Foxes take away my joy of keeping chickens.

[JDN]

Even if we had a gun, AND could learn to shoot accurately, we'd have to be waiting when the fox shows up. And get a clear shot. It just doesn't seem practical...

We have two dogs, and I'm sure if they saw a predator they would go ballistic noisewise, but again both these killings happened without them alerting us.

You don't have to learn to shoot it accurately. Just poke the barrel between the holes in the live trap and pull the trigger.

What kind of dogs? You could let the fox out and let the dogs get it.

 

[bruceha2000]

Eating off the heads and not carrying off the corpses--that seems weird. Is this some other animal, like a raccoon?

That is the MO of a coon.

 

[Trish1974]

Agree with @bruceha2000 the headless night time kills sound like a coon.

And yes, fox ARE hard to shoot. I am a damn good shot and have yet to get a kill shot on a fox. They just don't stand still long enough.

Sorry you are going through this.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Have you considered building the chickens a secure run and only letting them freerange supervised? Enclosed in a safe space with enrichment is better than freerange and being eaten.

 

[MsBrahma]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, the more I investigate, the more it sounds like a raccoon. Might just be a coincidence that we had a fox the day before. We are thinking about installing a cheap motion-activated security camera. At least we would better know what the heck is lurking out there.

Yes, Fishkeeper, a secure run and supervised field trips may be what we have to do. Our setting hen will soon hatch her chicks. She and the babies are all we will have left.

What are the pros and cons of electric fencing a relatively large area?

 

[Trish1974]

Thanks, everyone. Yes, the more I investigate, the more it sounds like a raccoon. Might just be a coincidence that we had a fox the day before. We are thinking about installing a cheap motion-activated security camera. At least we would better know what the heck is lurking out there.

Yes, Fishkeeper, a secure run and supervised field trips may be what we have to do. Our setting hen will soon hatch her chicks. She and the babies are all we will have left.

What are the pros and cons of electric fencing a relatively large area?

I don't see any cons in electric fencing! If you are talking like acres of fencing it might be a pain to maintain, such as keeping the grass and weeds from growing into it. If you don't have electricity in the immediate area you can get a solar charger. I wouldn't have a flock left it if it wasn't for electric fencing!

 

[Howard E]

I have never lost a bird to a predator. As I see it, the two key reasons are:

1. A tight house that is predator proof, which protects the birds at night.
2. A yard area where the birds are free to roam around during the day that is protected by an insanely hot electric fence....a fence designed to keep chickens in and predators out. Fence is made from 4 strands of 17 gauge aluminum electric fence wire on plastic step in posts. Lowest wire is set to skim the surface of the ground with about 5 inches of gap between the wire and ground. Remaining wires are spaced at 5 inch intervals, so top wire is only 20 inches or so above the ground. You could make this as small or as large as you like. From 50' x 50' to 5 acres.

There is some maintenance involved......main issue is keeping grass and weeds down under the fence to keep it from shorting out. But that is a small price to pay for no lost birds.

 

[Howard E]

This is what my fence looks like. It differs from poultry netting in many ways, but is every bit as effective. You actually want to encourage predators to touch it by crawling under or through, or if you want to cut to the chase, bait it so they will sniff or lick it.

Once zapped, you could hardly force a predator to return to test it again. No chicken would be worth that!

 

[Trish1974]

@Howard E What prevents a predator from jumping over the wires at only 20" high? I've seen fox jump between a 5' farm fence and a strand of barbed wire that only had about a foot of space between the two.

 

[Howard E]

I believe it is a combination of two things. First one is that with this fence, they NEVER try to jump it initially. No need to when they can slip under or through it.....which is what they do with every other fence like this. But in doing so, they almost always get zapped. Likely as not, they will jump forward, which means they are then trapped inside. If they try to get out the same way, they get zapped again. A double dose of burning love.

I watched that happen to one of our barn cats.....he got halfway under it when he raised up enough it got him in the back. He shot forward about 30 feet.....stopped.......looked panicky and jumped straight up in the air about 4 or 5 feet......came down......ran to the nearest tree......shot up that......came right back down......zipped around inside the fence....flying around like a hooked bluegill on a cane pole........finally took off on a dead run towards the fence......went airborne and blasted through between the 3rd and 4th wires.......ran 50 feet......stopped.......then cut back across the front lawn heading back towards the barn at a dead run. He has never been near that fence again.

As to why they don't just jump over it, my guess is they fear what might wait for them when they come back down. Once they leave their feet, they lose all control and ability to react if things go wrong. This assumes they have felt the fence before.......so would have to make that leap of faith that all will be well when they come back down. My guess is the fear of another jolt like the last one.....and this time one they can't escape from......creates enough fear in their minds they won't try it.

Which brings us to the last of it.........electric fences are NOT physical barriers. Not like any other physical fence. They are a mental barrier. Once an animal has felt the wrath, they fear another dose of ungodly pain and that is enough to keep them out.

Which amazing as it sounds, applies to the chickens too. Once zapped.......they won't cross it either even though they easily could hop over it. They don't....at least not to get out.