The Bantam of the Opera Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 thanks loads sheila and moonie, its nice to know i have something to fall back on. ive had a look around and have some ideas on what to build, i like the look of your one alot poet, are the materials simple to find? like from b and q or someplace like that? ive roped my bf into helping me too although i dont know how helpful hell be. and i still need to get someone to move rosmerta, i just cant face it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 So sorry to hear about Madame Rosmerta . I'm glad you're able to keep the others though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 like the look of your one alot poet, are the materials simple to find? like from b and q or someplace like that? pressure treated timber, corrugated plastic, screws and bolts from Focus DIY, wire mesh from a pet shop. If you know a pensioner, take them with you to the DIY shop and you'll usually get a discount on a specified day- think it's usually a Thursday but check with your local store. That will save you a bit of cash. hope it all goes well xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 thankyou, my grandad is visiting at the moment, ill take him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 If you know a pensioner, take them with you to the DIY shop and you'll usually get a discount on a specified day- think it's usually a Thursday but check with your local store. Make sure you ask him/her first though! Don't want to be had up for kidnapping! I'm also fairly local to you (near Biggleswade) - perhaps if you name a day we can have a get together/run building session with as many Forumites as can get to you and make it a team effort. Sorry to hear about Madame Rosmerta, and Herro. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa33 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I'm also fairly local to you (near Biggleswade) - perhaps if you name a day we can have a get together/run building session with as many Forumites as can get to you and make it a team effort. Jo If it's at a weekend, give me a shout and i'll give you a hand if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 perhaps if you name a day we can have a get together/run building session with as many Forumites as can get to you and make it a team effort. What a lovely idea. Will there be cake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 ahhhhhhhhh, that's so nice of people to volunteer, for what it's worth I'd have come too, but you're too far away. You'll all get to see Diarmud's silver egg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 oh you guys are so lovely, lovelier than my friends even who are all off to london tonight whilst i start my run preperations. thankyou very much but i think ill be alright on labour, ive got my bf and my dad and maybe even my sisters bf all roped into helping me. i was wondering though if i get my chickens locked up safely in their run will the fox just go after my ducks instead? they are on our pond alot of the day which is large so i doubt the fox would jump in after them but i love them so much im scared of them being his next targets. my dads also volunteered to hunt him down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little chickadee Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Good luck with the run Jem, I've been following the thread and really felt for you when your parents wouldn't let you have a run. Don't know about the ducks - I expect it all depends how hungry Mr Fox is - at least you're moving soon, so he'll be left behind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 thankyou chickadee, im glad i could win them over. i shall have to invest in a foxwatch as well. the run preperations are all good and ive cleared a nice big space for it and got my measurements. hopefully itwilll be finished by tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Good luck with the run building, Jem. One tip; don't rely on a simple catch for opening, cunning animals can open them! Try & have more than one which are difficult for anything except humans. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 Good luck with the run building, Jem. One tip; don't rely on a simple catch for opening, cunning animals can open them! Try & have more than one which are difficult for anything except humans. xx we've got hasps like this with padlocks going thru them because I'm paranoid you can get small ones from Focus/B&Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted December 15, 2007 Author Share Posted December 15, 2007 good idea, yes i think i shall get something along those lines, maybe 2 locks for good measure. its so annoying, my dad went on a cleaning ramapge today and wouldnt take me out to buy the materials nd i cant drive yet. it was so frustrating i just penned the chickens off in a small area near the house and stayed downstairs all day watching them. grrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted December 16, 2007 Share Posted December 16, 2007 Hope your dad takes you shopping soon...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTee Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 thankyou chickadee, im glad i could win them over. i shall have to invest in a foxwatch as well. the run preperations are all good and ive cleared a nice big space for it and got my measurements. hopefully itwilll be finished by tomorrow. Sorry to pour coldwater on this but I have just had any confidence I might have had in Foxwatch shattered. I have had it for almost 6 months but was getting very suspicious as to it's effectiveness. On several occasions I heard a flurry in the run which is partially hidden from view behind trees, I have a 30ft run with the Eglu attached to it, and on other occasions the girls were very wary and subdued for no obvious reason. Last week I found muddy fox paw marks on top of the Eglu - the Foxwatch is less than 3ft away from the paw prints. This morning I found fox droppings on top of the Eglu. The Foxwatch is clicking merrily away and the indicator light is functioning but as for scaring foxes - it's a myth. I had another product of theirs earlier and turfed that back because it did not work. I am totally underwhelmed by the performance of so called "Sonic Scarer devices. The bottom line is that the domestic level versions seem to be nothing more than kidology. Over the years I have tried at least 5 and not a single one did what was claimed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 That's a shame. I only see foxes when the batteries of my Foxwatch are dead. I think they do help but I could never rely on them totally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 I'm really sorry to hear that .. I have definitely seen less fox activity since I got my Foxwatch, but like Egluntine I wouldn't rely on it totally. I move mine every week or so to a different position, as I suspected the fox was probably learning to avoid its path - you can't cover everything with it. I found a fox scat by the run recently, but there have been no pawprints on the Eglu and no sightings of him since I got mine. I'd still recommend them, but with caution, bearing in mind your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Could depend on the fox - if very desperate, he may be prepared to ignore it? May be a wily old fox who came to realise he had nothing to be scared of? Or deaf? Then he/she wouldn't hear it anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 KTee wrote: Sorry to pour coldwater on this but I have just had any confidence I might have had in Foxwatch shattered. This is worrying. I was very sceptical about the Foxwatch, a bit too 'Emperor's New Clothes' for my liking. How can I tell if it's working if I can't hear it? I was desperate having seen a fox in the garden in daylight many times and having two polythene run covers ripped to shreds at night. Since the Foxwatch I haven't seen a fox or any evidence of one being around I am still very cautious and watch them like a hawk when they are f.ranging. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Just been chatting to my friend about this. She bought a Foxwatch for her elderly MIL as she was having no end of trouble with foxes upending her bins and festooning the rubbish about the place. Being very elderly she found it impossible to right the bins and clear the rubbish. My friend bought her a Foxwatch and she has had no trouble since! KTee, maybe your Foxwatch is faulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted December 18, 2007 Author Share Posted December 18, 2007 has anyone with foxwatch got a dog, i was just worried that it might annoy my pet smudge. and tahts a real shame, maybe i can use it along with other precautions. im worried about my ducks though, cant build a run for them really, theyd have no water to swim in and its their most favourite activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTee Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Possibly a deaf fox as has been suggested but it's not encouraging when there is such clear evidence immediately in front of the device. I have just been talking to friend who lives in a village in The Lakes. She keeps hens and ducks and has done for several years. She has never seen a fox since she moved there! I live in the middle of an urban area with a known earth just 3 gardens away and have seen as many as 3 foxes in the garden on several occasions! At least it doesn't seem to have had as big an affect on their egg laying as bonfire night! We still get 6-7 eggs per week from each. Bonfire night caused a 2 day "famine". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTee Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 has anyone with foxwatch got a dog, i was just worried that it might annoy my pet smudge. and tahts a real shame, maybe i can use it along with other precautions. im worried about my ducks though, cant build a run for them really, theyd have no water to swim in and its their most favourite activity. Foxwatch claims not to affect dogs. But then, I find it doesn't appear to affect foxes either!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KTee Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 KTee, maybe your Foxwatch is faulty. It's very difficult to know. I still have the packaging. It is worth a check. Certainly, if I return it I will send a photo of the Foxwatchwith the fox dropping directly in front of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
