Tangled with a fox

[mscallisto]

So in the last couple weeks I've lost 11 hens. I have 2 that were injured but seem to be getting better. My first 6, my girls were free ranging in the back yard like usual and about noon a fox came over the fence and hit them one after another. Saw it on the camera later. I found one red wyandotte in the window well, still alive but with a 3 inch chunk taken out of her back. I was so devastated as I had raised them all. So doing some searching I found a flock of 7 2 year olds that the owner wanted to adopt out as they were going on a couple month trip. Went and picked them up, beautiful healthy girls. I put them all in the coop/run and locked the door. No way I was going through that again.2 hours later that damn fox pulled the door open and decimated all but 2.

So, the one from the first batch made it a couple days, but her injuries were too bad. 2 from the second batch have decent size gashes on their backs, but I've been keeping the wounds clean and treating with an injury spray (I was frantic to find something nearby and found it at petsmart). The wounds have scabbed over nicely, well as nice as they could, and they are getting better. They're preening, eating, drinking, and telling me how they don't like beingin the dog kennel.

So, here's my question. Obviously all their energyis going to healing so I won't get eggs for a while, but do they have to heal completely before they start laying again? This happened 2 weeks ago.

 

[BlueBaby]

You need to get rid of the fox. It will be back.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Pictures of the birds and their wounds will probably be helpful here

 

[mscallisto]

Ok I'll get some tomorrow when it's light.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

You need to get rid of the fox. It will be back.

Agreed ^^^ Did you fix the coop so the fox could no longer get in and kill them? Stress can hinder laying. So they're dealing with stress from a new home, stress from a predator attack, and trying to heal wounds inflicted by a fox. That's a lot...

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Plus now that the fox knows there is food in your coop, it will be back. If you did fix the coop the fox could be coming around again looking for a way in. The girls will be stressed about this as well. What are you feeding them? Any treats? Oyster shell or calcium option on the side?

 

[mscallisto]

We are in the process of making coop fort knox. I've run another 2 ft curtain of wire fabric around the fencing. My husband reinforced the door and we now have 2 latches on the door, middle and bottom. We are running electric wire around the coop, and have installed a motion activated light. I already have a predator barrier buried 4 inches under the coop, but when they pull open the door it didn't help.

 

[mscallisto]

The healing girls are nowhere near the coop and won't be going back in until we're finished building it up. Right now they are in a dog crate on the enclosed patio, so there's no chance any predators can get them. I have not bern supplementing their regular feed, so that is good information. Obviously they didn't really eat the first couple days, but now their appetite seems to be returning.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Im sorry r u in uk? Fox around in the day

 

[mscallisto]

Finally got time to take some pics. The wellsummer got it worse.