Keeping Mr Fox away from chickens

JenFeet

Hi there.

We've a lot of foxes out here but since we got the pigs we haven't had any more problems.

HTH
Jen x

gt568

Human hair in bundles of old tights is supposed to be good...tied around your fencing..

monkeygirl31

gt568 wrote: »

Human hair in bundles of old tights is supposed to be good...tied around your fencing..

thankyou, I have not heard of this but will try it

GandalfTheTight

we use
http://www.ascott-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Electronic_Doorkeeper.html

They work well

giantmutantbroccoli

Get 2m tall chickenwire fencing, bury 1/2 metre deep in a trench and secure the bottom with tent pegs. Make sure the birds are locked in after dark, and not with those hutch-type toggle things either - foxes round us can open them!
If you have space you could get a couple of geese? They won't fight off a fox but they will make a racket if one turns up, so at least you'll know it's there

lordswood

A twelve bore!

greenbee

Davesnave wrote: »

No, I don't think so. Mr Fox used to walk past our ferrets' run every night at my old house and didn't give them a second look!

It was only my tiny cat who'd give the fox a good swearing-at and, uncharacteristically, the fox would bark at her too, if she was blocking the path. There would be quite a stand-off at times, though normally I've found foxes and cats ignore each other.

Ferrets might be no match for a determined fox, but I think foxes are bright enough to find something easier to go for. Agree there are no bunnies near our ferrets though!

But foxes have been known to kill cats fairly frequently (or is this just Norfolk foxes?), so I wouldn't actively use a cat as a deterrent.

shirlgirl2004 wrote: »

A Foxwatch? Not really fox proof but another deterrent although not as cheap as some of the old fashioned methods.

I had the cat version of this and I wasn't hugely impressed.

I think that shutting them up at night in a secure henhouse is the only solution. digging the wire on any run in is also important, as foxes are very good at squeezing through small spaces or digging under fences.

If you have a local gamekeeper or hunt, you can also talk to them about what they're doing to manage the local fox population.

ChickenBob

Check out a free app called "Sunset Reminder". Helps chicken keepers to remember to put their chickens away before it gets dark. Available on the Android Market. Handy if you live in an area where foxs only visit at night.

tim_n

Our foxes are out day and night, though in more force in the later parts of the evening.

I often see 10-11 down our road just running about. They're as brave as anything, completely nonplussed by human/cat/dog.

We're getting chickens this year - we've put a door to stop them running down the side of the house. Like the cats though the run up the neighbours wall, walk accross our roof (bungalow) and jump down or come over the neighbours fence. We have patterns in the grass where they regularly run.

I'm going to build a very secure run and see how we get on. Seems the only way, can't let them free range with such a high fox population!

Spirit_2

We have a very large run with 6ft high chicken wire . the chicken wire is buried in the ground.

We also have garden netting made into a fence with 6ft garden canes that we have across the garden that borders our field and gate. It is not intrusive to look at but is a bit of a deterrent when the chooks are free ranging round the garden