Red Foxes! How do I get rid of them?

[Tilhana]

Just to add my 2 cents, I agree that killing the foxes is the most expedient option. Electric fencing would probably help but honestly, if you've never had a problem with foxes until now then you're obviously not in an area with a huge amount of predator pressure, and there's no reason why another fox would necessarily move in right away if you killed these two.

Where I live, we have a lot of foxes, and I do lose a few chickens to them every year because I let them free range for part of the day. But my losses to foxes are almost exclusively in the fall. Don't know why, it just seems like fall is predator season around here. I take extra care and don't let them free range as much in the fall, to keep losses minimized, and come winter the foxes are gone. So it doesn't have to be a constant problem. But it does seem like you have a particularly aggressive pair. Especially if one of them is too sick to catch their normal food sources like rodents and rabbits, which are a lot faster than chickens, it may be hanging around your house because it's realized chickens are the only thing it can catch.

I hate to kill wild animals for no reason, but it's probably more humane to kill the sick one, and if they're making themselves daily pests then you have to think of your flock first. Your first responsibility is to them, not the wildlife. Yes mange can be treated but unless you can get animal control out there to catch it and treat it, administering ivermectin to a wild animal is not exactly something most people are able to do. If you're worried about hitting the neighbors' cattle, what if you spend a day or two on the weekend sitting out in between your property and theirs and wait for the foxes, so that you're shooting into your yard and away from theirs? Or talk to your neighbor and find out if there's a day or time when he can move the cows a bit out of the way and you can patrol then? Or worst case you can try to hire someone to come shoot them. But it's better than slowly losing your entire flock.

Good luck! I hope you find a solution.

 

[Tilhana]

Our neighborhood isn't very big at all. The neighbors are letting us know that the fox is running around in day time as their children are outside so Yes very much a dangerous situation believe me it just breaks our hearts because all of these years the fox have come across our front yard and wow they are so so Beautiful we had a very large red fox that did this for years and it never bothered our chickens we also have gray fox which are also so Beautiful with their tiny cat like face so this isn't an easy decision for us to make and I'll have to find someone to do it for us because we just can't kill anything. I was praying someone would know of something we could put out and around to make them not want to stay around. As killing is the last option.

I totally understand. We normally love foxes, we love living in the country and being surrounded by wildlife. I've never killed one myself, but we've never had one become a pest, and it's a difficult decision but I don't think it's unreasonable to consider killing one or two to protect your flock, especially if it's not something you're likely to have to do again any time soon.

I do agree with some people who suggested trapping them and then calling a local animal rescue. You could even call them in advance and ask what kind of traps they would recommend and confirm that they will come pick it up if you catch them. That probably is the most humane thing to do, and it might be easier to trap them than kill them. If they can treat the sick one and move both to a less populated area that will be better for the foxes in any case, and definitely better for your neighborhood.

If you can't trap them, or there's no local rescue that will come take them, maybe try getting your neighbors involved, since they are also concerned. Maybe there's someone who's better with a gun and would feel more confident about being able to hit them. Might be others have thought about shooting them but don't want to offend the other neighbors who live so close, but if you were all in agreement you might be able to arrange something.

 

[Tilhana]

I used to free range my chickens when I was outside with them, too, but this summer my jackass neighbor started feeding 3 foxes, 2 red males & a bald, skin tailed female. The one males actually likes people now & is in my yard constantly catching mice, moles, voles & leaving piles of crap for me to try & avoid stepping in. That little shit walked up to me as watered the veggie garden, playing with moths my hose kicked up. I told the neighbor she's not doing any favors, compromising their hunting skills & making them friendly.

Ugh, I can't stand these animal lovers who think they're doing wild animals a favor by feeding and taking care of them. A wild animal's best defense for survival is its natural fear of humans. As soon as you start feeding them, they lose that, and they become bold and territorial and even aggressive. They start making a nuisance of themselves, which inevitably leads to them getting shot. I understand that wild animals seem cute and cuddly and people want to feel like they're Snow White by making all the little critters fawn at their feet, but people need to grow up and understand the realities of life and stop treating wild animals like pets! </rant>

 

[Tilhana]

Collect your urine and spread around the perimeter of your coop and run. Fox hate human urine, if you know where its den hole is,(find it!) deposit some human urine there too, often , sends a message to move on fox, find a new home. Wherever you know it likes to hang out or kills,Pee there too.

This is new to me! I'm going to try this next year come fox season.

 

[Drummondchick]

Hi I agree with Weeg to predator proof your coop and run, living in South Africa in an agricultural community there are many predators, mongoose, rats, snakes, cane rats, civet, genets, jackal....but we don't kill everything that threatens our flocks or live stock.

 

[lkayla43]

I’m very sorry to hear of your loss. I know people will disagree with me but I don’t think killing the fox is the answer. Not sure if it’s an option for you but I would try fencing in your yard so maybe your dog can be out there to help protect them. We have a few acres fenced in and a dog door so our dogs can watch over the chickens while they free range. Then at night they are shut in their predator proof run/coop. We also laid 2 feet of fencing down along the perimeter so the foxes can’t dig...since then the foxes have moved on and no longer try to come for a chicken. I know it’s easy for everyone to get mad at the fox and want to kill them but try to understand that they have a purpose and are important to the ecosystem. They are just trying to survive like everyone else. The one fox you mention has mange, it can be treated on site or you can trap and take it to a wildlife rehab center.

