Foxes take away my joy of keeping chickens.

[bruceha2000]

we have stupid laws in UK. Once trapped it isn't technically a danger so it is illegal to shoot it. Thank you for the suggestion though

I'm so sorry for this happening. I've lost 2 to foxes, both around this time of April 3 and 4 years ago. Both times it was well before dusk and the fox(es) had to cover 100 yards of open ground to get to the chickens.

What are you allowed to do IF you trap it, donate it to the local fox hunting club? In many places, including the state I live in, it is illegal to re-home a predator off your property, no making it someone else's problem. No one here has enough land to legally move a fox far enough it won't come back.

Hopefully your current shock will subside and you, and your girl, can recover. It takes time for both the emotional and physical recovery. Do you have hot wire now? I think hot wire running over the top of a 4' fence will keep foxes from climbing over. Additional efforts are needed to keep them from digging under.

what about trapping? foot hold's work good in a dirt hole set if you know what your doing. you might need a trappers licences to set traps but if your good at it they work wonders.

A problem with kill traps is they are not selective in what they trap. Could be your dog, cat, maybe even a chicken if it is inside the fence line.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

A problem with kill traps is they are not selective in what they trap. Could be your dog, cat, maybe even a chicken if it is inside the fence line.

a foot hold trap? not sure what traps your thinking of. (maybe conibears or snares) but a foot hold trap is pretty humane. first time trapper here and i must of caught my self/fingers in a number 3 coil spring like 4-5 times last year. does not hurt.

(and keep in mind a fox trap is like a 1 and half coil spring trap.)

 

[sourland]

A hot wire at the bottom of the fence about a foot off the ground and a hot wire at the top of the fence canted slightly outward should deter the fox. I belong to a club that has 54 acres enclosed with this sort of system, and it effectively keeps all ground predators out. Good luck at resolving this problem.

 

[esther5]

can you shoot it? if i saw it endangering my chickens i would be allowed to shoot but i would miss. if i trapped it it would be illegal to shoot it then what would i do with it. ... tempted to cook a chicken and fill it with paracetamol and hope it overdoses.

 

[esther5]

Have you thought of a more "quiet" way to dispatch the fox?

see above. any other quiet ways?

 

[esther5]

will look into the hot wire idea. thank you.

 

[bruceha2000]

if i saw it endangering my chickens i would be allowed to shoot but i would miss.

Clearly you need to go to the range and practice

I personally don't have anything I could shoot a predator with. And DD1 would go nuts if I did.

 

[esther5]

on a happier note the mauled chicken is perkier today and just ate most of an egg. yesterday feeling was painstakingly slow.

 

[chickendreams24]

Did you clean and treat the wound on your silkies back with antibiotic ointment (without pain killers)? Chickens are incredibly resilient and wevew had some badly injured survive.

Okay I'm a member of the fox club too. We've lost so many birds I've lost count. We've also lost birds to rats, mink, possum, and raccoon. Also possibly coyotes but they've never been seen doing it so we usually just assume fox.

I've take several shots at the rotten fox. I've gotten very close to it but as I've never dropped it I apparently missed.

This is going to be the year the predators will fall. That's all there is to it. We've already lost a couple of birds this spring to the mink again. Those things are crafty and rotten.

Over the last 3 years we've lost approximately 50 birds(chickens and quail).

We are blessed in one respect while our flock free ranges the fox(family of foxes) have never entered our coop. They have also usually killed only one bird a day except when teaching their kits to hunt. The mink has also only killed one a day unless the carcass is taken and the mink is still hungry. Our mink has been seen picking up a 6-8 lb cockeral and trying to walk off with it but we tethered it down.

Our flock is too large to fence enough land and unhappy penned so our options are to do our best and make sure they're locked up right away when they go in. We keep roosters and they help a lot. Two have given their lives in defense of their flock.

Of course I know if we out down the predators more will move in eventually but there are ample food supplies around here and these particular animals have just become accustomed to chicken.

We've lost many special birds and it's been very hard. There have been many times where I felt discouraged and wondered if we shouldn't have chickens. Then I spend time with my flock and see how happy they are in the day to day and all I can do is promise to do my best for them.

It's awful losing them but part of me thinks that the best survive and that is good. Also we added guineas to act as predator alarms and I think that has helped some too.

 

[chickendreams24]

Good luck to all of us in this fight.

I love foxes I always have they're beautiful but this isn't something I can stand by and allow. Our fox also has no fear of us or very very little and that is worrisome too.

Our mink will be dealt with via a conibear trap inside a box that will limit the animal to a rat or mink.

I know it isn't allowed everywhere but in many places and where I am it's allowed to kill an unendangered animal that is attacking and killing your livestock.