Single hen

[pasq]

Not a great weekend....

 

Got home Friday 5.30pm, the 1st thing i saw was my dust bin on it's side -lid scattered few metres away. Considering it's a heavyish metal bin too!

 

Worried then... -began to run in garden to find Shirley -my ex battery hen dead in middle of lawn. Feathers about the place -spots of blood on my patio. Not nice. Think the fox had punctured her stomach.

 

Pepper & ginger were ok -they escaped unharmed. Such a shame as she had been accepted by the other 2 hens. As they had their own area with 6 ft fencing perimeter thought that was safe enough........

 

Going forward i will never let my hens out to free range all day - I have done so for past 3 years without any sightings of any foxes.... Pity really as they love to free range.

 

Suppose there's a fox about now -no doubt it knows there are 2 more potential hens it could have??

 

 

I've heard this story posted on omlet web site so many times... We sometimes think if we've never seen a fox about we're safe. Sounds like i'm another statistic!

 

Pasq

[mrs chook]

So sorry to read your post! Must admit I've got similar set up to yours as regards enclosure. We tend to get flippant and think just because we haven't seen Mr F about that he isn't around.

 

Lots of love, glad your others are ok. Take care xx

[Omletina Kyckling]

Oh I'm so sorry. I have a similar set up, my girlies free range all day every day and I always worry that a fox will come, but have never seen one yet...just try to think positively that she had a wonderful time with you, free ranging...

[Dodge]

One way or another, this has been a bad weekend by the looks of it.

So sorry to hear of your loss

 

I think you have been very lucky to have had no fox attacks for 3 years. However now that Mr fox has had a taste of what's in your garden, as you rightly say, you can't afford to take any further chances. I have seen a fox scale a 6 foot fence without even trying

 

Kind regards

 

Dodge

[Mollystar]

So sorry.

 

We have a few foxes around so the girls have to make do with there extentions.

[WitchHazel]

Sorry to hear about Shirley.

 

At least she had a happy free ranging life right up to the end.

[keyhole kate]

I am so sorry to hear

your sad news XX Hugs XX

[Bondinho]

Must be horrible to deal with a situation like that.

 

Are you sure it was a fox? Dog or even a cat maybe? As I would have thought a fox would do more damage than that.

[MedusA]

I'm so sorry.

 

Having also lost a hen to a fox I can truly empathise. Vigilance is everything. My girls never free range unless I am with them. *hugs*

[Karen & co.]

So sorry

 

Karen x

[lisa33]

So sorry to hear about Shirley.

[Seagazer]

So sorry

[kirbyhouse]

Im am so very sorry. We also have a similar set up and sometimes I hear foxes running up the road but I shut them away at night. Its scary to hear that foxes climb - I thought they were more into digging.

 

Shirley must have been very loved - thats why we have them.

 

Keep going and dont give up. Your others girls need you.

 

Sal xxx

[Mrs Frugal]

Really sorry to hear your news . Thinking of you.

[Tiggy]

I'm so sorry to hear about your girl, I was new to chickens a year ago & learned to my cost that as summer turns to autumn Mr/Mrs fox is never far away, even in the middle of the day. Take care

[Gamebird]

So sorry to hear about Shirley.

 

Unfortunately, now that Mr or Mrs Fox knows you have chickens she/he will be back.

 

The nights are getting colder and they need extra food to keep warm at this time of year.

[Lydia]

So very sorry about Shirley. I bet she had a great time with you and got a chance to have a life that she wouldn't otherwise have got.

 

Like you we saw our first fox a couple of weeks ago after nothing for years. He visited us at 9.30 am and easily scaled our 6 ft fence to get in and out. Luckily we got away with it and all the hens were fine. But next time they might not be.

 

Mr/Mrs Fox will be back - ours came back every day and every night after the first time. Since we installed a Foxwatch we haven't seen him/her though so it's worth investing. It won't keep them 100% safe and I still babysit them with freeranging but it's a bit of extra security.

[Egluntyne]

Very sorry to hear it.

 

You are right though....now that the fox knows where there is a ready meal....he will be back, so keep them safe.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

So sorry to hear that .

[RubyReckless]

So sorry to hear it! it happened to me, too, a couple of years ago. I lost all 3 girls in the middle of the day while i was at the shops.

 

Have you considered that it might not be a fox? I thought it was a fox who ate my chooks. Until the next day when the 2 Alsatians came back looking for more. I did eventually find the owners and they built a bigger fence to keep their dogs in, but it didn't bring my pets back.

 

Whatever was the culprit, you will definitely need to keep them safe unless you are out there with them - the predator will probably be back.

[speckled hen]

Im so sorry xxxx I am a nwbie and have already lost one of my girls to mr fox, he came and took Doris from the garden the day after I got her, that was during the day, just over 2 weeks later and we found knawing on the side of the hen house where he has been trying to get in during the night. No idea how to stop him.

 

Sending you kind thoughts and a big hug xx