4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[numpty2009]

Hi My chickens arrive tomorrow and I am very very excited. However, despite the fact I had never seen a fox in our garden in the 6 years I have been here, since I placed the order one has turned up, it almost like he knew! He seems to turn up at about 7:30 ish and is quite bold, although he does scarper away from the dog quite quickly, but thats only when the dog spots him.

 

I am now very worried about these chickens. We are putting them nearly 200ft away from the house and I'm concerned that they are going to be harrassed or worse without us knowing. Unfortunately there is nowhere else to put them. can someone please amswer these questions:

 

How fox proof is the eglu run really? are they safe when they are in the run?

If I put them to bed about 7 is that too early?

Will it do them any harm to keep them in the run during the day or should they be free-ranging really?

Does it really work putting male urine around the coop? I've already told my husband that he has to wee in a bottle but does it actually work?

 

thanks

[jlo]

Hi Numpty (Great name by the way!!)

 

I am sure that someone more experienced will be along to answer your questions more fully but here's a start....

 

How fox proof is the eglu run really? are they safe when they are in the run?

The run is described as fox resistant rather than fox proof. The Eglu itself is more fox proof but I have seen a couple of stories about animals getting in on the forum. There are more stories about how good it is I hasten to add!

If I put them to bed about 7 is that too early? They will go into the Eglu as it gets dusk. You may have a little difficulty getting them to bed the first night but they generally know where to go after that. There are tips with the information that you get from Omlet. Seven may be alittle early to force them in at this time of year - unless it is really dark and rainy!

Will it do them any harm to keep them in the run during the day or should they be free-ranging really?You may well feel really guilty about keeping them in the run for most of the day. I know that I do. However, we live in a rural area where I know that there are foxes and I would rather they were safe in the run than at risk so the free ranging is limited to when I am in the house. It is not totally supervised but I pop out every now and again to check on them. Others take the probably more sensible view that all free ranging should be supervised as it can take a fox a moment or two to do his stuff.

Does it really work putting male urine around the coop? I've already told my husband that he has to wee in a bottle but does it actually work? I don't suppose that it is a real deterrent to a hungry fox! There are threads about Fox Watch around which is another option. This chicken keeping lark does tend to grow and you may find that you end up with an electric fence which seems to be the absolute safest option.

 

thanks

 

It is great fun and I am sure that you will really enjoy your girls.

[Redwing]

I cant really add a great deal to the above but would say the Eglu run is fine for two chickens most of the time, if you have three you may need a converter which adds another metre to the run and makes life a lot more comfortable for them

 

If you go out about 6:45 and put a cover over the run (two Omlet shades work well or a garden tarpaulin maybe) it will darken the run and they will go to bed

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Excellent advice above, I'll just add that if you were worried about your girls being harrassed by a fox while in their run you could consider putting corrugated plastic sheets on it. They would double as rainproofing and make it less easy for a fox to try and swipe at the chickens.

 

I have a photo of my old setup if you want to see the corrugated plastic in action.

 

Anyother option might be a Foxwatch? If you do a search on the forum, you'll find loads of info about them.

[sandyhas3chucks]

and there are those that have had a fox dig in from under the Eglu, so get some mesh from wicks and out under the house end.

Also there are lots to read on Fx attacks and what happened.

pretty safe!