How to deal with a fox

[snowman99]

Right so I have a problem. Chickens free range in the garden and one appears to have been nabbed by a fox this morning. No feathers but a lot of squawking and one less chicken. Garden has a 5 foot fence but there are some gaps. Garden is 10m x 30m.

I could lock the chickens in their run but they like exploring the garden, except when getting eaten by the fox.

How can I get rid of the fox?

- I don't have a gun and no way to get a rifle. Shotgun cert takes ages and whilst there would probably be a safe shot, if the neighbours got alarmed and called the police, I don't want to end up in prison. I don't have any friends with a suppressed rifle either.

- Amazon sells live fox traps. I suspect I would spend most of the time catching the local cats, as well as ours. If I did end up with an angry fox in a small cage, what then? I'd need to find a farmer to humanely dispatch it. I don't sign up for all this releasing them nonsense.

- No idea where the fox has come from as there are no woods nearby and it's not an urban area. Too dry to see any paw prints.

- I could put a few strands of electric fence wire around the garden fence. However part of it adjoins public land so in sure there is some law against electrocuting small kids playing football. I could make a pen from the 4 foot electric mesh stuff but it looks like a hungry fox could just jump over that?

- We're out a lot so I can't get a big dog or wolf to prowl the garden and anyway they might just eat the chickens.

I don't want to admit defeat and lock the chickens in their enclosed run. Any ideas?

[netherfield]

You don't say how many chickens you have, but a fox usually takes more than one,and many times will kill more than it takes as well

6 ft high will keep a fox out, but it also needs a foot in the ground to stop them digging underneath.

Rural or Urban, foxes are everywhere nowadays, and hunt during the day not just at night as in the old days, they have learned to adapt.

[MDMA .]

The joys of animal ownership. Either put up with the problem or get rid of it. More than one way to skin a cat, as they say.

[PoleDriver]

Pen the chickens up properly! Don't blame the creature for trying to feed itself!
With only one chicken taken and no feathers are you sure it wasn't a do-as-you-likey?

[LeadFarmer]

Foxes get blamed for killing all the chickens in one go but then only taking one away, leaving the rest. But they usually would come back for the rest, but get disturbed. I'd say leave the fox alone and concentrate on securing the chucks.

[oilydan]

We had exactly the same. 15 chickens free ranging, one afternoon a fox nips in and takes one away with him.

Set the humane trap with various squirrils and crows that I shot over the next few weeks with the air rifle (Not powerful enough to try for the fox with it). Nothing.

Contacted the local Facebook Shooting group and immediately has 3 offers to come and hunt it down free of charge. Great bunch of very helpful guys.

I also pee all around the perimeter fence now, when I can. This both keeps the fox away and gives me an excuse to air my junk when out working in the garden.

Not seen it since. Either frightened off by the poor choice of food offerings, the stench of rancid piss, or the sight of my shrivelled man sausage.

Or maybe the local farmers had it, they are very protective of their pheasant stocks.

[Spare tyre]

My uncle borrows our jack Russell for keeping foxy away

[Cpt Stirling]

You get rid of one and another one will take it's place, so you're fighting a losing battle. As already mentioned concentrate on protecting the chickens as best you can. You could try an electric fence; the type you can pick up at farming stores like Scats. Easy to hook up to a car battery.

[Paddymcc]

If the perimeter is too large can you not just piss on the chickens?

[V8RX7]

Foxes will get over a 6' fence without a problem.

However a friend finds that they won't jump a 4' elec net - as they jump up and onto rather than over it.

[FlossyThePig]

How long have you had your chickens?

Usually chickens plus garden leads to no garden. I constructed a compound for our girls which is about 16' by 20' using 2" weld mesh as chicken wire won't keep foxy out.

[shtu]

One less chicken, no feathers?

Could be a stoat that's taken it - you'd be astonished the size of animal they can carry off, a full-size rabbit is no problem to them.

[David-mbtml]

Paddymcc said:

If the perimeter is too large can you not just piss on the chickens?

You sir have just won the internet

[Murph7355]

Cpt Stirling said:

You get rid of one and another one will take it's place, so you're fighting a losing battle. As already mentioned concentrate on protecting the chickens as best you can. You could try an electric fence; the type you can pick up at farming stores like Scats. Easy to hook up to a car battery.

This (though I have a 6ft fence with a skirt rather than using the electrics).

I also make sure that the coop inside the perimeter of their run (something like 16m x 5m) is shut up properly at night.

[KTF]

Why are you not locking the chickens in their run (or nest box area if they sleep there) for their own safety over night?

Now the fox knows where the chickens are, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes back and takes some more in the next few weeks.

[MYOB]

The lack of feathers lead me to ask how do you know it was a fox?

[KTF]

A fox took a few of ours from our old house and there was no sign of anything other than a missing chicken. We think it took it to feed its cubs which is why it didnt take it apart there and then and also why it left the other chickens alone.

Locking the chickens up at night is the best option as, aside from it being secure, chickens are stupid in that if they hear a noise they will go and see what it is.

If there is a fox sniffing around and a chicken goes out to see what is going on, the fox then sees the chicken and goes all out to get it - in our case the fox couldn't chew through the mesh or dig underneath the run so it rammed the door to the run until it gave way instead.

[RobinOakapple]

Don't rely on a lazy dog to catch it, especially if the fox is quick (and brown).

[snowman99]

Thanks for the help. Will try leaving my scent around the edge of the garden after dark so I don't exposure myself.

The chickens are locked up at night - this occurred at about 6.45-7am just after I'd let them out. Only reason assuming it is a fox is that it had to be carried off quickly and cleanly. There is not a single feather, blood drop or mark that I can find. The chickens are very hard to catch (unless you have a net) so don't think it was a thief and aside, she was just a bog standard Warren egg layer, no fancy pedigree. Hadn't considered a stoat, seemed too small to carry the chicken off without a trace?

Right now they're confined to a 4m x 2m run which has fencing dug in etc, but they prefer the full garden. Only 6 of them so the garden doesn't get too bad. Had to fence off my raspberries after they kept eating them.

If I up the outside fence to 6 foot, bury another foot or so and then run a single strand of electric wire around the top would that be secure?

[shtu]

snowman99 said:

Hadn't considered a stoat, seemed too small to carry the chicken off without a trace?

Neither did I until I saw one carry away a full-grown rabbit. Not unusual, either - http://tophilllow.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/murderous...

Just something to consider, it's not always foxes.