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Original poster

Fox has eaten my chickens

73 replies

steppemum · 16/03/2021 11:07

I am so sad.
We have chicken house, with a secure run. During the day we let them out of the run to free range.

We have lost a few chickens over the years to foxes, but always when we were a bit late shutting them in, or the fox came round in the middle of the day.

But, until last night, when they were in the coop and run, they were safe.
4 chickens, one of whom is our oldest lady, part of the very first group we ever got. Safely tucked in last night.

The fox smashed the side of the nest box until the bottom fell out and then went on and killed them all.
2 missing and 2 dead bodies this morning.

I am so sad.
and I don;t know what to do next. Soldi wooden hen house, if he can rip off the screwed on solid wood planks that make the next box, then he can smash it anywhere.

I have 2 chickens left, who were nesting in another little house. But I just think he will smash the other hen house tonight. I'm going to take them into the garage.

I disturbed him this morning, and he is massive, the biggest fox I have ever seen. We have seen him several times this week, he had a go on Saturday night but failed to get in. He obviously came back for more.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 17/03/2021 19:40

what are they expecting an air rifle to do?

Practicalprat · 17/03/2021 19:59

There will be a whole load more darling foxes this year,as shoots were cancelled last year I doubt gamekeepers have bothered too much with them.
That’s why they need a natural predator.
My opinion... bring back Fox hunting.

Original poster
steppemum · 17/03/2021 20:55

dh wants to get an air rifle. He was most disappointed when I pointed out that you couldn't kill a fox with it.

And I did also point out that the field behind our house is a school field. Just imagine wounded/dead fox in the middle of the field in the morning....

but actually, as I said up thread, I don't feel angry at the fox. He is just being a fox. I am just so cross that he breached our fox proof fences.
I guess I am really cross with myself, as I should have realised that it wasn't strong enough

OP posts:
Sarahlou63 · 17/03/2021 21:48

Only an electric fence is (pretty much) fox proof. Not expensive from any farm supplies shop.

Original poster
steppemum · 19/03/2021 09:16

@Sarahlou63

Only an electric fence is (pretty much) fox proof. Not expensive from any farm supplies shop.
We've talked about it.

It is a bit tricky as we have a cat and there are a lot of cats around.

I am now thinking of a steel cage enclosure, which is electrified, and fries the fox as he tries ot get in.

But I may be letting my imagination run away with me!
Grin

OP posts:
GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 19/03/2021 09:26

You CAN kill a fox with an air rifle if you are close enough. Friends of mine trap-and-dispatch.

They still get foxed sometimes, but in general their chickens survive.

Original poster
steppemum · 19/03/2021 09:32

Grumpy that reminds me of when my mum kept ducks. She had 2 in a pen in the back garden. The fence round the pen was angled at the top to stop them flying out.

She came out one morning to find the ducks dead and a fox trapped in the fence. He couldn't gte out either.
She went and knocked on next door, he was a retired farmer, and had zero love of foxes. He came out and dispatched the fox.

Despite my jokes, I don't want to trap or kill him. He has as much right to be here as my chickens.

I would just rather he had his dinner elsewhere Hmm

OP posts:
GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman · 19/03/2021 10:28

The problem is that foxes have no natural predators left in the UK, in the absence of wolves and lynx. We're left with the car and the gun. They reproduce fairly enthusiastically as well.

Ariela · 19/03/2021 10:35

We finally gave up keeping chickens about 12 years ago, final onslaught was after scaling 6ft high plain wire mesh walls to the run, going through or over an overhanging electric fence that gave literally 4-6 inches clearance of the top, and finally the through fruit cage netting roof. No idea how the fox managed that and took 1 chicken (killed 10, 1 died later). I did corner a young cub in the run once but had no implement to scare him away and bare legs!

Onedropbeat · 19/03/2021 10:40

A fox got our ducks in bro’s daylight too

They are so brazen here

Sorry about your chickens

Megan2018 · 19/03/2021 10:41

Get someone in to shoot the fox, once they get in once they will keep coming back.
We shoot any foxes that come on to our garden (DH no longer has a shotgun license but we live in a village where pretty much everyone else does).
I’m so sorry you lost your girls. My old hens are much loved pets and I would be heartbroken.

MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig · 20/03/2021 22:18

I wouldn’t worry about the electric fence and the cats. Once they’ve had a belt or two off it they’ll steer well clear. I’ve had dogs accidentally touch it and they never touch it again.

WhataMissMap · 21/03/2021 08:58

You have my sympathy.
It’s the sheer waste that is so upsetting. The fox just on a killing spree.
I could accept it more if the fox wanted the birds for food.
I did find that after the fox had got in once he kept coming back.
My dad bought an old caravan and turned it into a mobile hen house. He was so determined to beat the fox. Fortunately there was lots of land and he moved the caravan about. It was quite amusing to see the little feathered faces peeping through the windows. He only put them in there at night!
It was stripped out with proper perches etc.
Sadly my dad became too infirm to look after the chickens and we no longer keep them. No more lovely fresh eggs.
I hope you find a solution.
(Perhaps not a caravan! :))

Original poster
steppemum · 21/03/2021 09:26

It's funny that everyone says the fox keeps coming back.
I have never thought about it, but we have a lot of foxes and I just assume they swing past every night and see if there is an opening.

When I let the dog out at 6am, about 4 times out of 5 he goes nuts following a scent round the garden, and I'm sure it is because the fox has been through.

At this time of year, I often see him/her too, as 6 am is about dawn, so as I let dog out he is nipping over the wall, or sometimes as I sit drinking my tea he comes down the garden path.

I think the one that ripped the nest box was really big, I saw him several times, and he may be a new comer, and he does look bigger and strong than our normal ones.

Dh and I were out there planning on our next move yesterday, and looking at it, I htink we have been relaly lucky that they haven't come up through the floor of the nestbox before. It just lifts out, so if you got underneath....

So we can't afford the lovely walk in steel cage that I would like. So we are repairing and super strengthening everything.

In the meantime, the 2 remaining chickens are sleeping in the garage, and have to go in and out in the cat box, which they find very confusing!

OP posts:
Sarahlou63 · 21/03/2021 09:30

The cats will soon get used to the electric fence! It doesn't harm them - just gives enough of a shock to keep them well away. One of our hens got too close to the tap and flew, squawking, across the garden. I didn't laugh. Honestly, I didn't.

Brahumbug · 21/03/2021 10:13

"I could accept it more if the fox wanted the birds for food"
They do want them for food. They will kill as many as possible and return for the rest in order to bury them for later consumption, they just don't usually get the chance to remove all of the bodies. Hating or despising an animal for going about its perfectly natural behaviour is ridiculous. We have a sturdy henhouse which is inside a steel Gabon and so far did proof. When the chickens could roam they were in an area protected by an electric fence (which was really to stop the goats escaping!). It helped that the staffies like the hens and will chase off any foxes they see.

Damnloginpopup · 21/03/2021 10:35

Shoot the fox.
Shoot the vixen.
Shoot the cubs.

Or keep feeding them. Those are your options.

Pasithea · 21/03/2021 10:42

So sorry about your girls. Good news though DEFRA restrictions lifting at the end of the month. Yayyyyyy.

Ellmau · 21/03/2021 10:59

Sorry, OP, foxes are horrible.

Saz12 · 21/03/2021 11:02

OP, I do feel for you. We gave up poultry due to mink. They are phenomenally difficult to keep out.

Brahumbug · 21/03/2021 14:13

If you need to shoot a fox you need something better than an air rifle. We are keen shooters and would never use an air rifle on a large animal like a fox, not that we shoot living things, we are target shooters!

Original poster
steppemum · 21/03/2021 22:20

@Sarahlou63

The cats will soon get used to the electric fence! It doesn't harm them - just gives enough of a shock to keep them well away. One of our hens got too close to the tap and flew, squawking, across the garden. I didn't laugh. Honestly, I didn't.
see I don't get this.

If the cats get used to the fence, then surely the fox will too?

OP posts:
MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig · 23/03/2021 11:46

They get used to it by avoiding it like the plague. It bloody hurts.

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