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Original poster

Fox-proofing

24 replies

saltyseadog · 28/04/2010 10:50

I'm looking at chicken house porn as I'm about to get my first three chooks - however as we live in the country with a four foot wall around our garden I'm worried about Mr.Fox finding his way into my coop.

What measures can I take to deter him? Are electric fences worth it? Are there any coop designs that are better than others?

I'm stuck choosing between an eglu and a wooden house. Arrghh.

OP posts:
nickelbabe · 28/04/2010 10:54

your best bet is weldmesh fencing all around (including top)

We made a cage structure, and buried chicken wire underneath (actually, we lifted the soil and put chicken wire under and then put the soil back in before we made the cage)
they say that you only need to bury WELDMESH about 12inches down with a lip coming outwards away from the run.

failing that, if you put slabs as the ground of the run, then you can put the run on that and they can't dig under.

use at least 1cm x 2cm 19gauge weldmesh (pref 1cm x 1 cm)
because a fox can bite through any bigger gaps than that.

electric fencing is fine, but they can tell if there's a powercut (and the power will trip if something falls onto the fence as well)

nickelbabe · 28/04/2010 10:55

this is the final product

nickelbabe · 28/04/2010 11:00

that one had no wire on it!! here

Fliight · 28/04/2010 11:07

That's brill, Nickelbabe. I'm very impressed!

Original poster
saltyseadog · 28/04/2010 11:11

wow - that's awesome nickelbabe.

Amazing that they can detect a power cut.

Are there any solutions that avoid digging down, or is that an absolute necessity? What about those mesh aprons that go around the edge of a run - are they useless?

OP posts:
nickelbabe · 28/04/2010 17:30

i personally don't believe that the mesh apron will do any good.
i can just imagine the fox nudging his nose underneath the edge of it and Oop, he's in.

i think digging down or slabs is the easiest safe option...

thanks, as well!

Original poster
saltyseadog · 28/04/2010 18:56

Sounds like slabs are the best option. Would putting it on a patio work (sorry if I'm sounding really thick) - if so what should I put down on the slabs to make it all comfy for my girls ?

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Fliight · 28/04/2010 19:39

We have slabs under our ark, but I have just bought some bark chips to put on the slabs and they absolutely pong!

I'm worried in case they might harm the birds somehow, perhaps have been treated with some nasty chemical...is there something better to lay on top of the slabs to provide something to scratch about in?

Original poster
saltyseadog · 28/04/2010 20:45

I was reading in this month's Practical Poultry (oooh get me) that horse bedding can be a good alternative to chips? Would also be interested to hear what others think.

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Millie1 · 28/04/2010 21:52

I've read the same on other forums and have ordered Aubiose bedding from Flytesofancy (yep, hen-house ordered ) ... apparently it retains moisture in the lower layers (have seen this at home with the horses) and it composts down well and quickly. We shall see!

Original poster
saltyseadog · 28/04/2010 22:15

Millie1 - did you order your hen house from FSF? If so which one did you get (hope you don't mind me asking)? I'm looking at the Haven....but then pondering about going the whole hog and getting a Maggies.

Let us know how you get on with the Aubiose

OP posts:
Millie1 · 28/04/2010 22:38

I went the whole hog! Got the Maggies 6 on Long Legs. Can't wait to get it. Found FSF really helpful - loads of advice and she stopped me over-ordering on stuff (ie. was going to order Diatom + louse powder + red mite powder as well as Poultry Guard; but she said the Poultry Guard and the Diatom would be sufficient). Did find them a bit expensive on electric fencing so ordered that elsewhere. And they weren't going to despatch til next Weds but when I 'begged' , she agreed to get it all out to me on Friday so I'll have it Thurs next. Am sooo excited. These are going to be the most expensive hens around

Millie1 · 28/04/2010 22:39

Although I am reading the fox-proofing posts with growing horror as our defense is the electric netting - full stop!

Pancakeflipper · 28/04/2010 22:47

My neighbour makes her husband wee around their chicken home.

She phones me to make sure my family are watching out of the window for the giggle.

They also have a sturdy metal fence arrangement that has a base dug into the ground at an angle. Apparently the fox won't like that.

Fliight · 29/04/2010 07:26

Ooh Millie I am very excited for you!

