My first Fox attack that ended in a kill

[3 NH reds]

Soory for the loss of your birds. I am free ranging one bird this year he is a small rooster that is bottom of the pecking order. So far so good and I tested my solar fence just to be sure if he gets it they can't go into coops for more. I do plan to process him soon, have to find my egg eaters and cull them so he is going the same day. But for now I am not paying for feeed for him. Fence tested out at 8,600 volts, I think thats gonna leave a mark!

 

[TennesseeChicken]

Well, no fox sighting for the last five days. Although the hubs did see one at the bottom of the hollow (opposite direction of where the fox was coming from) when he was dealing with the hogs. The chickens have been fenced in, but three or four manage to escape and they all come back at night. My question is, do foxes only 'appear' in the spring? Do I have to worry about this all year? I know it's a dumb question, but I've only been doing this for about three years and this is my first experience with a fox. Nothing has been near the trap since the cat on day one. The meat is starting to smell ripe! Thanks!

 

[KKs Kandies]

does your flock scream and make a lot of other noises when predators come near?
a few days ago we had a early morning downpour and just as i was settling down to enjoy the sound of rain, the entire flock had a 'fit'. i jumped up, looked out, thought i saw a coyote but it was a very young, thin deer! have no idea why she wanted through the fence, she was persistant and finally cleared it some distance away. took the flock a several minutes to settle. dh suggested that she may have been running from a predator of her own. no more upset flock or sight of the deer/predator, thank goodness!

 

[Shellz]

I've had fox problems from the first time I had chickens. This will be my fourth year. It seems they come in spring & need to feed their new kits, then later in the summer, they like to teach their kids how to hunt. Then by fall they seem to disappear until next spring. That being said, there were no or few rabbits or small game around all those years around here, so chicken became a source of food.

This year I'm thinking I'm fox free.( knock on wood! Figures, after I got my firearms & hunting licenses!) A pair of coyotes moved in last fall & didn't fail to notice a fox had been marking territory where they wanted to set up camp. I heard a short confrontation between them late winter. Now this spring is booming with cottontail rabbits & ruffed grouse! Not a sign of a fox. Yay!

I know all too well, the damage a fox can do to a flock, so I sympathize with all who have lost birds. It's just sickening. I wish everyone the best of luck. They are a difficult varmint to get rid of. I insist on free ranging! So my licensed hubby last year, set up a rabbit decoy & sat against a tree in camo with a rifle. Called the bugger in! He got one to come in to the call within 10 minutes, but should have used the shotgun! Fox sauntered 6 ft in front of him & couldn't get the shot. Derp!

 

[luckygary]

Hi I am new to the BYC resource but joined today as I have had a fox attack, killing one of my marans. First attack was 12:30 in the afternoon, immediately outside my kitchen door. I could have stepped on his tail when I opened the door after hearing the squawking. I have a flock of 15, now 14. He was very brazen and hesitated when I discovered him, almost wondering if I was going to bother him. I screamed at him of course and the border collie took off after him. He/she came back 2 hrs later with a dog tied there at the henhouse. Unbeleiveable. He was sneaking along the fence line heading toward the chickens, so stealthy the dog did not notice, less than 30 ft away. 1 Shot, missed.

 

[Shellz]

Sorry for the loss of your Marans. Foxes have been my biggest enemy so far. They are clever & brazen. If you can, get another dog. I have 2 mutts. My lead dog goes off in one direction towards a threat & the other stays close to the house & flock. I got lucky, that these dogs didn't need much in the way of training. Now that I can trust them to stay off the road (no fence), I have had 0 losses this year. Haven't even seen a fox yet, like I used to.

Last year, hubby set himself up to hunt one. He got camo on and sat with his back to a tree in the yard near the last fox attack. He used a cottontail in distress mouth call & called it in. Within 5 minutes, a fox comes trotting along 8 ft in front of him. He didn't get the shot because he had the wrong gun for the job. He didn't expect fox to come in that close. If only he had the shotgun. Oh well. The point of calling in a predator, is to get them in close. Use a shotgun or crossbow when calling in & you shouldn't miss. Best of luck on your next shot!

 

[coexist50]

Doesn't it make sense that if it is too difficult for the fox to get the chickens, he will give up? Why would anyone deliberately kill a predator when it has been proven over and over the good they do far outways the bad. Often the "bad" is about inconvenience for humans. PLEASE consider the good that the predators do and separate the stereotype from fact.
THANK YOU!!

 

[Shellz]

Doesn't it make sense to get the most nutrient dense eggs around? Free ranging the egg layers is the best way to achieve this. I will never change my management practices & besides, actual animals killed here, don't amount to much. I have 15 acres of woods for any predator that wants to frolic in, in absolute safety. If they come on my cleared 3 acres, they're fair game to legally shoot at to protect my flock. We haven't even needed to go that far this year. I appreciate their beauty, just not their taste for chicken. You will never change folks like us who want the best nutrition for our families. As an animal lover & educated person, I understand a predator's role in nature. Everything has its place. Foxes are not & will never be endangered. It's the predators or my chickens. Gee, which do I choose? Oh yeah, the predator who is taking food from my family's mouths! Think of our ancestors - what they all had to do to protect their livestock. I guarantee you, they didn't just sit around & wait for all their food to be taken! Please be respectful of others who only want to do what they feel is best for their families. I don't slam folks for penning their birds 24/7. There are different ways to manage flocks & not all of them are wrong, just because YOU don't agree with it. You have your style for your reasons & we have ours for our reasons. At the very least, just agree to disagree with us.

 

[coexist50]

You are absolutely correct that we will have to agree to disagree---You have said "never change" twice in your response and that distinctly separates us because I believe that educated people are always (not never) looking for ways to use human intelligence to be stewards of the wild and domestic creatures as well as the land, and are always (not never) looking for ways to learn and adapt new ideas to finding a healthy balance between wild and domestic.

I apologize for setting you off with what seemed like a logical solution--take care of your flock by securing the enclosure! Someone else on this thread put it another way--if it is too much trouble to get to your chickens, the fox will leave your chickens alone.

By the way, I also provide for our family from our orchard, our garden and our domestic animals, and it is a constant battle finding a balance. We have skunk, coon, coyote, bobcat, cougar (spotted twice this spring 3/4 mile from our house), and a bear is an occasional visitor in the park land near us. So be cautious about stereotyping me, you don't know me and have made some errant assumptions. We have more in common that differences I imagine.

Good luck with the challenge of keeping all alive and cohabitating!
Thanks for your honest thoughts.

 

[chickortreat]

I agree with Shellz.....the critters have plenty of room around without having to venture into my yard. I have killed countless varmints right from my porch: coyotes, fox, skunk, coon, possum, crow, groundhog, rattlesnake..... To all who would object, I will live-trap them and ship to you, prepaid of course, and you can deal with them as you see fit.