Foxes...

[SammyLady]

Usually my ladies free roam our pretty large property, but today they're "coop"-ed up. The foxes have started moving in... They were out watching my husband lock the birds up the other night then yesterday a little before we usually lock 'em up there he was trying to sneak into our yard... Luckily my mother in law was driving by and seen him and let us know... Hub grabbed the gun and I went to make sure all the birds were in the coop, they sure were all perched and safe!

But the fox got away... We walked across the road and wouldn't ya know 4 holes right across the road, I was a bit surprised they were so close!!

Sometimes my birds cross the road and where these dens are, they're walking right in to feed these foxes...
What do y'all to to keep them away?
We are getting the lot behind their coop cleared to put a fenced area in for them, so that's a work in progress...
Foxes seem to be the only problem critter we've had to deal with though. . .

 

[Bigwig]

Good Luck!!

 

[SammyLady]

thanks!

 

[rottlady]

put up some electric poultry netting. Keep the birds in (as long as they don't fly over) and the fox out. This is baby time and the foxes are looking to feed their kits

 

[wamtazlady]

put up some electric poultry netting. Keep the birds in (as long as they don't fly over) and the fox out. This is baby time and the foxes are looking to feed their kits

This is exactly what I did. Only one I have lost is one that refused to stay inside the fence. Before I could catch her and clip her wings she because fox lunch. The other 15 are smart and stay in where they are safe. The foxes moved across the street where my neighbor is dealing with them having a den and eating her chickens. She stubbornly refuses to put up electric fencing even though she is losing a lot of birds. She keeps buying chicks to replace the lost hens which in turn get eaten.

Before using the electric netting I lost 6 out of 8 hens in a few days to foxes. The two survivors were so traumatized that they stopped laying.

 

[yochickiemomma]

I live by the three S's when it comes to predators. I have 5 acres and it's all hard woods. The only issue Ive had is fox. I lost 3 and had one severely wounded. My girls get to free range when Im home the rest of the time their confined to their coop and run.

 

[rottlady]

Ha I don't have enough bullets to shoot, shovel and shut up every predator on our mountain top farm. We have weasels to bear and absolutely everything in between plus assorted death from above. I am not even going to be able to let mine free range at all period not even with an electric fence. The electric is just to keep them safe in their coop

All of our neighbors have lost all their free range chickens. One lost 28 in a month. Mine will be in solid mobile coops surrounded by electric

 

[SammyLady]

Ha I don't have enough bullets to shoot, shovel and shut up every predator on our mountain top farm. We have weasels to bear and absolutely everything in between plus assorted death from above. I am not even going to be able to let mine free range at all period not even with an electric fence. The electric is just to keep them safe in their coop

All of our neighbors have lost all their free range chickens. One lost 28 in a month. Mine will be in solid mobile coops surrounded by electric

Wow! 28, that's awful! the most we lost in one day was 7, and 6 of them died being scared to death the fox was in the yard!

 

[SammyLady]

put up some electric poultry netting. Keep the birds in (as long as they don't fly over) and the fox out. This is baby time and the foxes are looking to feed their kits

electric... the birds don't get zapped?

 

[rottlady]

they do but it won't kill them and it's a rare bird that needs zapping more than 1-2 times to learn to respect the fence