Foxes

[new2chickes]

So I've had a fox wipe out 14 of my chickens, I was free ranging but that had to stop, anyways I want to get my chickens back out ASAP, I'm wondering if anyone has had success with electric poultry fencing?

 

[GuineaFowling]

I have never used it but read that it does work. Just make sure your hens don't get to it.

 

[JackE]

I have a problem with foxes around here too, among other various ground predators. I got away with freeranging for almost a full year, until the fox discovered my chickens. Then in a couple of months period, I lost 17 birds in just two daytime attacks. Premier's electrified poultry netting was the answer for me. I started with 300' of it, it worked out so well, over the last few years I have bought 350' more. The fox are still around, but they have learned that the fence bites, HARD, so they keep their distance. They won't even approach it anymore.
As far the chickens themselves go, within a few days after the fence was put up, they learned to keep their heads away from the fence. You definitely will hear, when a chicken gets too close to the fence. It does not seriously hurt them, but they do learn to be careful around the fence.
I've had my fence up now, going on three years(Next month), and I think it has been one of the best things I have done for my birds. They get to come out everyday, in a pretty big safe area, and I don't have to worry about them.

 

[new2chickes]

This seems like the logical answer to me thank you for your input! I'm beyond devastated and I can't catch the fox in the yard the one time I did I didn't have the rifle on me. Ugh

 

[JackE]

Believe me, I know how you feel. My daughter was the unlucky one to come home to the aftermaths of both attacks. That made it kinda personal to me. Like I said, the fox are still around. But like you, I don't have a gun with me all the time. I've seen them, while out in the yard, on more than one occasion, sitting out on the edge of the treeline, watching the chickens. The day will come, when I see one, and have quick access to my rifle, and that will be one less fox.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I've posted this video before but it answers your question. Besides, to do damage a chicken would need to become entangled in the fence as well as grounded. I have found several executed snakes on the bottom strand of an electric fence but I only remember loosing one hen in over 20 years. Five dead hens a century verses 14 dead hens lost in the blink of an eye to one pair of fox in one season seems like a good trade off to me.

You don't need the expensive net wire just a 5 or 6 closely spaced strands of regular electric fence and a charger with enough joules to light up anything that comes in contact with the wires. This will train even a bear to give your chickens a wide berth.

Install a good grounding rod drove deeply into the Earth, and a lighting arrester and your good to go.

Deep snow is Maine makes an electric only a part time solution but if you keep your birds inside during the winter the fox is still end played. Foxes are notoriously poor at electrical engineering. If you can educate the pair killing your chickens to what an electric fence is during warm weather, it is unlikely the lesson learned will be forgotten when the Winter snows begin to fall.

Listen closely and you can hear the snap of the electric spark when this fox gets bit. He loses all interest in a chicken dinner after that.

 

[Pinkaboo]

Ha ha ha
Poor fox though, I'm a fox lover so won't be wearing fox fur anytime soon

 

[GuineaFowling]

Ha ha ha
Poor fox though, I'm a fox lover so won't be wearing fox fur anytime soon

I am the same, though I don't think I could wear any animals fur. I love foxes but they can become quite the nuisance when they go after our beloved chicken friends. They remind me so much of my cat. He is a lanky orange and white cat with that long fox face. He trots like a fox and acts like a fox but luckily the guineas have made sure he is afraid of all large poultry. Unfortunately, he will still go after my quail but he won't get them unless I am not looking. I lost two button quail chicks to him. He ate them out of the brooder in my house but I love him too much to have done anything more than to yell at him and kick him out for a couple of days. I don't blame him, he's a cat and cats have high prey drives.

 

[new2chickes]

What about them jumping over the fence?

 

[JackE]

What about them jumping over the fence?

I sure, if an animal was capable of critical thought, they may come to realize, they could just jump over and get what they want. But they don't. Animals, always check out things with their noses. Especially something strange between them and a potential meal. They do that with this fence, they get 7000Vs through their face. Once they do that, they don't want anymore. They don't even want to come close to the fence. This fence, flat out works.