How flexible is a fox?

[MeepBeep]

I know what you mean by the double u bend tunnel....I'd call it a torturous path.
Like a tight s-curve...too tight for a foxes longer body to navigate.....interesting idea,
but I think foxes are that flexible, they're pretty skinny and not that long.

I still doubt you could get a chicken to use a tunnel, but I'm imagining you would need to use an 8" or 10" PVC for a chicken to be able to potentially navigate? An S curve in 8" or 10" pipe isn't exactly all that tight for an animal that sleeps like this and has a body that is only about 4.5" wide (less fur)...

 

[gawildlife]

Just for kicks google patterdale terrier and read the history and breed standard. It was bred to go to ground after fox and kill the fox in it's sett. Read a little on that style of vermin control and you'll quickly understand why no form of tube will be effective as a fox deterrent.

 

[aart]

Quote: I said nothing about a chicken going thru such a curve.....

.......only said I understood his concept and that a fox was flexible enough go thru such a curve.

 

[Sutremaine]

Yeah. A fox might curl up into a circle easily enough, but curling up into a zigzag isn't what its spine is designed for.

 

[MeepBeep]

I said nothing about a chicken going thru such a curve.....

.......only said I understood his concept and that a fox was flexible enough go thru such a curve.

I understand that you didn't say anything about a chicken going through it, but isn't the entire concept and idea posed by the OP based upon the chicken actually being able to go through the tunnel as well?

 

[centrarchid]

Sutremaine,

Looks like you are getting a bit of a hazing but are holding up well.


I agree the tunnel option will not be effective option for protecting the chickens.

The chicken wire is far from useless against a fox and can be a good method for protecting run perimeter from lighter predators like a fox. With the exception of dogs, most predators will not chew their way through wire at every opportunity as it likely hurts.

Have you considered using electrified fencing of some sort? Multiple options possible and you could protect your run very effectively even from dogs when poultry wire is the main barrier. Low end cost would be about $100 but employing electrified poultry netting would be easier to setup and might be able to contain your birds as well.


I have employed elevated roosts against raccoons and foxes but the latter can sometimes run up a wall making birds up to 10' above ground vulnerable. Higher roost I would prefer if fox is not threatened if stays around too long probing your setup but that requires birds with strong flight abilities. A less elevated access to coop with something like poultry wire or a weight sensitive perch could be employed to filter out the the fox.

 

[Sutremaine]

I remember when the Internet was less of a method of communication and more of a place. I've got pretty thick skin online. The tunnel idea was something to ponder, since it would be useful to have a 'door' that would let a chicken through exclude anything powerful enough to get into the less fortified day pen. Random thought: I wonder how that would work with a bear? You'd have the regular wire mesh to keep out the smaller stuff, and a metal fence on hinges for when the bear gets through the regular wire mesh.

What would you get for that hundred dollars, in terms of netting and power source? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but it seems to be a pretty expensive option in the UK.

 

[centrarchid]

I remember when the Internet was less of a method of communication and more of a place. I've got pretty thick skin online. The tunnel idea was something to ponder, since it would be useful to have a 'door' that would let a chicken through exclude anything powerful enough to get into the less fortified day pen. Random thought: I wonder how that would work with a bear? You'd have the regular wire mesh to keep out the smaller stuff, and a metal fence on hinges for when the bear gets through the regular wire mesh.

What would you get for that hundred dollars, in terms of netting and power source? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but it seems to be a pretty expensive option in the UK.

You could get a low end fence charger, grounding rod, hookups and insulated wire, a small spool of hot-wire, bag of small insulators and a very small number of posts. You might be able to skip the posts if you already have post for run perimeter that insulators can be attached to. Foxes, red in particular, are a pain the butt to keep out. I employ a range of methods for my various flocks during the production season. The electrified fencing has easily been the most cost effective when the birds are confined. Fort Knox gets expensive real fast unless engineer something that looks like a shanty town. Dogs which I also use are the most expensive yet and I assume not an option in your locality. Dogs also the most dynamic but have slow ramp up to full protection.