Sigh. Foxes. How to get them to stay away?

[chickenjen]

Little background. We live in the southern Appalachian Mountains 6 miles from the nearest town down a dirt & gravel road. We have 15 black sex links and one beautiful rooster who is nothing but a chicken! Pun not intended. He is not aggressive nor bold. He is quite the chicken when it comes to visitors.

Late this afternoon I was sitting here working on a website design when all of a sudden total mayhem broke out in the chicken run. It sounded like they were being slaughtered. I flew out the back door to look down off the deck at a fox right outside the run. He looked up at me like "And you want what?" and looked right back at them drooling. Mr. Rooster was going crazy throwing a fit but acted like "OH NO! What do I do now?! Help! Fox!"

So I flew in for my trusty 20 gauge to fire off a round. The fiance asks what I am doing and I told him there was a d**n fox down there. So he runs out the back door while I grab my shot gun and shells and yells at the fox to get lost. Yeah, that is gonna work.

So... I did not get the shot off as I had to get the gun. The fiance had a head start on getting out the door.

I don't want to shoot the fox if I can avoid it. One, not sure on the laws here in NC on that. Two, like shooting one is gonna keep the rest away. I know there is a good fox population in the area.

Now that the spring thaw has finally come around, my top priority is extra hog wire around the run. But... we are wanting to let them free range. It was broad daylight. About 7:30 in the evening that he was out there.

I was cursing the dogs only to learn they were in the house and did not hear a thing. They were like "What are you running around like a chicken with your head cut off for?" I can see they have NOT been trying to deter foxes from the grounds either. Just spiffy. I knew they were worthless but THIS worthless? ARGH!

So, I am looking for all ideas to deter the foxes from our property. We only have an acre so it is not like we are trying to keep them off a large piece of land.

I have spent a lot of time, some money, and a lot of dedication to my chickens. I don't want to let all that work go to the foxes!

 

[chickenwhisperer]

I would think that the dogs marking their territory would be enough to keep a fox away.

I have seen things like coyote, bobcat, and mtn lion urine scents at nurseries and such, that might work as well.

Foxes are basically dogs, and are very scent oriented, make them think something they dont like lives in your "territory".

I have heard, that even your husband relieving himself along your property sometimes works.


But scents gotta be kept up, its not just a 1-time deal.

Maybe one of thos high-frequency repellers would work, but I doubt it.e

Edit-
If you were closer, Id bring my Jack Russell over for ya= no more foxes.
I dont like to kill an animal I aint gonna eat, even if it did kill my chicken, if I dont have to.
However, I have no qualms about letting Jack do his work.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

not sure on the laws here in NC on that

You can shoot to protect you livestock.

You'd be better off with a 22 rifle and a fiance with more patience

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Quote:
You can shoot to protect you livestock.

You'd be better off with a 22 rifle and a fiance with more patience

...

1) A secure run with a top
2) Electric strands around the run
3) A firearm that you are comfortable using.(be careful with high powered rifles though)

We have a very heavy predator load here also. The secure run with apron,top, and surrounded with strands of electric wire work great. I did have to dispatch a fox last spring though. She stood on here hind legs lunging and chasing me. Be careful they can get quite vicious if you get too close.

 

[CityChook]

I'm betting that he'll be back now that he's hip to the chicken dinner. And maybe not even alone. Better make sure your coop is secure - and dig proof too. Doesn't sound like free-ranging is in your future for awhile.

Do foxes have pups this early? I'm in the city but have seen some pretty bold behavior by the beasties that travel through our yard when it's springtime and there are extra mouths to feed.

Good luck!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

What kind of security does your run provide? I'd go with the previous recommendations for run upgrades, if you have flimsy wire, no cover or are lacking digging prevention measures on your run. It will make your life a lot easier in the long run. In the case of something as large as a fox, you don't even need to use the more expensive hardware cloth for everything, either, just something strong, like a welded wire with larger holes. I'm just mentioning it, in case cost is an issue. An apron/flange of wire attached at the bottom of the run on the ground, to prevent digging, is really fast to do, too. Dogs are great, but they have to be motivated and out there doing the job to be effective.

 

[chickenjen]

Well, here is the coop. I call it the chicken condo. The run extends out from where the chicken door & ramp are for a good ways. It is totally enclosed and human height. The birds are able to get under the coop as well to shelter from the hot summer air (if we ever see that again). The underside is enclosed. At the moment, we only have chicken wire but it is buried a foot down and the rocks are buried with it to just below the surface. I know I need to get the hog wire but the weather turned for the worse a bit earlier than we planned last fall so we never got to it.

Electric fence is out of the question as I have 2 boys. One more reason I don't want the foxes around as I knew they can be a bit aggressive if they feel threatened at all and my boys would unknowingly try to pet them. We are having a fox lesson REAL soon just like we did on snakes.

As for the gun concept... I am A-O-K with that. I was raised around guns and in a hunting family so I am not afraid to use any one of them. I have a 12 gauge, a 16 gauge, and a 22 rifle. I figure since you can not see any further, no need for a high powered rifle.

