Fox Sighting

[glassdragonfly]

I am having a fox problem now. Already got 3 of my girls! All 3 With two dogs,my husband and I all outside within sight! It even ran back and tried to get my old roo with me chasing it. We have had foxes before but never as bold as this one. It's days are numbered. All the chickens are locked up and are not happy. Well except Hawkie,He has all the girls,and no worries about the neighbors roosters!

 

[Xerocles]

Fox are the WORST! I agree electric fence is your best option. I wouldn't even trust a dog to keep them away as fox are bold and sneaky. I've read stories where a pair of foxes worked a dog away from the flock...one led the dog off while the other grabbed a chicken. I had a similar situation a few summers ago. I shot at a fox creeping on my chicken run. I missed and he ran off to the woods. Came back about 15 minutes later (a different, smaller fox), led me to the front of my property, I heard chickens going off and as I ran back to the chicken runs I saw the fox I originally shot at running away.

May I suggest a little target practice mat be in order? LOL

 

[cmom]

I had a fox kill my favorite bird in the middle of the day. I see fox and coyotes on at least one of my game cameras most every night.
Lost a duck the other night
This is one of my chick/grow-out coops. I do have electric wire around all of my coops and pens.

 

[centrarchid]

The last two evenings we have seen two foxes casually walking through our back field and back into the woods. They havent come close to the coops from what we can tell. My concern is what do I need to be watching for? What is their main way of access/attack? Our flocks are safe in their runs, buried hardware cloth, roof, etc. We aren't letting them free range unless we are there and out with them. Is there anything I can do to scare the foxes off?

@Lisa-Lu first I would try to be out at about same time of you saw foxes run by previously. You may find they are maintaining a tight schedule. If so, then your spouse may find it easier to target them when called in with a predator call. Odds are only one will be shot and the other will then be gun-shy, but latter may avoid area for at least a while thereafter.

Foxes are not an everyday occurrence here, but when one is coming in I can usually expect come in a predictable manner in terms of time and direction. When I have had them come in while I am present, they quickly break off hunt and leave once they realize I am looking at them and moving in their direction. The fox taking a chicken with a human present is far from a regular occurrence.

I would first keep chickens penned about time of day foxes known to pass through and try to be present when chickens are outside. Fencing may prove to be your next most cost effective measure to prevent losses. Shooting them can require a lot of time which dwarfs cost of ammo assuming you have a shotgun or proper rifle. Time is money. I have left rifle near a location ideal for getting to when fox comes in, but that can be a pain too.

Dog approach I use is very expensive, especially if it where to deal with foxes alone with a small flock of birds.

 

[centrarchid]

I just had a fox visit shortly after posting what is above. Fox scattered most of free-ranging flock and dogs went after fox as it tried to kill a game pullet it had caught. Pullet just passed away. All remaining birds accounted for except for brother to lost pullet. As we walked around yard the flock came back in except for unaccounted for cockerel and another cockerel everyone, but me calls Harold. As I sat in location I though was good cover, Harold came strolling quietly in. Still waiting and hoping last cockerel comes in. Shooting this fox likely not to be practical because if it returns as part of a route, then it will be coming in while I am typically at work during middle of day. Birds will need to be penned. Dogs can run fox off and potentially even kill it, but fox tries to be sneaky with respect to dogs. Dogs have to get real close to getting it before fox will stay away for a while.

I am hoping fox comes back shortly for pullet like they often do.

 

[cmom]

Here we see mostly coyotes followed by foxes. Possibly because it's hot here in Florida for several months, they roam mostly at night and sleep in their cooler dens during the day. The exception is mostly in the spring when looking for mates and then to feed their young and when they are hungry, I see them more during the day. The one that killed my favorite bird, killed her during the day. I have eliminated a couple of fox that killed some of my birds. Both stank and were mangy.