Berni Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 We had a fox attack at 8.00am this morning. Olive (Maran Cuivree) and Peggy (Isa Warren) were snatched from the run and sadly all that's left of them is some of their beautiful feathers. It's very worrying because the fox, or foxes managed to prize apart the run at the front on the left hand side by the door and make off with the hens. We think it's likely that some of the plastic clips might have perished in the cold weather and the fox just pulled at the wire until the clips snapped. We have reinforced with new clips and have ordered some more to be on the safe side. But it makes me nervous to think the foxes have worked out how to break in and may come back for our surviving hen, Freida (Speckeldy) who managed to escape their clutches because she was in the eglu laying an egg. I'm posting this to make people aware, to check their clips are are in good condition and that there are no chinks in the run that a fox could breach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Sorry to hear the sad news Berni. I think Omlet recommend changing all the run clips every year, just to be safe. As the run door is used so often, I have replaced the clip 'hinges' with metal key rings as they don't wear out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks Christian. I didn't know about that recommendation. That's a good idea for making the door more secure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyMurray Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I had 13 killed on flipping New Years Eve!!!! I bought 5 new Marans a few weeks earlier and one would never go in and kept staying out after dark (they live in 2 seperate sheds with two completely covered wire runs) anyway..I was all dressed up in my best gear and went out before guests arrived to see her still wandering around and I thought I'm not climbing in there in all the mud in my sparkly top and best trousers (usually I would but vanity applied on that evening!) I popped out 3 more times until at 1:30am noticed feathers all over the lawn I grabbed the torch and went out to find a hole ripped in the wire and bodies everywhere! That was it - tears on New Years Eve. I found 1 hen inside the shed on the perch as if nothing had happened. My hubby piled loads of stuff against the hole and we left it til morning to sort out. New Years day started off with us getting up before the kids saw anything and out we went with black bags searching for bodies etc..... found 10 bodies and counted 3 missing which included the Maran that caused the trouble. I did a head count and luckily most of my hens had gone to bed in my old shed which I had managed to lock up. A couple of days ago i was talking to a neighbour about the fox attack and guess what?.... she said her hubby was standing outside in her back garden with a friend who was having a ciggy and they heard it, they thought they were making a lot of noise! Why the hell didnt they ring me? May have been able to save a few lives? I'm a nervous wreck now, can't stop checking they are ok, locked in, check out the window the doors shut, shine a torch out the window to make sure it looks locked, silly really but I'm scared they'll come back and fight their way in again. We get loads of foxes day and night as a neighbour feeds them twice a day so the fox population around here is HIGH! Dyan x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 That's awful, so sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 That's a horrid story. I hope you feel better soon, I see it's taken you ages to post this. I can't understand the neighbours though.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 That's terrible to lose so many in one go. Really traumatic - a rotten start to 2011. You have my sympathies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henslaved Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 What a terrible thing to happen . Sounds to me as though you need an Urban Fox Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 What a terrible thing to happen, I really feel for you, no wonder you are paranoid now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Jane Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 How horrible for you, and how upsetting to know that your neighbour heard it all and did nothing! Some people are just thoughtless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 awful, but if your neighbour didnt really know about chooks and noise he probably wasnt aware that something was actually wrong - or is he the fox feeder? in which case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 I lost my first hen to a fox attack early this morning (3.30am?). Woken up by growling and the girls squawking and shouted at the fox out of the bedroom window which caused it to run away over the fence. There were feathers everywhere and the girls were very distressed, Tango was lying on the ground and Echo had been bitten. Simply a matter of forgetting to shut the eglu door last night Echo is now sat in a box in the kitchen resting her wounds and Gingy is lonely outside, plus I'm too paranoid to let her free range. Quick question- anyone know any good home remedies for chicken wounds? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Really sorry to hear that. Know how dreadful it feels, we lost two of ours three weeks ago when the fox broke into the run. Is that what happened to your two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 No, forgot to close the run and eglu door just once, so he walked right in. The fox must check it every night. Echo passed away early today after putting up a good fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Oh that is sad. it is the downside of keeping chickens, the ever present threat of fox attacks. but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. We brought two new hens home last week and having great fun and games training them up and integrating them with our old hen Frieda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 After keeping hens for nearly four years we had our first visit tonight. Thankfully no harm done as the hens were locked in the walk in run which I reckon is fox proof (but I wouldn't bet my life on it). We heard lots of alarm bocking, turned on the security light and dashed out in time to see a red bushy tail disappear over the 6ft fence at the end of the garden. A couple of hens like to roost in the WIR on a shelf I put in to add a bit more interest and technically could be within swiping range through the 1/2" mesh from the cube roof. Going to take that down tomorrow to encourage internal roosting once more, and start locking them up in the Cube on a night again. I will check for tunneling attempts in the morning. The run has a mesh skirt on three sides but one side borders next doors fence so I think Mr Fox will probably try tunneling in from there once he has discovered this. He would be wasting his time as the entire run is built on buried heavy duty mesh but I suppose that will rust away eventually so I would rather he didn't bother trying. I intend to slab the run floor next time I do a big mucking out mainly to make mucking out easier but that should also make it totally impregnable, hopefully. We have in the past let chooks free range semi-supervised, but that will have to stop too now I guess. I have always suspected there were foxes nearby as we are not far from a railway line but now I know. Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Wow, that was lucky, good job you are fox proof and at least now you are aware they are around. Are your girls really spooked, hope they are ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Wow, that was lucky, good job you are fox proof and at least now you are aware they are around. Are your girls really spooked, hope they are ok. Yeah they were a bit freaked out and there were quite a few feathers shed whilst they were flapping about in a blind panic. We managed to calm them down before putting them to bed so hopefully they will be ok tomorrow. I hope the little blighter doesn't start trashing next doors borders trying to tunnel in to our run I might have to buy 2 fox-watch thingymebobs! Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvh Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Hi All We joined this last night to give you out thoughts and some comfort on the fox issue. We reside in Scotland, and have 9 acres for free ranging Araucana chickens. Our land is on a forest, which has many foxes in and around it. Our best advice to you is this. 110% put the chickens locked in the coop 1 hour before dusk, and let them out at least an hour after sun up. Foxes are notorious early morning and sundown. If you leave the chickens outside at these times, the chances are the fox will get them, that is there time, and definitley the time free ranging stops. When breeding the Araucanas, we looked at the technology available for protection, and listened to many wise old sheep farmers, and we have seen many fox attacks on neighbouring properties, that dont lock the chickens inside the coops at night. Foxes are wise creatures, after three months or so, they will figure out foxaert and other products along those lines. The ultimate safeguard for your chickens is locked up, snug for the night, inside your coop. Foxes go out and train there young to kill, if there are chickens around, they will be back time after time after time, to work out how to get them. Even sadder, most of the times when they achieve their goal, you will find your chickens mostly intact,it is very rare they actually eat them, most of the time they are training the cubs to kill. So best advice we can give is not to worry about foxwatch, fox proof fencing etc etc. Keep your chickens free ranging limited from at least an hour after sun up, until at most an hour before dusk, and then lock them up for the night. There is NO safer way to avoid the fox. Hope this helps and sorry to hear about your chickens, it is very distressing when it first happens, BUT it is something that will make you not forget to lock up the chickens in the future, and we know that from our first hand experience, and have not lost one chicken now in just under 9 years sticking to that system. The last thing we would mention, to anyone free ranging with acreage, is that the Alpaca's are the best fox detterent around, foxes keep well away from them, and they are extremley good fun to have around with the chickens. Best of luck to everyone in the forum, and just remember, lock up an hour before dusk, and dont let them out until at LEAST an hour after sun up. It is EXTREMLEY, EXTREMLEY, EXTREMLEY rare that you will ever see a fox in these daytime hours, unless starvation is driving them out to seek food, and in 9 years, we have seen that only once in our breeding time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 I follow your advice and it works for me, mine are never out anywhere near approaching dark and not let out until about 10 am at the moment. I learnt the hard way I have had a screaming vixen in the garden lately at about 2 am - I let my border terriers out (my neighbours are glad as she wakes them up) and this repels here for a couple of weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henhathnofury Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I think that is perfect advice for rural foxes but alas, urban foxes can sometimes be seen during the day. Especially in bad weather, when they are hungry. But you certainly cut the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katsmother Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 After just 3 weeks we lost our 3 first hens (Rhonda RIR, Henrietta cuckoo Maran and Fog, blue hybrid) to a fox yesterday between 5.10pm and 6.30pm, while out taking daughter to gym class. Sadly it turned out that between us we had forgotten to put the eglu door pin back in even thought the door was closed, so down to human error. My daughter saw the fox running away as she went out into the garden to shut the eglu door, and found the hens had not put themselves to bed as they usually do, and all of them missing. A search with torches revealed Fog and Henrietta dragged across the lawn with their heads bitten off and feathers strewn around. Rhonda is stil missing, presumed dead. A terrible way to learn a lesson about always checking the door is locked. It is the first time we have seen a fox in several months, but I will now be blocking two holes in the bottom of the garden fence where the fox must be coming through on its rounds. We will be getting more hens as soon as possible. We will be taking the advice about putting hens to bed an hour before sunset as well, as that would have saved them yesterday. After reading other posts on this forum we will also be adding some cable ties to the run, though ours is a brand new eglu Go, but it is a simple and cheap security upgrade. We are all very sad and my daughters are still tearful as well as angry. Rhonda had just given us our very first eggs, and laid a real whopper the morning of the day she died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 What rotten luck to lose your hens so soon. You have to be so vigilant otherwise the foxes are straight in there. Here's hoping you have better fortune with the new ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzannejoy Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 so sorry to hear abot your loss of your hens .x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Please be cautious - today I had to chase a fox out of the garden at 2.30 pm. I am working from home today, and I let the hens out during my lunch break while I cut the grass - it's such a lovely sunny day here, I didn't want to put them back so left them out while I popped into the kitchen to check my emails. Within a couple of minutes I noticed them standing very still and erect, which is odd ... then a ginger mask peered cautiously round the greenhouse. I ran up the garden yelling, and he disappeared but a couple of minutes more and he would surely have had one. I'm afraid dusk and dawn are not the only risky times, so please be vigilant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
