Foxes and chickens?????

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

I have a chicken yard and we get a lot of critters through at night but lately I have found very recent fox scar in my chicken yard. At night both my roosters crow and it’s 4 in the morning does this mean I have foxes around

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

 

[llombardo]

I would say yes. When mine crows, I'm out there within seconds with my german shepherd following closely behind. The rooster has not been wrong yet. He stops crowing once we get out there, because we have seemed to form a team and he knows I will keep him and his girls safe.

Mine is very good about alerting me to threats out there. At first I thought oh no he is going to start crowing at night, but that is not the case, it's only when he hears and sees stuff.

 

[DobieLover]

It could very well be that he hears a fox but it's really just a guess. Roosters will crow when they feel there is a threat nearby.
You could install a game camera and then you will know exactly what is setting off your boy in the early morning hours.

 

[WthrLady]

mine crow about 4 am regardless, and then konk back out again. I swear he enjoys waking up the world, and then rolling over and going back to sleep. When foxes, raccoons, skunks come around, my birds go silent and still.

 

[llombardo]

mine crow about 4 am regardless, and then konk back out again. I swear he enjoys waking up the world, and then rolling over and going back to sleep. When foxes, raccoons, skunks come around, my birds go silent and still.

This isn't the same time. In my case it's been closer to 1-2 am and it's been raccoons, Opposums, a skunk and one unknown(by smell either fox or weasel/mink and I still don't know for sure)

I know my first thought is be quiet so they don't hear you, but then I thought ok silence is not the answer here because I'm sure the predators smell them and I know they were trying to get in before the electric fence.

My boy Prince and I seem to have a different kind of bond, I let him take care of the girls and he relies on me to do so when he can't. It's very hard to explain, but I have seen this with him multiple times. If he can't do something he calls out to me, it's a different noise he makes. If I don't acknowledge his need, he crows. The day he almost died he came directly in front of me and collapsed. It was clear that he needed help and that was his way of getting help. He could have gone in any direction where I wouldn't have saw him. What he did and continues to do amazes me. He is a very smart boy.

Almost reminds me of a dog. If a dog barks all the time, it's hard to decide when there is a threat, but if they hardly bark and then they do, you look and take notice.

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

That is incredible really. I know there is something out there when both my roosters start crowing

 

[Wezdin]

My rooster used to crow at night if we had a campfire lit, I guess he thought it was the sun coming up at 9 pm.

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Haha

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

Interesting mine have never crowed before 3 or 4 am. They do however make a weird whining noise when their roosting and sense danger.