 

[cpotter1]

We have always had foxes around gray's and reds we've had our chickens for just over 10 years and never had an issue with the gray fox or the red fox until 2 months ago when the red fox had killed 2 Hens.Then this past week we've seen 2 red fox one looks sickly it's tail is like a stick no hair on it and a normal looking one. One of them got another hen and was in the process of trying to grab another Hen 2 days later when my Husband ran up and scared it off and it let go of our Hen she's unharmed.. Since then we've shut them in our small run that my Husband covered the top with wire. They're relentless coming constantly all day when my Husband isn't standing guard outside with them and we hear our Rooster going crazy crowing our German Shepherds run look out the bedroom window and then run to the backdoor to get outside to run over to the pen we have chased the Healthy looking fox off all day! He keeps coming back we see where it killed a morning dove as it's got feather collection piles just inside the woods Help help help!! Our chickens have always free ranged every afternoon and now their not able to leave the run.any suggestions on how to get them to move on??? I truly appreciate any suggestions that would help us save our flock.

A red fox killed many of my chickens. I installed electric poultry fence by Premier 1 and haven’t lost one in the fenced area since. The fox is still around but hasn’t gotten into my birds area.

 

[kimdk]

The sick fox more than likely has mange which will eventually kill him. When a fox has mange he is easier to trap as he is very hungry. You can use a have-a- heart trap to catch him. A trapper will not release him somewhere else. The fox will be destroyed. You can’t remove a predator from one area and put him in another, it is illegal for several reasons. The fox will keep coming back and like mice and rats, there is never just one fox. I have gotten rid of 8 red fox this summer. Just when I thought I got the last one, another showed up. It’s the most I ever had to remove. I was able to trap 2 adults with mange and 2 juveniles in the have a heart (and destroyed). The other 4 got a dose of lead poisoning (from my high powered air gun). Protect your flock and get rid of the fox.

 

[countryladyNH]

We have always had foxes around gray's and reds we've had our chickens for just over 10 years and never had an issue with the gray fox or the red fox until 2 months ago when the red fox had killed 2 Hens.Then this past week we've seen 2 red fox one looks sickly it's tail is like a stick no hair on it and a normal looking one. One of them got another hen and was in the process of trying to grab another Hen 2 days later when my Husband ran up and scared it off and it let go of our Hen she's unharmed.. Since then we've shut them in our small run that my Husband covered the top with wire. They're relentless coming constantly all day when my Husband isn't standing guard outside with them and we hear our Rooster going crazy crowing our German Shepherds run look out the bedroom window and then run to the backdoor to get outside to run over to the pen we have chased the Healthy looking fox off all day! He keeps coming back we see where it killed a morning dove as it's got feather collection piles just inside the woods Help help help!! Our chickens have always free ranged every afternoon and now their not able to leave the run.any suggestions on how to get them to move on??? I truly appreciate any suggestions that would help us save our flock.

We live in NH (USA) and have woods behind us. Our hens love to free range and it makes them happy. We saw red fox a couple times in broad daylight. One was chasing my hen and almost got her when I ran out screaming blue murder. It was only an inch from grabbing her, but thankfully ran. We have a secure, covered run, but do not want to deprive the chickens from free ranging at times. We have a 'brush fence' we made at the top of the hill where our property ends and woods start and we keep a couple LEG TRAPS baited and set in the woods, just at the tree line in backyard. It's up a steep hill and hens do not go there. SHOOT ANY FOX YOU TRAP. They can be sick, and will only keep coming back if you don't. We also recommend putting wolf urine all along the property line. If you shoot one fox, I would leave the carcass at the edge of the property for a couple days, with the wolf urine around it. Because of the type of property we have there is NO WAY for us to have any electric fencing, so these are things we do. We also have one goose who is a deterrent to any predators.

 

[Shblack]

So Sorry for you losses. My birds all stay in their pens but they have nice large pens. I have electric wires around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and good heavy duty netting covering all of the pens, all due to losses from predators in the past. I have free ranged in the past but no longer since my special bird was taken during the middle of the day by a fox. I did catch the fox and eliminated. I caught it in a live trap. SSS. I set a couple of live traps because I was also having issues with coyotes too. I have seen fox since but they haven't made an attempt to get to the birds. I have several game cameras on my property and now it's my belief that the adults teach the young that getting zapped by the electric wires isn't worth it for any chicken. I put the traps out under some cedar trees we planted many years ago. I baited the traps and let the fox take the bait for a few days then set the trap and caught the fox. As I said I have seen some since but they haven't been near the coops and pens. I have had in a couple of attempted digs under the fence on the far side of the pens but apparently the predator came in contact with the electric hot wires and aborted the attempts. Nothing has tried to dig under the fence since. Good luck...
This fox dug under a gate and killed several birds. I chased it off and it kept coming back. That is when I put the concrete under the gates. I also put a hot wire across the bottom of the gates. This bobcat dug under a fence and killed 14 birds. That's when the electric went up around all of the coops and pens. It made the mistake of coming back for another try. I don't enjoy eliminating them but when they keep coming back and killing my birds they have to go.
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This is another bobcat outside my chick/grow-out coop a little over two weeks ago.
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What did you use to bait the trap for foxes? We have a havaheart trap, tried dog food, no luck.