I figure bird shot in the 16 gauge should do the trick if one gets to be a bit testy. Then again... the 22 holds more...

We have come to the agreement that I won't just go around shooting the foxes but if one comes after me or is a serious threat to anyone... then it is on. I really don't wanna shoot them. But I REALLY don't want them takin' my chickens!

 

[DelcoChix]

Hi,
I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in (I know, it really is worth 2 cents!) because although I'd say I'm still a newbie (been in the wonderful world of chickens since May '09) I do have a little fox experience to offer/share...I live in central Ohio, outside of the city about 4 miles, backing up to a state park but have neighbors next door..point is, we've lived here since we built back in '92 and have seen foxes only 1-2 times, and coyotes maybe half a dozen--know they're out there but they keep their distance, only hear them at night when the train whistle blows. This past August we saw the first fox we've seen this century, she was IN my horses turnout lot, which is about 100 feet from the house. I think she was picking up after them, cleaning up their dropped grain (buckets hooked on the fence)..I enjoyed watching her. We do have 14 pullets between that area and the house, so I wasn't kidding myself that this was a 'coincidence,' but still, forewarned is forearmed, so to speak. Later that day my teen son saw her out there again with her two cubs--I figured she had hijacked a groundhog hole in the nearby fencerow. Then I had my own up close and personal experience with her about a week later--it was that time of night when the sky is purple, sun's down, but still light out. I was hanging over the fence, watching my 'girls,' horsey girls that is, while they finished their dinner. Mrs. Fox came into their turnout and trotted over and sat down not 15 feet from me. She didn't know I was there, and I didn't tell her. Pretty amazing, she sat there, then scratched herself just like my dogs do, then very playfully rolled over and was just acting silly...for a fox, or anything I guess. It was really neat to see. Then she moved closer. I think she was waiting for the horses to finish their grain so she could go in and clean up their spilled feed..just like my dogs do. We had a really neat time that lasted about 10 minutes--then she must have gotten scent of me, she sort of startled herself, like she got a whiff of'human/enemy,' stood up, turned around and trotted off. She was absolutely beautiful, black legs, thick bushy tail, but quite petite. Anyways, that following weekend we came home from church and my 12 year old daughter found what was left of one of our golden comets stuffed into an old groundhog hole right next to the horses turnout area. Mrs.Zorro had found the comet unattended and had dinner for her kids. Although that's not what we had wanted, my daughter made me laugh (once she got over her brief sadness) when she said..."well, I didn't really like that one anyways..she was mean." This is definitely NOT what we had planned, and she is our only casualty thus far, but I took comfort in knowing that, (1) it was a quick ending, (2) it was a killing that sort of had a purpose, to feed the kids (unlike getting hit by a car,etc.), and (3) we would be that much more cautious in the future, which we have been. We also allow ours to free range..sort of...only when we're home and can keep an eye on them. I'm sorry for rambling on, it was just that I have an appreciation for the critturs, but balanced by the fact that I'm not raising my chickengirls for them to eat.
I guess I want them to be around but find their own meal so Iagree with you about not wanting to shoot them, but if yours if so bold as to look you in the eye then I would suspect that he may cause more trouble in the future. I wouldn't count on dogs detering a fox as I have two 50 lb Aussies that are in and out with us all the time, so their scent is everywhere, as ours is. Our dogs are not aggressive, nor do I want that (I also have kids, and a lot of their friends, etc.), but they would take chase given the chance--are protective of their home. I think foxes are smart enough to know who they have to fear. "Your" fox seems pretty bold so you may have to take bolder measures to deter him...a gun is one way, but maybe you should further investigate the hotwire idea. Kids are pretty smart and can learn not to touch that wire, you can tie a certain color ribbon on it to make it stand out, and you don't have to have the voltage maxed out in order to work, just a mild jolt should be sufficient to inform the fox that this meal won't be very easy. The free ranging may not be what you wanted, maybe on a limited basis with you hanging in the vicinity, but once foxy has figured out there's food in your backyard, he may be pretty hard to dissuade unless you use stronger methods (and I am not a hunter, but have had a sick raccoon shot when it was in my frontyard)...good luck. Hopefully you will find a way that works for you soon so you don't have any more encounters with the wild outdoors!
Dawn

 

[sourland]

It's a little early, but the vixen may have whelped kits already. If so, the dog fox is hunting for himself and his entire family right now. He will need to provide more food as the hungry kits grow. The chickens are an excellent source of protein for his family-he will be back. Electric fence around your pen will deter him. If you choose to free range, only do so while you are present, and be prepared to accept the possibility of losses. By his bold behavior, it sounds that this fox may be somewhat habituated to humans, and if so "scent marking" by humans will have little effect in repelling him. Good luck- Geo.

 

[aprophet]

the grey fox here where I live @ va beach breed about late january to mid feb I have friends who raise chickens peafowl turkeys guineas and bantams after controlling the predators during trapping season they don,t start seeing the predators again till almost the next trapping season looks like gestation for greys is about 53 days looks like reds are 51-53 days it may be a hungry vixen