Such a sad day.

[weslammey]

I guess I am going to leave the rest of mine and the new ones I will be buying in the coop and run unless I'm out there until I get the fox taken care of.

 

[weslammey]

The fox came back again yesterday morning. The chickens were still locked up. I ran and grabbed a shotgun and when I came back he was gone. Then he came back again last night and was screaming like a baby and kept walking up and down the fence line. I'm not going to be able to have the trap set until Tuesday.

 

[Legern]

set a foothold along the fence

 

[centrarchid]

Poultry netting might be a more economical approach as that will allow some degree of free-ranging when you are not handy with a gun or traps getting job done.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Dang. So sorry to hear it. I just put up a 6ft fence and I was hopping it was enough. I don't see any fox around, but I'm a little nervous about it.

Have no fear, a 6 foot tall fence is perfectly adapted for a fox to pen chickens against so that the fox can choose the plumpist. It is much preferable to remove the foxes with extreme predigest.

sideWing, don't take my sense of humor the wrong way, but Mother Nature is an extremely cruel and heartless matron who laughs at our pitiful human efforts to control her juvenile delinquent children with mere fences.

 

[weslammey]

I did not take offense to that at all. I plan to be very cruel to this fox whenever I catch him.

 

[pattyhen]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how painful it can be. Best of luck to you in getting the fox who did this.

Patty

 

[magso]

Hello. So sorry to hear about your girls. Last Sunday I heard a commotion in the garden (Lunchtime) and looking out the window I saw Mr Big Bad Fox trying to get into the coop. Having ran out into the garden screaming like a banshee the fox took off. But I was convinced he'd come back. My mother also had a fox problem ( not due to chickens, but because they had a den under her neighbours shed and they were trashing her garden) She poured Jeyes Fluid all around the perimeter of her garden and did this several times and they just vanished. I have also done similar - poured it all over the fences around the garden. My hubby also pees near the coop at night ( the testosterone in male human urine is apparantly a huge deterrant) and I got some hair from my hairdresser to sprinkle around the coop. (They hate the smell of human hair too) and, touch wood, no sign of them coming back. May be worth a try. xx

 

[stake]

The fox came back again yesterday morning. The chickens were still locked up. I ran and grabbed a shotgun and when I came back he was gone. Then he came back again last night and was screaming like a baby and kept walking up and down the fence line. I'm not going to be able to have the trap set until Tuesday.

Heard that call this evening...I think is the 'vixens call' ....a male fox calling for its/a mate....I had to google fox sounds...from my limited understanding, once they dial in on your flock, they will persist....they are smart and will learn from their failures...you will need to adapt your strategies over time....my two cents...

 

[Folly's place]

There seem to be two issues here; inadequate coop and run security, and daytime free range fox attacks. The coop and run need to be predator proof, no chicken wire, serious upgrades in housing. We all learn the hard way were deficiencies exist. Daytime predation also means no free ranging until the predator is removed, I mean dead. When we had a daytime fox attack three years ago, ten nice hens killed one afternoon, seen by a neighbor's workman, who watched and did nothing (!!!). We warned all the nearby poultry owners, and we all were vigilant. A very nice man down the road was able to get a clean shot and take him out; a very ill mangy fox, who needed to be gone. Trapping fox is difficult, but worth the effort. I enjoy having foxes around, as they work on the bunny population, and on the mice too, BUT not if one decides to work on my flock! Mary