Have found out that bark can make chickens ill, because it can have a fungus on it - Oh well. I'll try something else...we have loads of earth and old twigs etc that I can sprinkle in the run, because the area was kind of thick woodland and we cleared some of the trees last year...so it'll be fine I think. The main reason I used slabs was to prevent the base of the run rotting, it is way too big for me to lift myself so it has to stay put and would have disintegrated on earth. I hope the slabs prevent this.

Auboise looks good but the run isn't really covered in most part, so it'll just get soggy I think...but normal wood chips are meant to be OK, anyway, like from a tree surgeon - but without the bark.

nickelbabe · 29/04/2010 11:35

ooh, it's got all exciting!

I know that bark chips that you get from the garden centre have fungus, but i assume you could just wash the entire thing with hot water to kill that?

I like Fliight's idea of using detritus from garden clearing for the base: our chickens have a soil run, but the soil is supplemented quite a lot by rakings from under the trees and around the garden.
I dump it in a big pile in the corner and they spread it themselves!
the advantage of having slabs (yes, a patio is fine!) is that you can just scrape all the stuff off the base every month and hose the whole area down. then load new stuff on.

if you make sure they've got a dust bath (a bowl full of soil will do, or a sandpit full) then that'll sort them out, and just throw soil and cuttings/raking down every now andthen.
cheaper that way too.

bruceb · 29/04/2010 12:38

OK - disclaimer on this as I only heard it on the radio - Radio 2, mind, so not just any old radio station.....

One way to deter foxes from getting too close is to ring the coop with wee.

The lady who came on the radio said that she'd done this for many years with great success, and went on to give some more details of how they applied it that I'm going to omit for fear of it all sounding silly. Suffice to say, she said it was effective at deterring foxes.

nickelbabe · 29/04/2010 15:42

deterring, yes, but not preventing.

it makes the fox think that there are humans around. but a fox can be as wiley as to hang around and make sure there aren't any, and that's when he'll pounce (or after it rains when he can't smell it anymore)

the best fox proofing is the small hole weldmesh.

Original poster
saltyseadog · 29/04/2010 16:31

Oh Millie - how exciting!! I do love the FSF houses,although lots of friends are pointing me in the direction of an eglu (probably because they're easy to clean and they know what a slattern I am!).

When do you get your girls? Or do you already have them ?

OP posts:
Original poster
saltyseadog · 29/04/2010 16:39

PS - very envious of your Maggies

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Millie1 · 29/04/2010 22:15

I've become addiced to Chicken boards and forums .

Well done on the bark investigations Fliight ... sounds like a great idea to use old grass/twigs etc ... it'll be great for the hens to peck in.

Nickel ... do we need an actual vessel for a dustbath or is a bare piece of soil okay?

Salty ... the cleaning definitely makes the eglu more attractive but I've read some reviews which say they're difficult to assemble esp if the ground is uneven. Didn't want to chance it as our ground definitely is not level!!

Hoping to get the ladies next weekend. Am unsure of which breeds will mix okay but think that might be subject of yet another thread! When do you get yours? Fliight - how many do you have?

What does anyone use as an implement for daily poop scooping?

nickelbabe · 01/05/2010 10:31

dustbath: if you put your house on the patio slabs, then you'll need an actual vessel, because they scootch down into it and throw it all around.
if your run is on the ground, then they'll make their own dustbath.

it might be worth having part of your run covered with boards or plastic (we've used clear onduline on ours so they still get the light but the rain doesn't get in)
they won't be able to bathe in wet soil, but they will try and it gets very mucky!

we provided ours with a washing-up bowl full of soil in the early days, but once they'd learnt how to do it, they jut used the ground

daily poop scooping is an area of my expertise!
we use a fire shovel and a stick.

Millie1 · 01/05/2010 14:26

Thanks Nickel ... won't have a run to cover as they'll be f/ranging for now but might think about some shelter for winter, I think. Poop scooping implements remain on my shopping list - oh, along with some chickens !

nickelbabe · 01/05/2010 16:40

they'll dustbathe in your precious border, then!

our ex-batts used to dustbathe (or try to!) at the edge of the driveway.
so not so much dustbathing as gravel bathing but it got them used to the idea.

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