I did a search but didnt find quite what I was looking for-
Anyhow, the local fox has finally discovered my yard.
I was out planting tulip bulbs in my front yard this afternoon while my girls were exterminating bugs & spiders from the side of the house. Next thing I knew, they were cackling & scattering like mad. I looked up in time to see a fox barreling into the back yard chasing two of my hens. I dont remember getting to my feet, but I covered the 50' or so faster than I'd ever thought possible, screaming for my dog, Daisy, to "get it!" Bless her labrador heart- she came FLYING by me barking her head off and chasing the d@mned thing over the fence and into the neighbors yard.
Everyone survived- shaken, but unscathed. Daisy kept checking both yards while I herded the girls into their run. She even kept trotting back & forth between me and the coop while I finished planting my flowers. I lost a hen- a bantam cochin frizzle named Shizzle, last week to an unknown predator attack. While I was out searching for her, I saw a large orange-ish thing streak across the clearing on the other side of my yard. I couldnt get a good look at it, but now I'm convinced it was a fox, probably the same one I saw today.
While I dont *like* keeping them penned up all the time, I know they're safest there. I built my coop and run to be everything-I-could-think-of proof, right down to the reinforced hardware cloth, multiple latches on every entry point, a sliding chicken door that only opens from the inside, and the fact that the whole thing is sitting on a 24" thick concrete pad. Between the two structures, there is enough room for the 7 EE's and 4 bantams to be comfortable, even if they're not terribly happy about it. So I CAN conceivably keep them penned up for awhile if I have to.
That said- is it possible to wait out a fox? How long does that take, do you reckon? Or should I just bite the bullet and call the critter-remover-guy? I live in a residential area, and I've got houses on all four sides, so shooting it really isnt an option and from what I've read, trapping it is unlikely at best.
Anyhow, the local fox has finally discovered my yard.
Everyone survived- shaken, but unscathed. Daisy kept checking both yards while I herded the girls into their run. She even kept trotting back & forth between me and the coop while I finished planting my flowers. I lost a hen- a bantam cochin frizzle named Shizzle, last week to an unknown predator attack. While I was out searching for her, I saw a large orange-ish thing streak across the clearing on the other side of my yard. I couldnt get a good look at it, but now I'm convinced it was a fox, probably the same one I saw today.
While I dont *like* keeping them penned up all the time, I know they're safest there. I built my coop and run to be everything-I-could-think-of proof, right down to the reinforced hardware cloth, multiple latches on every entry point, a sliding chicken door that only opens from the inside, and the fact that the whole thing is sitting on a 24" thick concrete pad. Between the two structures, there is enough room for the 7 EE's and 4 bantams to be comfortable, even if they're not terribly happy about it. So I CAN conceivably keep them penned up for awhile if I have to.
That said- is it possible to wait out a fox? How long does that take, do you reckon? Or should I just bite the bullet and call the critter-remover-guy? I live in a residential area, and I've got houses on all four sides, so shooting it really isnt an option and from what I've read, trapping it is unlikely at best.