What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[sadietoo]

OK...I posted on here a few days ago to say overnight a fox had shredded my eglu run cover....in spite of Foxwatch being on and correctly sited etc etc....After that I moved the fox watch even closer to the eglu and run so that there could be no doubt that it was covering the area it is supposed to cover....last night we had a repeat performance. Fox foot-trods all over the eglu, and shredded shower curtain....Foxwatch definitely switched on and working (well as far as one can tell).......three possibilities: Firstly we are dealing with a deaf fox. Secondly we have a faulty unit so although the little red light flickers it isn't making the sound that the fox is supposed to hear..and thirdly I have wasted thirty five squid and it doesn't actually work as a deterrent after all. I know lots of you have foxwatch, so really I'm just posting this so that you are a bit wary if you are relying on foxwatch to keep your girls safe. (in the meantime I'm e-mailing foxwatch for their comments). Grrrrr foxes

[xScrunchee]

We have foxes in our garden every single night

 

They poo and wee all over the place and have recently started to poo on the roof of my walk in run

 

They are now digging big holes eveywhere.

 

I have just about had enough of it all now.

 

OH wants to sit and wait at night with a air rifle thingy but I have said NO WAY

Even though I am sick of them-I cannot bear the thought of them being injured and suffering.

I sometimes feel tempted to get a fox wtach or 10 but have read so many stories of how it made no difference-I don't want to waste my money

 

Scarecrows are supposed to be good but I would have to have loads set up as the foxes seem to be roaming in every part of the garden

 

Let me know if you find a solution

[Chucky Mama]

Our village was hit by a couple of young foxes that pretty much cleared out the village chickens (not mine thankfully). They set traps and then shot them (higher powered gun than an air rifle) which they considered the most humane thing to do.

I personally would have thought that a fox coould become condiitoned to the sound of a foxwatch after a time i.e get so used to it that they tune it out and ignore it.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

How annoying and worrying . I hope you get a response from the manufacturer .

[sadietoo]

Oh XScrunchee...my solution was going to be a WIR!...I know it won't keep the foxes out of the garden but I thought at least it would stop them intimidating my chickens by tap dancing on the Eglu of a night...... on that note..has anyone bought a ready made WIR as my hopes of my OH having time to make one are not high..(.Our loo roll holders still haven't been fixed up after over 5 years of living here ) and if so any recommendations????

 

OH also suggested a high powered air rifle (or shotgun) would be the best thing to deter them...but I really can't bear the thought of hurting them (I try never to kill anything...not even wasps!)...they are only doing what comes naturally...I'd just rather they didn't do it in my garden.

Thanks

[xScrunchee]

I am happy that whilst in the WIR my chickens are 100% safe. I never let them free range without us being in the garden with them.

 

I would definitely recommend getting a run from Tony at Aviaries 4 u.

He built my run 2 years ago and soooo many people on here have since had him make theirs.

 

*Have a looksie here*

[Olly]

It's definitely worth contacting the manufacturer, because it's possible your unit is faulty - quite a few of us on here have a Foxwatch, and I for one am convinced that it works. It will never protect your hens completely however, it's just a deterrent.

 

Unfortunately there is a quite a bit of evidence that suggests that when a fox is killed, another one usually moves into its territory within about six weeks.

[Patricia W]

Is an electric fence feasible for you? The Omlet netting can be electrified and seems to be the other option to a WIR. Let us know what happens with the Foxwatch though.

 

Tricia

[sadietoo]

Hi Patricia, thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately an Electric Fence would mean re-siting the eglu as right now there is a fence behind it with loads of vegetation on it. We have quite a small garden so to find an open space to put the fence around so that it works properly is quite difficult, unless we put it right in the middle of the lawn, which I don't think OH will agree to (as it is where he keeps his dinghy at the moment )

 

XScrunchee, thanks for the link to Aviaries4U..it came up in my search but it's always good to have a personal recommendation.

 

And finally Olly, thanks for your reply....I'm wondering if the fox is managing to avoid the foxwatch by jumping up on top of the eglu and run.. because I have the foxwatch sited at fox-height at the moment (as recommended, about 8 inches off the ground), and perhaps that is why the little darling isn't being affected by it? Fortunately the fox is confining its visits to the middle of the night, and I think it probably lives down near the harbour which is about 10 minutes away from us..but I wouldn't dream of letting the new girls free-range unsupervised just in case...

 

Anyway have e-mailed fox watch and will post their reply once received.

 

Keep your fingers crossed for me, am about to let my two new girls free-range for the first time...have bought tinned and fresh sweetcorn, ordinary corn and mealworms to entice them back into the run again!!!!