Saw a red fox in the pasture

[Big Chicken Little]

I am in the process of building a chicken coop with a large scratch yard. I saw a red fox last week and think "he" lives in the woods behind my house, never saw him before.

What I would like to know is can I live with this fox and "fox proof" the coop and scratch yard for the chickens. Will an exterior fencer work to keep him out of the yard? What are your thoughts?

I will not kill the fox as I let everything live. I looked up trapping but that seems to be difficult.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Last month, I looked out the window and noticed my horses acting up. Wondering what could have caused this--I looked further. turns out two foxes were palying out in the snow about 500 yards from my barn where my chickens, rabbits,and horses live. Needless to say I was concerned. I put the chickens in lock down (they free range), and I sat quietly with my .22 wiating to see if the came closer. They did not. (thankfully)

Perhaps my situation is a little different--the horses might be a deterrent, also I have two dogs who are very effective at marking their territory. I think these two things prevent the foxes from coming closer. It has been quite a while, and I have not seen the foxes again.



If you are jsut building your chicken setup--iI wouldrun electric wire around the run, and "Fort Knox" the coop.

 

[Lollipop]

That`s very noble to let everything live. When something like that fox is killing your chickens, you may change your mind.

The best thing to keep in mind is "overkill". The heaviest wire, buried a foot in the gound, Top netting over the run. Secure coop with no draft or openings to the outside that cannot be locked. Predators have a way of entering the smallest openings and are strong and determined. Might as well build it right as to be patching on it later. All of this and more are needed to keep chickens safe and then it`s "iffy". Just keep that word in mind as you plan and build your coop and run........OVERKILL

 

[scooter147]

1. A dog. When I lived in Illinois we had fox issues and during the day when I was at work my mix breed 70 pound dog was actually put in with the chickens. Obviously he was completely trustworthy.
2. Strong one inch woven wire run fence with duplicate top.
3. Bury the same wire around the run about 12 to 18 inches
4. Predator proof coop and lock down EACH AND EVERY night.
5. Foxes are generally night time predators but will take advantage of prey during the day if it presents itself like your chickens.
6. If you don't want to eliminate then how about a shot gun and the shells loaded with rock salt and salt his hind end good!

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Thanks for the input ..I am trying to see about trapping the fox and guess I have to "bomb proof' everything as I have some of the other critters that like chickens. I do have one more question ... How high should I put electric wire from the ground and how far out from the run should the wire be from the wire fencing. I will be using wood posts with chain link fencing. I will also be putting heavy"pig wire" under the run horizontal several inches under the ground about 2ft wide.

 

[sandypaws]

again... HOTWIRE.. HOTWIRE... HOTWIRE!!!!!!!

i cant say this enough!!!.. 3 strands on your coop.. bottom, middle, top.. i have hotwire ontop and bottom of my chainlink fence.. all my coops are open.. i have not lost a chicken to a predator since i put the hotwire up...
my neighbor dosent have hotwire and he has fox and bobcats always breaking into his coops...
mine are "freerange" behind a 6 foot chainlink fence on about 1 acre (2 strands of hotwire) have not lost a chicken in a long time (knock on wood)

 

[farmerlor]

We have a fox who raises a litter somewhere in the neighborhood every spring. A couple of years ago when she built her nest in the ditch right next to our house she took all my chickens. At least we assume it was her, we never did catch her in the act. We learned and built a better fence. I still see her (or one of her kids who looks like her) out in the field now and again but haven't lost any of my chickens to her or any predator.