Will a dog in my back yard discourage a fox?

[wokka]

This morning I walked out to a fairly grisly sight of 3 newly-headless chickens in our back yard.

Seems mr fox was being his destructive best, and finished off our flock just before first light.

Unfortunately we're in an urban area and the constubulary frowns on firearms being used.

So one thought I had was whether people had any joy in a dog in the back yard that might deter foxes at all ?

I have a fox cage trap i can also put out but figured deterrent might be better than trapping.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC, and sorry for your losses. . When our dog was alive, the fox didn't come around much. She died a few years ago, and now it comes every day!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I too, am sorry for your losses. I am not aware of foxes in our area but we do have coyotes. I believe the scent of our three dogs' scat is a deterrent to coyotes. Our chickens free range on about three of our ten acres most of every day with no issues.

 

[Mannybeanrooster]

my sisters dog chased a fox that was attacking a chicken on our deck

 

[saysfaa]

Urban/suburban foxes are so used to dogs that dog scent alone won't deter them and they can often tell how much threat a given dog is to them. A good guard dog would deter them, many sorts of pet dogs wouldn't. Rural foxes are likely to be more cautious about dogs.

What would you do with a fox if you caught one in a live trap? Please don't release it by me to become my problem. "Out in the country" is still populated enough for houses to be close enough together that some are within a fox's range from any given point, in much of the country. It also isn't likely to solve the problem because other foxes move in to open ranges.

Good fences make good neighbors - people neighbors and fox neighbors.

 

[McChooky]

Finished off the flock? If you plan on getting more chickens you might want to install netting over the run to keep Foxes out.Making them a safe pen is the only way to keep predators out without a LGD