Foxes- what we can do to prevent them!!!!

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

Adorable... I love all dogs...

He was a rescue and his name is Jasper

 

[Nats Chickens]

We have a Maverick.1 security system lol!
He is a major fox deterant. We have never so much seen a fox in our 3/4 acre backyard with him there, even though he is now 17, and getting on, a bit. We still have our 4 original chickens plus the 4 day old chicks we added in May. They free-range Planet Earth, so if anyone happens to see ISA Brown types, Black Star types, or White Sexlink types, one of which is crowing, walk past their house, no matter where you are, please PM me lol! [They are really that bad though! I am serious, except, they may not be able to swim either the Indian or Pacific ocean, so, they are pretty much trapped in AU]
We are getting a fence, as this is not a great option, what we have going on at the moment. We are moving them from their coop into our shed, which will be turned into a coop. And there is going to be a 1.8 high heavy duty fenced chicken run around that. This should keep them in.
We do have 5 guinea pigs that had a brush with a fox.
Dad was not home, so Mum was locking the front door. [we kept the guinea pigs in our frontyard because of Maverick] She saw a fox darting away out of the corner of her eye while she locked the door, so she went out the front and walked around the hutch, but he appeared to have been "just looking" as there were no signs of a break in. So she went to bed as it was like 11 at night. She told me in the morning and I moved the hutch right up against the house. All was well that night. The next night my brother said he was woken up to what sounded like a dog in the frontyard, looked out the window and saw a fox at the guinea pig hutch, went outside and walked around the coop to deter it, and went to bed, it was late.
The next day I moved the hutch into the backyard, despite concerns about Mav, and all was fine. He ignoes them, and foxes don't come inot the backyard because of him. A win-win situation!

 

[Nats Chickens]

PS: Maverick is a German Shepherd x Kelpie

 

[Nats Chickens]

Electric fencing is your best defense against fox. My coops and runs are completely surrounded with electric fence, the physical fence is 1/4-1/2" hardware cloth and brought out 18" from the bottom to prevent digging. Member @Howard E has a great article on his page about electric fencing and can tell you how to set up a few strands around your property's perimeter if you free range.

Fox are the worst predator in my area. They are relentless in the spring and summer. It doesn't help that my neighbor free ranges his birds which attracts the fox, and leads them right over to my property. I actually gained a few birds because of fox attacks - walked out on one of his birds being chased by a fox and she flew right up on my porch to get away. I picked her up off my porch swing and guaranteed her safety by keeping her. (Before this I did warn my neighbor of the fox attacks and he didn't care. He didn't even realize he was losing chickens - I had to point out the ones that were already gone. He said they would "just have to fend for themselves".) Two weeks after that incident I saw a fox chasing one of his chickens through my security camera (poor bird was trying to get into my run with my chickens). By the time I got the gun ready and got outside the fox had already grabbed her and was carrying her off to the woods. I shot in the air (couldn't shoot in the direction of the fox) and he dropped her, only to pick her up again and start running. So I shot again, and just kept shooting until he ran off. The hen ran into my woods and I found her huddled up against a tree. I scooped her up and brought her in. She was scalped on her back and missing half her tail. She had two obvious puncture wounds which I treated with antibiotic stuff for 7 days. Turns out there was a third puncture up by her neck I didn't see until way later but luckily that never got infected. She made a full recovery and her and her sister are now part of my layer flock and are living happily ever after. Since then my idiot neighbor has lost 2 more flocks to fox.
This is what poor Lucky looked like when I rescued her:
View attachment 1608060

This is what she looked like 6 weeks later:
View attachment 1608058

I believe I have heard this story before somewhere...Weren't there two or something? Another one came a week later or what? And you got a pure rumples araucana roo to breed with them for their blue eggs?

 

[Blessedthistle]

I'm sitting at my window right now feeling sick to my stomach, as I watch a fox chowing down on my beloved rooster. One of my favorite hens is also missing. I thought my two large, very protective roos would be enough to protect my free ranging flock. They hate being locked in, and I was only going to be at the store for a minute.....well, live and learn. I lost a hen a few weeks ago to an owl apparently, when I wasn't quick enough to get them inside at dusk. I'm not very good at this. My poor birds, who thought I was their caretaker. I've lost half my flock now and I've only had them since march. I never should have complained about getting stuck with 2 roos, and having them wake me up. Now I miss my poor Angelo terribly.

