Would a fox take more than one at a time?

[Naiku]

Thanks, is there anything particular we should get?

 

[Latestarter]

Antibiotics for sure and watch those puncture wounds very closely. If they seal over as they normally do, they trap bacteria inside and can cause nasty infections that you won't even know are there till too late. Hope you can bring him back! Sorry you lost the other. Yes, a fox will take a bird at a time and if it feels it can get more, it will kill and stash them one at a time for later meals. This happens more routinely during the spring when raising kits.

With the electric net fencing, you can move it around to give the birds fresh areas every day/week/month. I believe each strand is 160' so it will encompass a good sized area for so few birds.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

Very normal for a fox.

I had a fox come around the other day. Grabbed my barred rock hen, thankfully it Didnt kill her or wound her, just pulled lots of feathers. We where all outside when it happened. Then a day or two ago the fox came again, Didnt get anybody but there where two radios going and DSD was weedwacking the lawn. Been sitting in the woods when we see it with a rotting chicken breast and a gun, but so far it's avoiding our rifle.

 

[MROO]

Some good news, last night while in the kitchen I noticed our little rooster walking slowly across the yard, almost could not believe what I was seeing. Went out and got him back up to the run, he's injured... limping and missing a number of feathers, looks like he has what I suspect are some puncture wounds from the fox biting him, but no open wounds. Going to get him some medicated food, lots of clean water and hope he recovers.

Honestly, shocked he made it through the night in the woods. Between the fox, there are a number of other things that would have tried to eat the little guy. Really hope he makes it.

Poor little tough! He defended his Lady Fair til the end! Mean or not, he's a keeper!

 

[MROO]

Antibiotics for sure and watch those puncture wounds very closely. If they seal over as they normally do, they trap bacteria inside and can cause nasty infections that you won't even know are there till too late. Hope you can bring him back!

And this may seem obvious, but sometimes we forget the obvious details when dealing with the surprises, but make sure he gets extra electrolytes, or drench, or something that will give his body the boost it needs to deal with all of the stress it's under.
Good luck with and to him!

 

[Folly's place]

A visit to the vet would be a good idea! Maybe penicillin injections too. Medicated feed won't do it.
Mary

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Having a rough day here.... Our guinea got caught in the neighbors fence and is so torn up I don't think she will make it. Decided to check on the chickens and right away noticed 2 missing, an Americana hen and a Mille Fleur rooster.

After a bit of searching around I found some of the roosters feathers about 15' outside of the woods that edge the property, looking in the woods I then found a bunch of feathers from the hen about 15' inside the woods. So, our flock has gone from 6 to 4 in the space of an afternoon, not including the guinea.

We let the chickens free range, actually stopped for a while as we lost a hen and really good rooster a while back. But, just got used to letting them out again and enjoying watching them roam all around and hang out with the neighbors ducks.

I am assuming a fox got them, but is it normal that it would take 2 like that and in broad daylight? They likely went missing around 5pm. Anything else likely to have got them? We have bears and coyotes in the area, but a fox seems the most likely culprit. At this point it's likely we will keep them fenced in again for a while, despite how happy they are walking all around. Never would have guessed having chickens was this stressful, last one we lost a bear pulled the fence over, reached in and snatched a chicken right out of the run.

I may end up extending their run, it's currently 30x15, I hate not letting them roam, but losing them sucks.

I lost 4 broilers a couple of weeks ago to a fox because I turned off my electric poultry fence while my 2 toddler boys were playing nearby it. They were 4-5 pounds, 7 weeks old. We went in for supper and in a span of just 45 minutes a fox had come passing by the pen and noticed the chickens. I found the spot where he tried to chew through the fence but couldn't get through the metal strand wire. He figured out how to go underneath. Killed 4 of them and started hauling them out 1 by 1; all while we were eating dinner. He took the first one out the ditch, a distance of 300 feet from the pen. He had place a second outside the pen, 30 feet away. 2 were dead inside the pen. Those 2 were the first ones I saw as I rounded the corner of my garage after dinner. Ran inside to grab my rifle but he was headed back into the ditch along the road so I couldn't shoot him along a road with neighbors nearby. Grabbed the dog (husky/golden lab) and chased after the fox. We ran along the ditch for a few hundred feet. The fox was way ahead with the chicken in its mouth. The dog caught the scent and sight of the fox and kicked into high gear. The fox spotted the dog and dropped the chicken and fled for its life. Went back to the pen and cleaned up the carcasses. 4 or 5 days later while doing some yard work only 60 feet from their pen, the fox returned. With my back turned to the pen, the fox tried ambushing a few chickens who were closest to the fence. He surprised them from the tall grasses and ran right into the fence. This time the fence was on and he jumped back after nearly getting tangled in it. 2 of his legs went through the square openings and he almost got wrapped in it. I ran towards the garage to grab the rifle but he fled into the bushes. Havent seen him since. Moral of the story; the fence works well when it's turned on!

 

[Northern.Ontario]

I have a different brand than this one but exact same style. It's connected to a Gallagher M160 energizer. Puts out around 1 joule of energy and 7,700 volt shock.

https://am.gallagher.com/en-ca/product/3159/poultry-netting

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Electric fencing or electric poultry netting is not really a feasible option, we have 5 acres that there could free range on,

A slick wire electric fence is the cheapest fencing option going. You can then use your 5 acres for other live stock options. Like a milk, cheese, butter, and calf for meat cow. Chickens and cows go good together. Or maybe for a porker for the BBQ pit on the next 4th of July. Let your imagination and appetite run wild.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Chickens to a fox are like potato chips to a stoner, NO ONE CAN EAT JUST ONE.