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Q.O.M

our first fox incident!!!!!!

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Hi,

Today we decided not to let our chickens out of their run first thing- and it was just aswell we didn't!

We looked outsideand saw a huge fox right next to our eglu. suddenly it jumped onto of our eglu and circling round it. our poor girls were in so much shock they didn't know what to do, they were running up and down the run panicing :cry: . we all went out there to try and get it away, but it wouldn't go away. in the end we sent out Lotti our dog to shoo it away and although the third of the size of the fox- that worked :D !!! The girls were so shocked.

once the fox had gone, we looked at our chickens to check they were alright they were ok but a few had feathers missing and had cuts near their beaks the cuts were bleeding and looked very sore. But they seemed ok- eating as much as usual!!

We hope the fox doesn't come again, and we are glad the chooks are ok.

So after their eventful morning we decided to set up the more perminant enclosure on the wood chips - so mum, my brother and I set to work and am very pleased with the end result as it nestles in with their favourite patch in my mums garden!

Hattie (green eglu)GNRGNRPPPP:D

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Oh heck.

 

There are a few things you can do to deter the blighter....but now that he knows the girls are there he will be back I'm afraid. :(

 

1. Get the man of the house to "water" the grass around the run.

 

2. Hang hair around the run in old pop socks or similar......they are said not to like the smell. Get friendly with your hairdresser, and offer to sweep the floor!

 

3. A product called **Silent Roar**, which is a cat deterrent is reported to have some success against foxes, although the manufacturers make no such claim.

 

4. A product called **Foxwatch** is quite useful as a deterrent.

 

Good luck :lol:

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foxes have new cubs at this time of year and hunt even in daylight as I have found out to my cost :( my giros were killed on a Sunday lunchtime with me in the poly tunnel right next to them, don't trust any deterents if your girls are out of the run you must be there.

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If you have holes in your fencing-think about atleast patching them up with new timber so the Fox would have to dig rather than wandering in.I know they're safe in the Eglu,but the shock of attack could harm them or stop them from laying.

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my foxwatch has upset the one fox but it seems it does not stop all of them, I saw a fox shaking its head & making a strange noise infront of it one morning but maybe it was just passing through our resident lady is not detured by anything it seems, now where is that shotgun| :twisted: sorry I don't want to upset anybody

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I've found the Foxwatch works as a deterrent, but be aware that foxes tend to follow routines, both in timing and in the paths they take. If you have a large garden and just one Foxwatch (as I have) then the fox will avoid passing in front of it, but probably find another route that avoids it.

 

It's worth blocking up any easy access points as Stevie suggested, it won't stop the fox but it will force it to find a different route. I move my Foxwatch around every so often, so that it covers a different area of the garden - sometimes I just swivel it round 90 degrees, but I hope that I am making the fox more wary.

 

There's no substitute for vigilance though - sadly I never let mine out now, unless I am in the garden.

 

I don't disagree with you about the shotgun, Anne - but apparently if you do get rid of a fox, another one will fill its place within about six weeks :evil:

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Sounds like your girls had a lucky escape, Q.O.M. :shock:

 

I lost one of my girls last year to a fox, and like everyone says, a deterrent is fine, but nothing is a guarantee. My girls only come out if I am there to watch them. Complacency is asking for trouble.

 

We've had a fox in the garden several times since the first incident. They know where a potential food source is so they will keep checking. It's a pain, but you have to remain vigilant.

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The fox will come back. I am afraid you will have to be very careful, like the rest of us who have foxes who visit.

 

I don't think it is safe to let your hens out in the garden any more unless you are out with them.

 

I would suspect that a starving fox with cubs to feed would risk anything, so regard deterrents as something that make things safer, but not risk-free. Your fox sounds very bold, like the ones that vist me: they have all been fed by humans, and so don't even run away when people are in the garden.

 

You are lucky to have seen the fox so that you are forewarned.

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