Life after a fox attack - do they return?

[pgpoultry]

They most certainly do.
I had a fox attack taking 6 hens earlier on this year, and the fox came back on a regular basis for months afterwards ro see if the coops had been left open as they were that horrible night.
Be vigilant....they come back for as long as you have chickens.

 

[chickychicks]

Quote:
We have one male dog (+ 2 females), and now I have my husband barred from the using our bathroom and instead uses the backyard

. I heard that human males work too.

We are extending the fence to about 8 feet on the outer fence btwn us and our neighbor. Right now on top of the run we have plastic chicken fencing. It had a lot of small spots open/gaps as it was more to keep the chickens in and hawks/owls out. We made it gap free (eventually need to have metal fencing on the roof). I think the fox either jumped directly into the run from the neighbors or via the human entrance as it might not have been completely latched and the fox pulled the door open (it is a difficult door to open even when unlatched because it catches on a cement base we put right below the gate door and you have to lift and pull at the same time.). Otherwise we have hard wire dug in 24 inches around the run, the first two feet of fencing is hardwire reinforced + 6 more feet of metal fencing.

Today is the first day I am letting them out of the coop while I am at work, they've only been let out for about an hour a day while I was in the yard. Though I am keeping the dogs locked outside in the backyard (no house snoozing for them...they need to earn their keep). Fortunately it will be in the 60's today and tomorrow, so pleasant for the chickens and dogs.

Thanks for all your thoughts and words!
Trish

 

[chickychicks]

Quote:
Where do you run the hot wire? On top or around? Our run is about 8 x 25 ft.

 

[sonkie]

I just joined this forum tonight. I've been a reader since we got our chickens as pullets back in May. Today we had 5 out of our 6 hens killed around 10 am by a fox. I was home in the house, didn't hear a thing. The dog is normally outside on guard duty, but I had of course let down my guard. We free range them and I've on more than one occasion saved them from hawks. I didn't think that a fox would come in the middle of the day and I just got careless. My neighbors saw the fox with one of my sweet chickens in its mouth running down the street. I was completely devastated. One of my girls managed to survive and she seems pretty distraught. The horrible thing is that while I type the fox has been stalking her now for 3 hours. My husband has been trying to "catch" her as we believe it to be a female. This fox is relentless. I helped him for two hours and at times the animal looked us straight in the eye and didn't even run away. It seems determined to get the two chickens it left for dead as well as get the one that is still alive. I know this is the foxes instinct and nature, but I am having a difficult time not taking it personally. My seven year old is very upset and quite frankly I don't know if my husband and I are going to be able to rest tonight even though we feel like the coop is secure.

 

[pgpoultry]

It IS such a horrible experience.

When foxes are out by day hunting it is usually a vixen with cubs....and the cubs are hungry, so she is extra-bold.
I saw a fox in a nearby field to us at midday. As we live in the country this was, no doubt, a vixen with cubs.
My own fox attack happened overnight (coops inadvertently left open), and we have a very vigilant Border Collie who normally protects the girls very well. He must have been asleep through the attack as he sleeps outside.

 

[darkmatter]

They do return:

 

[Primeacres]

Fox cage traps , ie strong metal cages, similar to the image of the caged fox in this thread are perfect for catching foxes near the run with bait in it. They are heavy though and require two to carry just the cage. Local farmers normally have one lying around if you are cheeky enough to ask if you can borrow it as they are not cheap to buy.

 

[Kismet]

I had an attack last week. I had them free ranging on a Sunday afternoon, went into the house to get a tool, came back and I had one dead by the coop, and all the rest scattered. The dead chicken (my best Ameracauna splash, naturally - why don't they take the old biddies) had had her neck broken and her body was left. I think neighbors walking their dog may have scared it away. I finally retrieved the others hiding in all manner of places. One had a mangled back, very fox like wounds, but she got away. I am still puzzled about the predator - fox or fisher or both? The horrid thing is how fast it happened!

 

[abhaya]

foxes along with most other predators will return.

 

[woodmort]

Yes they will return until they're either destroyed or find they can no longer get at the chickens. I have one that hangs around here but hasn't been a problem since I put up a fence that keeps the chickens away from the lower pasture where he used to pick off one at a time on occasion. I know he's still around because he shows up on my game cam on the lower part of my property but not on the one near the coop.