My eco solution to rat problems

[Faye&Ant]

Shes a little fighter. Glad shes ok and I hope now you have some nice happy quiet weeks for a change

 

Faye x

[Lizzy]

Oh what a sad thread this is, I always used Hibiscrub, it is brilliant and we use it for the cats, dog, horses and hens. I cant praise its healing properties enough. Good luck with her.

[beckib]

good news, she is still here!

I suppose the next hurdle is keeping infection at bay. My vets are great and are letting me collect some more Baytril this morning at their emergency clinic without even seeing her (although they initially did want to).

I keep getting her up a couple of times a day and put her in the run with tuna,sweetcorn and pasta just so i know she is feeding, otherwise i'm sure she would brood on that nest all day.

Checked the cctv and it seems that fox saw an opportunity and chased her, she was heading for the eglu be it got her just before she could get there.

I am just so frightened to let them free range now and am cosidering building them a big run and/or restricting the free ranging to closer to the house with some fencing perhaps.

I am going away tomorrow so i wont be able to keep you updated, but i hope now that she will slowly improve day by day.

Thanks all for the wonderful advice and support.

x

[AnnieP]

So glad she is still hanging on in there.

The fact that she is on antibiotics would really put my mind at rest over infection, and if Yoko isn't bothered about pecking her, I would just keep an eye on it.

Great advice above. I use hibiscrub for any animal skin problems ie on my dogs, donkeys etc. It is very wet and lathery though, and I am not sure how much she would enjoy it!

Good old Savlon, I've used that too, but can be a bit sticky. My personal favorite is "Purple spray" (Gentian violet). Any country store will sell it and as it comes in a squirty bottle, its very easy to apply, and as it stains purple, you can see whether you have hit the spot or not!

Christian is right though, wear gloves and old clothes when you do it!

Its one of those "must haves" in my chicken first aid box.

 

Have a good day tomorrow!

[Gallina]

Beckib: Sorry to hear about this. It is such a shock when you have been having an idyllic peaceful life in the garden with your hens and suddenly Mr or Mrs Fox turns up and does this.

 

I hope your hen is getting better: she must be even more shocked than you are.

 

You are right to be nervous about letting your hens out: once you have had a fox visit, you can never let your hens out untended again. There are a lot of us in this situation, and you learn to live with it. As it was during the day, yours was a daring and therefore dangerous fox.

 

Below is the picture of the one who killed my first Gingernut. After that he used to sit on the roof of the building the other side of my bottom wall watching me when I was out with the hens, hoping that I would need to go to the loo so that he can have another go:

I hope people do not feel I am being alarmist. Foxes are very persistent and clever, and you need to know the score.

[Sheilaz]

Hope Hendrix continues to do well & sorry for the shock you've had.

 

I really want to echo & emphasise what Gallina says.

 

The fox will be back.

 

Since mine had "a visitor" when they were safely locked away I have vowed never to let them free range again, although they had happily done so for 3 years prior to this.

 

Near to the house or accompanied will make no difference if the fox persists, you only need to turn your back.

 

The good news is that your lovley pair (they sound terriffic characters) will have happy lives within an Eglu run, or a purpose built one if you decide to.

 

Mine live the life of Riley safe in Fort Knox.

 

I also bought a Fox Watch which has kept the fox away from prowling the perimeter...I know it's worked as the hens were calling me when he visited & now they're quiet. It's only a deterrent though, I still wouldn't let them out unless I had electric fencing.

 

The fox will be back. Best wishes to you & Hendrix.

[Lizzy]

We have friends who have fox trouble all the time. They despair, their security is first rate but they still manage to get in from time to time. Sadly the only remedy is to dig a 3 foot trench andputchicken netting in it and then build it to 6 foot with electric fencing all the way around the top. Another friend has gone down that route and his free range ladies have been fox free for years.

We know they are around here because I saw a vixen on the front grass last year in the early hours of the morning. She looked at me, I stared at her and told her she was not welcome. She didnt run, just loped off as relaxed as ever. I am sorry but I blame people who encourage them into gardens by feeding them. It is just not on.

[Gallina]

The Omlet runs definitely keep foxes out if the skirt is weighed down with slabs. Be especially careful on light soil -- and of course never, never, leave the door of the Eglu/Cube open at night if you have seen foxes in your garden, because they will start terrorizing the hens at dawn (before 5am at this time of year).

 

If you build your own run, then Lizzy is right: you have to build it like a fortress. My neighbours had all their hens killed in their run twice before they made it impregnable by going underground.

 

Daytime foxes are horrible, and although people on the forum will say they are only following nature, I disagree -- they have no business to be out in broad daylight.

[Lizzy]

The problem is Gallina they get a taste for chicken. We have an abundance of rabbit and small mammals in this area but there are reports of a vixen and 4 cubs about a mile away across country and so all chicken are at risk.

 

My girls are allowed to run in the garden during the day but dutifully take themselves off to bed at night and we shut them up until about 9 in the morning. If there is a determined fox about I know that all the security methods in the world would probably not deter it.