Warding off Foxes...?

[jools2014]

That is because the fox saw you and didn't want to try. If you weren't there, the fox would of got your chickens. Foxes are opportunistic eaters. Read up on them. I am sure you have but just some tips. Good Luck

He may well have got my chickens, and I wouldn't have blamed him-which is exactly why I ran out there to protect them and have not let them out alone since that sighting. i wasn't willing to take the risk of leaving them out there with a fox so I don't know if I hadn't gone out whether he would've taken one of my birds-but he wasn't in hunting mode, he was just taking the route they take across our garden. He was already well on his way to meeting my birds when i saw him out the window-he could probably see/hear/smell them and I'm pretty sure a fox can run faster than me so if he'd really wanted to he could've taken one before i even got outside. He still could've taken one with me there and there would be nothing I could have done about it since I don't have a gun and one chicken was fairly near to him, he could've taken her and I would've been helpless to stop him-but he didn't even try.

I've never had them get into my chicken pen, which would be easy to get into if they wanted to-and they probably go by there on a daily basis. I know what lengths some foxes go to to get in a chicken pen and what problems others have-so what is the difference between them and my situation? The fact that they are probably starving and there is not enough food for them drives them to those lengths. Humans are the only creatures who kill just for fun.