 

[Nats Chickens]

 

[PollyGirl21]

PLEASE READ! I spent a lot of time on this post and I hope it holds some good advice.

I had an encounter with a fox attacking my chickens only once.

I had sometimes seen a fox trotting around our territory. He had never done any harm because our coop was very secure. So I enjoyed seeing the fox and thought it a special treat when I caught a glimpse of him.

For safety's sake, I had only free-ranged my birds when I was out there to watch them. But I was not as diligent about it as I am now.
A couple days before the fox attacked, I was out with the chickens, and spotted 'Socks' (yes we named the fox ) Staring down our chickens from on top of one of one of our rock walls that was lining the fields. (these rock walls were not meant for protection for our flock, they're only there because they add to the beauty of the land) Upon seeing Socks, I herded the chickens into a nook between two sections of our coop, scooped up the smallest hen, and planted myself in front of them. I stood there and stared at the fox in the eyes for a bit, and then he decided that because I wasn't going anywhere he should leave.

A couple days later, I was out there free-ranging them again. Back then, I let the birds stray farther from the coop than I do now. That day, I was inside the coop, petting the smallest chicken inside the hen house. My head was sticking inside the the hen house, so I couldn't see around me. All my attention was focused on that little hen, and not on the others. Suddenly I heard the loud and panicked sound of a chicken being attacked. I rushed out of the coop and saw Poppy, (Or 'Ol Grandma Poppy as we like to call her) Wrestling with a fox. Yes, I said wrestling. You see, she was a very large bird, very plump and strong. I never knew that an old bird could have a chance against a fox! But here she was, putting up a pretty good fight! Obviously, the fox would have won in the end, so without any hesitation I ran at the fox screaming and waving my arms. The fox escaped with nothing but a mouthful of feathers! 'Ol Grandma Poppy, though very shocked, still wouldn't let me pick her up, so I herded her back into the coop. Then I tried herding the silkies, but they, who had witnessed the whole thing, were even more shocked than Poppy! They didn't move. So I picked them up and moved them into the coop myself and they snapped out of it. Then I herded the rest in. I counted heads, then inspected Poppy. From what I could see, she had only received a very small bite on her side. Nothing that couldn't heal on it's own. So I let her body heal by itself. 'Ol Grandma Poppy was quite a tough old bird!

Since then, I have seen Socks around once in a while, bounding through the fields or running into the forest. He keeps a healthy distance away from us, just like before. Honestly, no grudge is being held by me. If I was that poor creature trying to survive, and if I saw a walking meal go right past, I would try to eat to. If a dog attacks chickens, that is a different story. Foxes are trying to survive. Dogs are trying to have fun.

ANYway, from this experience I have learned a couple of tips I would like to share. They may not apply for everyone depending on the size of your flock and if your birds are always free ranging. But they apply to me.
1. Always be there when you are free ranging your flock. Be aware of every bird.
2. Have a secure coop.
3. If a fox does attack, bring everyone back to the coop to regroup. Make sure everyone is there.
4. Check over the bird that was attacked, make sure there are no big injuries.
5. If you see a fox around your chickens, IT WILL COME BACK.

 

[Nats Chickens]

Very good advice!

 

[PollyGirl21]

Since then, I have seen Socks around once in a while, bounding through the fields or running into the forest. He keeps a healthy distance away from us, just like before. Honestly, no grudge is being held by me. If I was that poor creature trying to survive, and if I saw a walking meal go right past, I would try to eat to. If a dog attacks chickens, that is a different story. Foxes are trying to survive. Dogs are trying to have fun.

(Also I'm not saying I don't love dogs. I adore those sweeties! But Electric fencing has to be put up if one is around that has not been trained to be around chickens. Dogs are not scared of humans so they will not hesitate to attack the chickens, even if you are guarding them.)

 

[Clubber1234]

As @Butterscotchbitesfinger tagged me I will post.
My chicken also got killed by a fox and I wrote about it, I hope no more lives are taken.
Here it is:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fox-attacked-my-rooster.1283140/