GonzoTheGreat
Chirping
- Jun 7, 2019
- 48
- 53
- 84
I have a similar issue. I know foxes come by and check out my coop. There are at least 2, and the one has come through my yard for years because it has a unique tail. I also have a rabbit that is usually in my yard at night, so they might be coming around making a run at the rabbit as well.
From what I can tell, they've only tried a couple times to work their way in, and all they did was chip away some wood around a window.
After the last instance where I saw damage, I put a camera out to see what was going on. The foxes don't come every night. They sometimes come by and seem to pay little attention to the coop. You can see them sniff in its direction a bit, but then keep strolling. A few times they seem to pay no attention to it, and just walk through the frame.
The couple times they did zero in on it when I had a camera out, they didn't really do much but poke around. Sniffed around the bottom, jumped up onto the nesting box lid and checked that window (hens are inside there, and where they previously chipped some wood away), but didn't do anything but sit there briefly. One night the fox hopped onto the roof from there. But again, they didn't really do anything but "inspect".
I didn't build my coop, it came with the house, but it seems pretty hardened against these guys. There is steel mesh in every opening and around the run, so they'd have to remove a good amount of wood to break into the coop or run itself. The structure sits on cement blocks so I don't think anyone is digging under to get in. I'd welcome any thoughts on other angles to consider to harden the coop.
At this point, I don't see how they'd get in, apart from spending hours chipping away at wood, and so far the foxes do not seem anywhere near that level of dedication. Hell, it took 4 years of being here before I saw any evidence they cared about the coop. I'm going to keep the observation camera up and see if they change tactics at any point.
From what I can tell, they've only tried a couple times to work their way in, and all they did was chip away some wood around a window.
After the last instance where I saw damage, I put a camera out to see what was going on. The foxes don't come every night. They sometimes come by and seem to pay little attention to the coop. You can see them sniff in its direction a bit, but then keep strolling. A few times they seem to pay no attention to it, and just walk through the frame.
The couple times they did zero in on it when I had a camera out, they didn't really do much but poke around. Sniffed around the bottom, jumped up onto the nesting box lid and checked that window (hens are inside there, and where they previously chipped some wood away), but didn't do anything but sit there briefly. One night the fox hopped onto the roof from there. But again, they didn't really do anything but "inspect".
I didn't build my coop, it came with the house, but it seems pretty hardened against these guys. There is steel mesh in every opening and around the run, so they'd have to remove a good amount of wood to break into the coop or run itself. The structure sits on cement blocks so I don't think anyone is digging under to get in. I'd welcome any thoughts on other angles to consider to harden the coop.
At this point, I don't see how they'd get in, apart from spending hours chipping away at wood, and so far the foxes do not seem anywhere near that level of dedication. Hell, it took 4 years of being here before I saw any evidence they cared about the coop. I'm going to keep the observation camera up and see if they change tactics at any point.
