the foxes have discovered the chickens...

[iPeanut1990]

Just went out to lock the chicks up for the night. They are only 10 weeks old so they're still kind of getting used to going into the coop when it starts getting dark. As I got closer to the run they weren't in the coop yet which was a little weird but not totally unusual. Suddenly a fox ran away across my yard from the far side of the run. I had found a small handful of feathers outside of the run last weekend like something had tried to grab a chicken but all chickens seemed fine so I thought maybe they were molting and the wind blew the feathers out (that's what I decided to tell myself anyway). They were a little upset tonight but seem fine. No signs of digging and no one was missing any feathers or heads or anything...I have a skirt around my run already because I knew foxes were likely to be a problem but I'm still a little unsettled. I feel like I'm as predator proof as I can be. So far so good though and hopefully it continues... Just scared me a little!

 

[iwiw60]

Yes, it can be scary that's for sure! Glad you walked out when you did! Also glad to hear that you've aproned your run. What type of wire have you used? Do you see any signs of digging anywhere?

 

[iPeanut1990]

My run is basically a dog kennel with a metal roof that I got from chickencondos.com with the coop inside it. The apron is 14 gauge steel mesh. I haven't noticed that anything is digging thank goodness. Now that I know something has been stalking them though I'm gonna pay closer attention.

 

[Bethel3330]

I've seen where people will bend hardware cloth, attach it to the outside and use pegs to anchor to the ground for a foot or two. My husband and I buried metal sheeting around our perimeter. We used that because we have plenty from an old torn down building.