Fox took whole flock in under a week

[chickenKatie17]

I fox got my flock :/ it wasint a very big flock, I had eight hens and a rooster, but still it was pretty sad. Any one have any fox deterrents? I don't want the furry bugger in at my new little ones I just got. They are still inside, they are only a few days old, but I don't want the fox to come for them once I put them out side. I have dogs and goats, and the chicken coop is inside the goat enclosure.

 

[Chick Charm]

Well you have some options. If you can, enclose the coop and run in a manner that NO predator can enter into it. Maybe making it tight inside the goat enclosure. You may want to bury chicken wire around the perimeter to prevent digging. Dogs do help but family pets usually are not the best LGD's if you know what I mean. You can trap, if you are lucky. Foxes are very wary of traps. You can kill it if that is what you want by shooting it. If you can't trap or kill it will come back eventually.

Wish ya the best.

 

[chickenKatie17]

Well you have some options.  If you can, enclose the coop and run in a manner that NO predator can enter into it.  Maybe making it tight inside the goat enclosure.  You may want to bury chicken wire around the perimeter to prevent digging.  Dogs do help but family pets usually are not the best LGD's if you know what I mean.  You can trap, if you are lucky.  Foxes are very wary of traps.  You can kill it if that is what you want by shooting it.  If you can't trap or kill it will come back eventually.  

Wish ya the best. 

Yeah... I think I'm going o start closing the little hole we have for the chickens. The reason I haven't before is because I live in the desert, and the only four legged predators I have seen are coyotes and bobcats who most defiantly cannot fit through the hole we have in the coop, our baby goats can barely squeeze in, and they are tiny. I have never even seen a wild fox before, but my neighbors have .-.

 

[JackE]

Look into getting some electrified poultry netting from Premier. That was the answer for my fox problem. I lost sixteen birds in two separate daylight attacks. I now have 600' of the netting/fence surrounding my coop. You can get either household electric powered, or solar if you want. You can enclose a much larger area with the netting than with a wood framed wire covered run, for waaaaay less cash.
Jack

 

[Chick Charm]

I used to camp at Ocotillo Wells and there was a family of fox out in the middle of the desert. At first I was surprised and shocked to know that foxes were in the desert but they definitely are. I never seen any foxes when I lived in Buckeye Az. Coyotes & quail everywhere but I never saw a fox. But I do know that they can live in the desert.

Electric fencing is probably best. Also (I have never used theses) red light flashers triggered by a motion sensor will help deter night time predation from what I understand. I would never use this as my soul means of protecting the flock for sure though.

 

[luvmyEs]

I feel your pain. A fox has been stalking my house and took my male Muscovy today. I'm sure he was defending his lady friend. He has survived an attack before when I left him outside one night (he wouldn't let me round him up), but I doubt he would survive the attack today when I was at work.

I called the state fish and game to ask if they would do anything. They said since my fox is coming during the day that babies are involved and the only solution is for me to kill it.

My premier fence is arriving on Tuesday so I'll let you know if it helps or not.

 

[SandyAcres]

We got Great Pyrenees dogs, they have not let anything harm our animals, and before we got them we were loosing lots of chickens. It's not the answer for everyone, but if you do make sure you get a puppy to raise up with your animals, not a grown dog.

 

[lakebound]

After a raccoon got in my coop, I read up and educated myself on everything to do so it never happened again. I added a chain link fence around our chicken wire, and took chain link fence and wired it to the coop and buried it around my entire coop. I took metal roofing around the wood of our hen house and put it on my roof. Nothing has gotten through since. You can also take dry concrete to the floor of your coop and sprinkle water on it to harden it. Make it kind of thick about 2 foot around the edges so nothing digs under it. I also added a snap lock to the door so savvy coons can't open it.

Just to let you know, I now have a very expensive coop but Charlie and the girls are safe and sound!