanks though, we appreciate your input.

 

[TOP KNOT]

My horse is really a curious brat...If anything "different'' comes into the pasture....here he comes. All of his 1200 lbs. and his hooves. Nose down and running to the new ''toy'' Any coyotes, raccoons, opossums etc.they don't even come into the pasture!! My mare could care less about those things but he is nutty. So that is what keeps my chickens safe in the pasture, my ''guard horse'' I do lock the chickens up at night an when I am at work. We see coyotes in the neighbors pasture on occasion.