Tiggy Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Saffy was making the most dreadful noise about 6 am, she slmost sounded like a cockeral, so loud & distressed, | shot outside as fast as my poorlya nkle & crutches would let me & there was a fox ontop of the eglu trying to bite through the weldmesh, thank God Saffy was safe inside. my new girls arrive tomorrow lunch time & I see myself turning into a female verion of Jasper Carrott with a miners lamp hat & a shot gun looking for moley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abwsco Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 What a shock! Glad to hear Saffy is OK. I've read that a fox will keep on returning once it knows that there are chickens. We don't know if we've foxes around here but are going to have our run in heavy duty weldmesh to be on the safe side. Is the weldmesh intact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imo Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Grrr foxes can be a real nuisance. Glad your hens are OK though. I had a similar scary experience just a few weeks back - I heard Vivienne making a funny noise. There was a HUGE fox sitting on our lawn as bold as brass and eyeing up our hens [who were out of the run]. It must have been about 10 in the morning. He may as well have had his knife and fork out!! And Vivienne, being the complete head-banger that she is, was just standing as tall as she could clucking at him, barely fifteen feet away. It's remarkable she didn't get eaten actually - I ran out like a maniac and flapped my arms a lot Seemed to frighten it away... I've heard if you have a cat or a dog, the chances of a fox being around are less likely because they can smell them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 How scarey! We've got a dog, I don't know if it makes a difference to the amount of fox visits because i don't have anything to compare it to, but he's very good at testing the run for weaknesses! Having said that, there's a woman in the next street who has had chooks taken and they don't have a dog. I don't know the full circumstances though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imo Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 We live right next to a common and we get a lot of foxes round here - my friends have had guinea pigs and rabbits taken in the past. Considering that we know some foxes have made visits and know the hens are here, we haven't seen that much of them, which is surprising because surely they'd keep coming back? Maybe having a dog does make a difference Even if she is old, smelly, partially blind and deaf.... Not even sure if she has that many teeth now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogs Too Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 The noise that the hens can generate , although safe in the eglu, is amazing! My concern is that they injure themselves in panic, hence we went for some electric fencing, no disturbances since that date! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 the eglu & run seem to be intact & I have spent a lot of time in the garden with Saffy today she seems OK, my raised beds are full of soil now, & I have planted up quite a lot, mini apple trees in place, Saffy was taking a very keen interest in the calabrise & tried to peck at it through the omlet netting as fast as I could plant it, looks like moving the netting a bit further away! ankle hurts a lot now so I'll be on the sofa with my feet up for the rest of the day, have to be fit tomorrow for my new girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol U Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I had the same experience last year Anne. We bought a Foxwatch next day and, touch wood, have had no more problems since. There are foxes all around us, but they leave our garden severely alone. We only switch it on at night, but that seems to be enough to deter them 24/7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzie Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 I've heard if you have a cat or a dog, the chances of a fox being around are less likely because they can smell them? Fox will eat cats I have 10 dogs and still have fox they stand on the outside of my fence and just look at the dogs. Not bothered at all in fact this is the second year that one has denned under my garage not 40 feet from the dog run. I have counted 7 kits this year they are just 2 weeks old now, last year she gave birth to 4 Glad that your chickens are ok that is to close for comfort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellekatz Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Foxes near us wont go near cats - some elderly neighbours but cat food out for the foxes, but if someone elses cat was there first they would stay out of the way until it had gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imo Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Have never heard of foxes eating cats I guess everyone has different experiences with them - sometimes its just down to luck, I guess. Just as well we all put our hens to bed early Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Oh heck! Am glad Saffy is OK. Poor girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted March 27, 2008 Author Share Posted March 27, 2008 I have a fox watch 2 cats and next door has a dog but nothing seems to detur the local fox. I think I may contact the council pest control to see if anything can be done, this particular fox is being a real pain. At least Saffy will not be alone as of tomorrow lunch time and the run now has a converter & extension so there is plenty of room. I'll be at home every day for the next few weeks so they hang free range under supervision, by the time I get back to work the evenings should be lighter so I can spend time outside with them after work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...