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[Olly]

Sadly I have just had an email from a friend - not a forum member - to say that all three of her chickens were taken today by a fox. I've seen her set-up, and I didn't think it was fox-proof (and said so, politely) but she was adamant that she had never seen a fox, and anyway there was always someone in the house. There have been several postings recently about fox attacks, and I'd like to dispel some of the 'myths' that prevail and hopefully stop anyone else from having such a horrible experience.

 

Firstly, foxes are NOT evil, devious, greedy, spiteful and selfish. These are human attributes. Foxes are just foxes - they are animals (with as much right to live here as badgers, otters, kestrels and so on) and they have animal instincts. They need to eat, and since popping out to McDonalds isn't an option for them, they take food where they can get it. It's instinctive that if they find lots of food, they take as much as they can even though they can't eat it all at once. If they can get to your chickens, they will take all they can.

 

1) You would know if there was a fox around.

 

As with my friend, the first time you may know is when your chickens are taken. There is nowhere in the UK (apart from the Isle of Man, I believe) that doesn't have foxes.

 

2) Foxes won't climb fences or walls.

 

They will climb anything a cat can climb - 6' or more, and they can tunnel under or into quite small gaps. If there is a reward at the end - your chickens - they are very determined.

 

3) They are only a problem at dusk or during the night.

 

A hungry fox won't care if it's daylight or midnight - especially urban foxes, which are very bold. They can and will come at any time of day.

 

4) As long as there's someone in the house, they will be put off.

 

Not true - my friend was in today when her chickens were taken. She also has a dog, although he wasn't in the garden at the time.

 

5) My chickens are protected by chicken-wire/netting, a fox wouldn't get through.

 

Foxes can bite through chicken-wire, and can even learn to operate simple sliding catches, and will dig under the edges of wire if it's not buried. Unless your run requires opposable thumbs and adult strength to get into, it's not safe.

 

I am not a fox expert, this is simply based on my own observations and on reading this forum, but look here for detailed information.

 

Please, please take care that your chickens are secure, and that free-ranging is supervised; this cold weather means foxes are desperate and willing to take chances. My friend and her three daughters are very sad tonight. In her words 'I can't believe that I fed them this morning, and now they are all gone'.

[Snowy]

Very good advice Olly, and timely as we are coming up to the season when the vixens cub and they get particularly hungry.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

What a shame for your friend . Some very useful advice there though.

[Guest]

That is sad Olly....it just goes to show that you can never br complacent about foxes!

 

How is your new addition settling in?

 

Louise

[Redwing]

Good advice Olly, thanks for taking the time to put it down in writing for us.

 

May I ask what the problem was with the set up? I am polanning a walk in run but am dreading the prospect that a fox could ping the mesh staples out by pushing hard

[Egluntyne]

Well done Olly. An interesting post and a timely reminder.

 

I have a book called Urban Foxes by Stephen Harris and Phil Baker which is well worth reading, and everything Olly says is in it.

[Lesley]

A well written piece Olly - and a timely reminder to check that we've done all that we can.

 

We have foxes here all the time and daren't drop our guard - all our chicken wire is surrounded by single strand electric fence and we know the foxes are only waiting for the day we forget to change the battery.

 

The fox will kill whatever it can......and left to it's own devices would return for the kill he has to leave behind. That is often seen as killing for fun but is far from it.

[Olly]

Redwing - my friend had a triangular corner of the garden fenced off - two sides of the enclosure were brick walls, 6' high, and the front was fenced with mesh, again 6' high - but there was no roof on it. My own view was that a fox could easily climb over, but in fact she says there was a hole under one corner of the mesh and he took an easy route in. All three were gone, and hardly any feathers left.

[bellekatz]

Can I just reiterate another point of Olly's and that is that foxes can open catches as well - we have lost lots of Rabbits and GPs over the years to foxes that could open hutch catches and help themselves. They really are quite smart!!

[susanbb]

Really good advice. Thanks for that.

[bronze]

No foxes in Shetland

[Saronne]

Good sensible advice. I personally know of some people around here who let their hens free range quite a lot in the day - many of these owners are at work whilst hens are out. I think they are taking a BIG risk.

We live in a Leicestershire village and I've seen lean and hungry looking foxes trotting down our Main Street.

Re: McDonalds - Recently a few miles down the road from us I saw a hungry fox sniffing around outside McDonalds (it was 11.00 a.m.). Foxes are hungry critters this time of year and whilst I'd say they are opportunists, I'd agree with Olly that we give foxes (and hens for that matter) inappropriate human attributes (which I'm sometimes guilty of doing!)

 

Paris

Nicole

Dorothy

Germaine

Jordan

[Tiggy]

urban foxes really are not put off by human presence, my first girls were killed at lunchtime with me right next to them in the poly tunnel

[seagullukuk]

A very timely reminder Olly with these long dark days and altered routines, it easy to lose track of time and forget the darlings are out when called away!!

BTW I have two new girls both laying already!!

[Tessa the Duchess]

Well I let my chickens out to freerange about an hour ago, went back indoors, 5 minutes later glanced out of the window and there was a big hungry looking fox about 10feet away from my girls I have never moved so fast in my entire life! I raced down the garden and the fox didn't move until I was about 3ft from it, then it legged it over the fence. The girls are now confined to barracks and very ticked off they are too. So much for the Foxwatch. I am going to have to re-think, I cannot stand in the freezing garden for hours every day, and I don't want to own chickens that can't freerange hmmmmm.

 

Tessa

[Menias4]

The same thing has just happened to me an hour ago...always had guniea pigs and rabits in the garden and have never seen a fox during the day, but just seen one sitting at the back of the garden watching my free ranging chickens. Crafty things they are. Bit scared now as only had them 3 weeks and don't want to loose them as already grown attached to them.

[TAJ]

See my separate post - 11.30 this morning there was a fox in the middle of my omlet netting and he left the garden by climbing over a 6ft fence.

 

Tracy

[The Dogmother]

Best beware - the cubs will be arriving soon and the vixens will be extra hungry