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Posted: 6/13/2013 6:15:00 AM EDT
[#1]
In before someone says that is not typical of the breed and the fox should just be relocated where there are no chickens.
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Posted: 6/13/2013 6:22:43 AM EDT
[#2]
imho, a chicken coop should be built like a fortress. not to keep the chickens in, but to keep animals out. when i built my coop, i wrapped the entire thing in wire....even the floor. Nothing can rocket in from the top, nothing can dig underneath. if you give a raccoon an inch, he will take a mile.
so if these foxes are able to get into your coop and can drag chickens away...then i think the problem is with the coop. +1 for sandals +1 for what looks like a tactical painters tape mount |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 6:23:04 AM EDT
[#3]
I like the flashlight holder!!
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Posted: 6/13/2013 6:52:55 AM EDT
[#4]
The coop is secure. No problems with anything breaking in. Hardware cloth sides, metal roof, concrete pavers laying on top of hardware cloth around the perimeter... The attacks are happening when the chickens are free-ranging before they return to the coop at night. Everything is fine during the day. It's the last hour of daylight when the foxes come around. I guess I "could" build a complete enclosure with hawk netting, etc... but then have to deal with tons of poop and flies in one location, no grass and would not benefit from chickens eating bugs, ticks, spiders, etc around the house.
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Posted: 6/13/2013 6:57:51 AM EDT
[#5]
Quoted:
I like the flashlight holder!! thanks. Use what you've got on hand. It's version 2.0. Taped an empty prewrap tube(athletic foam wrap used before they tape your ankle...) to the barrel. Flashlight slides/clips in. Before that, I just taped the flashlight to the barrel. 2.0 is mo' better. |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 7:41:36 AM EDT
[#6]
Expect a visit from your local game warden. Not too bright to post pictures of an illegal kill on the internet.
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Posted: 6/13/2013 7:55:38 AM EDT
[#7]
Quoted:
Expect a visit from your local game warden. Not too bright to post pictures of an illegal kill on the internet. Most state laws have exemptions for animals threatening your livestock. |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 8:24:37 AM EDT
[#8]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Expect a visit from your local game warden. Not too bright to post pictures of an illegal kill on the internet. Most state laws have exemptions for animals threatening your livestock. Yep. |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 9:05:02 AM EDT
[#9]
Foxes are not pack animals. The females were likely looking for easy food for their kits and they were taking the chickens back to the den. Just my guesses, I am not a foxologist by trade
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Posted: 6/13/2013 9:17:53 AM EDT
[#10]
poor fox......he is allergic to lead
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Posted: 6/13/2013 9:26:31 AM EDT
[#11]
Nice. Tan their hides!
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Posted: 6/13/2013 9:28:56 AM EDT
[#12]
I don't have grey foxes that I've seen here in SE PA, but we do have a lot of red foxes and for whatever reason, they show no interest in my chickens. I have seen a fox walk within 20 feet of my coop (with the chickens out in the pen area) a dozen times and have yet to see them do more than glance in that direction. My coop is well protected with hardware cloth but I have always thought it odd that they just pass by time and time again. My mother has grey foxes by her house in MI and there are four that are often seen hanging out together.
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Posted: 6/13/2013 9:56:25 AM EDT
[#13]
Quoted:
Expect a visit from your local game warden. Not too bright to post pictures of an illegal kill on the internet. I'm Good... from: http://www.mdwfp.com/law-enforcement/hunting-rules-regs.aspx "Legal Game Raccoon, fox, opossum, beaver, and bobcats may be legally hunted at night, with or without the use of a light, and with dogs, except during the spring turkey season. For legal deer see "Hunting Deer" for legal sizes and bag limits." |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 10:01:11 AM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
Nice. Tan their hides! Thought about it until I saw the mass infestation of TICKS! Good Lord! |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 10:14:50 AM EDT
[#15]
Ticks are teh debil.
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Posted: 6/13/2013 11:17:17 AM EDT
[#16]
Would getting a rooster help? Of course you'd have crowing issues but don't roosters chase off predators?
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Posted: 6/13/2013 11:33:42 AM EDT
[#17]
Quoted:
Would getting a rooster help? Of course you'd have crowing issues but don't roosters chase off predators? From what I've read, a rooster "may" fend off a fox/predator...depends on how hungry the predator is and how mean the rooster is. Might have to give it a shot. |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 11:58:54 AM EDT
[#18]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Would getting a rooster help? Of course you'd have crowing issues but don't roosters chase off predators? From what I've read, a rooster "may" fend off a fox/predator...depends on how hungry the predator is and how mean the rooster is. Might have to give it a shot. Yea, post an ad on Craigslist that you are looking for the meanest rooster out there to help defend your hens from foxes. Set up the cameras and post the video. I have dealt with some nasty roosters in my youth and yea a big fighting mad rooster would likely be more then the average fox would want to mess with! A coyotte however would take a nasty rooster with ease! |
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Posted: 6/13/2013 12:24:01 PM EDT
[#19]
Speaking from experience, the foxes will gladly eat your rooster to. See if you have any more losses, react accordingly if so. Yoi're doing good. Only other thing you could do is try some snares. Foxes are suckers for well placed snares, yotes to. Bottom line, if you're going to keep chickens, you're going to lose some. Everything, and I mean everything (predators) loves to eat chicken.
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Posted: 6/15/2013 9:22:13 AM EDT
[#20]
you have a LOT more foxes, guaranteed
We trapped and killed 6 in 2 weeks. I live in the freaking burbs more or less and we still get some around and the traps stay up all the time. bring the chickens in earlier (use some scratch, they'll probably go in) and set up a trap overnight (close it before you let the chickens back out, otherwise you end up trapping chickens, DAMHIK) but yeah, painful I haven't evened the score yet, but we're getting closer to even. |
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Posted: 6/16/2013 3:26:16 AM EDT
[#21]
LOL, we trap HARD every fall/winter.
