Red Foxes! How do I get rid of them?

[ladyearth]

Hum sounds like you should have a dog for a protector rather than a PET. Just my opinion. my last 3 gals supposedly was killed by a fox after I gave them away again. Which I regret so very very much. cause all my gals ended up dead at that new place. all 8 of them......
They also have useless I call< dogs. which they keep as pets instead of guards
just my opinion all.
blessings

 

[goldenyears]

And Thank You that is exactly what I'm saying and I don't appreciate anyone being rude about it I understand it's apparently a touchy subject for some but I do believe that for this particular fox it's got to go we have grandchildren that run around out in the woods and yard where this fox is stalking and they enjoy it when the chickens are out they come up to them looking for a hand out. And until now it's never been an issue this fox is dangerous and the mangie one. Again thank you for your advice I appreciate you!

My OPINION: I have 20 chickens that live in a coop with a couple attached runs that are predator proof. I have an 11 month granddaughter who lives with me. A couple months ago I spotted a red fox at dusk lurking around the chickens. If I had been armed, I would have dispatched it as no animal that could harm my granddaughter - or chickens - is welcome. The fox could not gain entry into the run and has not been seen since. My neighbor lost three hens to hawks recently as he free ranged them without supervision. I’m mostly in the yard when my birds free range and the only ones I’ve lost have been to the dinner table. Whatever you decide to do I hope works for you. I don’t have chickens to feed the predators, so I try to keep them in a secure area AND dispatch any predators that are persistent or a possible threat to my girl.

 

[roosterhavoc]

You would think the idea of having chickens is to be more self sufficient. Relying on someone else to take care of problem animals seems counterproductive when in reality it’s just part of keeping chickens.

 

[Ladies of the Forest]

We have foxes, owls, hawks, raccoons, there’s a reason why our name is Ladies of the Forest, so we have dealt with predators, too. I suggest you 360° Wrap your pen in hardware cloth. Many Predators have tried, but none have succeeded with getting into our pen made this way. We put an extension on our pen, and threw bird netting over the top of the 4 foot high fence made from hardware cloth, then I put a couple of shepherds hooks in different places in the addition to the pen which holds the bird netting suspended so that I can walk around in there without dealing with the bird netting in my face. Inside the pen, I just laid down hardware cloth and ran landscape bricks along the edges of it so anybody who tries to dig underneath the 3 foot apron of hardware fence is only going to hit a brick. It works like a charm, no one has been able to breach it. I am soooo sorry for your loss, but you can still give your birds a good life. Don’t give up yet! There’s a whole community here wanting to help you and support you

 

[schmedlap]

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 too have fox. they have not been a problem, but our girls do not "free range". we have a wire enclosed coop on wheels. wife calls it their RV. they go "camping" often and are safe. first sign of any problem with fox, they will either be live trapped and released several miles away, or they will be shot.

 

[myluckychucks]

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.

 

[myluckychucks]

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.

I too have had chickens for 35 years with a fox den in view of the coop and never had a problem until 4 years ago. The fox would come in the middle of the day with no fear. I am a nature lover but want to protect my birds so the fox was killed. That was the end of the problem. There are still foxes in that den but none have bothered the chickens yet. Your fox won't stop. If the healthy fox is from the same family as the one with mange it probably have mange mites also which they can give to you dog.

 

[Banty crazy]

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.

Look into getting coyote pee in a bottle. A coyote is a natural predator of fox. So check online or even a big sporting goods store for it. They must be very hungry to do this during the day and the sickly one probably has mange!

 

[Banty crazy]

Can’t you just shoot them? I doubt you’re gonna find anyone other than a friend to come trap them for free. You’ll likely have to pay someone or do it yourself. If they’re that brazen it would be easier to just shoot them and be done with it. The one with mange will die eventually so shooting would be more humane than it freezing to death.

I’d contact fish and wildlife. Tell them your problem and add that one fox is sick. Tell them you don’t want to kill them and you don’t want your dog getting sick AND you need to protect your chickens!! They may come trap it for you.

 

[Bjski]

I have had many fixes get my chickens - many times. I have about a 4 ft fence with bird netting over it. As long as I keep the fence maintained the foxes haven’t gotten through it.