Averaged better than $38 on greys and over $50 on reds last auction. 
That said, we do keep our stuff secured, and have still lost birds ( the few we allow to "free range" to coons, foxes, and owls. (I only figured the owl thing out when we had a light dusting on snow last winter) |
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Posted: 6/16/2013 5:08:06 AM EDT
[#22]
I have guineas and a few hens. Amazingly the small gray foxes we have do not mess with the birds. I have seen the grays in the yard and the guineas will form a defensive flank, but it never gets beyond that. For years no losses, but I have to take out some reds and coyotes. I let the grays walk here, but clearly yours are more predatory to the flock. I've found the solar night eye works to keep animals away from the pen during dark hours. The bears are smart though and will visit at dawn just as the lights deactivate.
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Posted: 6/16/2013 6:08:30 PM EDT
[#23]
Quoted:
Foxes are not pack animals. The females were likely looking for easy food for their kits and they were taking the chickens back to the den. Just my guesses, I am not a foxologist by trade yep. Where's your dag? If you have a good dag, it'll keep the foxes away, and leave the chickens alone (if trained to do so). Won't be long before the foxes won't even come around. Or deer, or turkeys. |
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Posted: 6/24/2013 11:17:40 AM EDT
[#24]
Run electric around your coop. Stop free ranging them for a few weeks. Shoot as many foxes as your can. Leg traps work great also.
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Posted: 6/24/2013 3:52:06 PM EDT
[#25]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Would getting a rooster help? Of course you'd have crowing issues but don't roosters chase off predators? From what I've read, a rooster "may" fend off a fox/predator...depends on how hungry the predator is and how mean the rooster is. Might have to give it a shot. Yea, post an ad on Craigslist that you are looking for the meanest rooster out there to help defend your hens from foxes. Set up the cameras and post the video. I have dealt with some nasty roosters in my youth and yea a big fighting mad rooster would likely be more then the average fox would want to mess with! A coyotte however would take a nasty rooster with ease! Would LOVE to see that video. I've met a few roosters that would flat-out kill a fox. I won't get a rooster for my hens, because we have a few smaller dogs, and I'm afraid a large aggressive rooster would quickly kill them. Not to mention tear up some people. I've met other roosters who were just like hens, only loud. |
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Posted: 6/24/2013 3:59:22 PM EDT
[#26]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Foxes are not pack animals. The females were likely looking for easy food for their kits and they were taking the chickens back to the den. Just my guesses, I am not a foxologist by trade yep. Where's your dag? If you have a good dag, it'll keep the foxes away, and leave the chickens alone (if trained to do so). Won't be long before the foxes won't even come around. Or deer, or turkeys. That's my situation. 5 dogs, all are trained off the chickens now, although the pointer killed two at first. The chickens free range during the day, and we may lose some to hawks. Haven't seen a deer, or fox in a long time, although I caught a fox on a trail cam near the yard. Haven't seen a deer in a year at the fence, and we used to see them all the time. Had 6 turkeys in the yard in the spring. I'll see deer 10 yards into the woods, they're just staying away from the yard. Seems to work so far. This is my first year with chickens. OP, shoot the foxes. Might never see a male, they don't stick around. The vixens raise the kits. If you shoot the vixens, the kits, if old enough will show up looking for food, but they're young, stupid, and not much of a threat. Shoot them too. |
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Posted: 6/25/2013 11:55:11 AM EDT
[#27]
UPDATE: I haven't lost anymore chickens...yet. No doubt there are more and they will be back. I do tend to lock the hens up earlier by throwing some scratch in the coop. I've spotted some raccoons and possums but, so far, they haven't messed with my birds.
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Posted: 6/25/2013 12:28:05 PM EDT
[#28]
Quoted:
you have a LOT more foxes, guaranteed Foxes tend to avoid being seen pretty well so people never think about them or realize how many foxes can live in an area. Grey foxes tend to stick to woods and overgrown fields. The most efficient method of reducing the population would be trapping. Check the Mississippi regulations but a couple good foothold traps properly bedded close to your chicken should start catching some of them. |
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Posted: 7/9/2013 6:47:47 AM EDT
[#29]
It was just a matter of time. I lost another chicken to a predator and another was attacked. I followed the feather trail into the woods until the trail went cold. Found nothing but feathers. I've put out a live trap in the hopes of catching another fox or bobcat. We caught a possum with babies in her pouch the first night. I let it go. I just don't see a possum chasing down a chicken in the wide open...in the coop, yes...but they can't/haven't gotten in yet.
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Posted: 7/12/2013 10:33:10 PM EDT
[#30]
I recently put an end to a night time predator that killed 4 of my chickens over a week's span.
I used a baby monitor placed just outside the coop/run area,powered on a very long extension cord. I ran it night and day, keeping the receiver in the house. It picks up quite a bit of activity, and grabs sound over a fairly wide area. At 4 in the morning, I was woken up by the loud ruckus of an attack, and was able to run out and kill the offending critter while it was trying to corner two hens on the roost. Alternatively, look into trapping. That's worked for me in the past. Trapping requires more prep work and knowledge to avoid injury to local wandering pets, but less attentiveness than the baby monitor solution. Check your traps daily, and confirm your local laws on the subject of course. |
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Posted: 7/25/2013 11:21:17 PM EDT
[#31]
I think I can say one thing with some certainty, if you have that many fox you probably don't have coyotes. When the yotes move in they force the fox out. In my area as a kid we had fox everywhere, yotes showed up and haven't seen a fox since and that was 35 years ago. I'd rather have fox than yotes, if I had a choice.
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