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Mrs Frugal

The Fox Problem - queries and advice

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LINKS UPDATED AND WORKING

 

Hello everyone,

 

We have had rather a lot of postings on the fox problem lately. Unfortunately, some of them are cautionary tales :cry: .

 

Many of the postings offer common sense advice on how to outwit Mr Fox.

 

One product many people have is linked below. Whilst we cannot claim it works, lots of Omleteers are feeling happier by having it:-

 

FoxWatch

 

 

Some of the topics to cover this subject are:-

 

Click on the links to get straight to them -

 

 

Garden Fencing

 

Foxes and Netting

 

The Fox Problem

 

Evil Foxes

 

 

There are also some points mentioned in the Survey Forum section under Do You Lock The Eglu Door at Night?

 

Leaving the henhouse door open

 

Dee has posted a very interesting piece of information regarding fox deterrents you can buy at the end of this topic. Read on.....

 

also we've received this novel approach....

 

Fox Problem - the solution

 

You will see how much good advice there is on the subject of foxes on this forum but don't go giving yourselves nightmares.....

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Foxes are seen in my garden most mornings and evenings, and am very worried about letting the hen’s free range. Last night 6pm ish, I was watching the foxes in the garden playing close to the Eglu, they did not come close to it for a better look, the hens were sleeping inside though. I have posted some pics in my gallery "Henny & Penny"

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We've had 2 foxes causing havoc. I love them, but have tried everything to discourage them.

8ft of chicken wire, cans with pebbles in hanging from the fence, renardine, noise, etc. I even put my hair on the eglu and the fox left it's calling card ontop of it. Every hour through the night, she'd be on top of the run. So in the end I called pest control and they laid a trap. She came got trapped and then was taken away. I cried my heart out, as it's against what I believe in. But I felt like a protective mum and my girls came first. And within a few weeks the next one came.

Foxes will keep on coming for the hunt, even if they're not hungry. They even attacked when I was in the kitchen with the door open onto the garden, but the chicken gave him what for-feathers everywhere. She must have given him a good pecking as he ran and left empty handed.

 

Foxes are no longer scared of humans, people feed them etc. You have to do whats necessary in the end.

 

Jules

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The urban fox problem makes the traditional country fox situation look like a tea party. Just be grateful the eglu and run are fox-proof and don't feel sorry for your manipulative girls while they are safe in their run. Try spying on them and you'll see they are a lot happier than they appear to be when they know you are around. My Sybil in particular has the 'totally psychotic caged-lion' behaviour down to a fine art :roll:

 

Some people have made the choice to make their gardens or larger runs as fox resistant as possible and just accept the small risk. Its a case of doing what best suits you and your family. If a fox does come and get a hen out in the open it will all be over before the hen realises. The distressing slaughter occurs when a fox gets into a henhouse during the night and none of the poor hens can escape while he has an adrenaline rush and kills the lot.

 

I've found some websites with advice specifically about urban foxes.

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/21891070-7F4C-44CD-B699-BB16AE55B573/0/Foxes2.pdf

 

this one is similar if you don't have adobe for the pdf

http://www.trafford.gov.uk/cme/live/cme1896.htm

 

And this is a short one

http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/home/a-z_services/u/urbanfoxespestcontrol.htm

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We recently lost a chick to a fox. We considered high fencing etc,. but decided that this would turn this part of our garden into a rather unsightly fortress, while still leaving us totally neurotic about whether we had missed some access point for a determined fox. We might also find it less easy to get in and out of the area ourselves.

 

So we have looked at the deterrents on the market, to stop foxes approaching the chicks' area. (Once they reach the perimeter, they would presumably become extremely anxious to get in.)

 

It seems from the Omlet Forum that tips such as using human hair are not foolproof. Renardine is now banned, but has been replaced by Get Off My Garden (from eg. Queenswood Garden Products). The containers need to be topped up every 2 months. The 600g bottle is £11 but I don't know how long it would last.

 

The only deterrent with a guarantee is Foxwatch, which has a PIR and when it detects warm moving things 24/7, emits an inaudible (to humans) sound that foxes - and dogs- dislike. £50 from Grovelands Garden Centre.

 

We got two last week and both are faulty and are being replaced. When the PIR is triggered a red light goes on, and you can tell if it is working by walking in front of it. But we aren't likely at our home in Bristol to see foxes actually being chased away, as usually all we hear are foxes barking in the distance. Hopefully we wont get a definite answer about Foxwatch in the form of a pile of feathers and bodies!

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Hi all. My other half has been busy sharing his, er, urine around the garden for months now in order to deter foxes. We live in London and the foxes still visit our garden despite the male urine. Luckily we never, ever leave the girls out if we aren't with them. Even for a moment. Too risky and would never forgive ourselves.

 

Urban foxes are a real problem and I'm not sure what the answer is but interested to find out anyone's experiences.

 

I know foxes hate lemon, but would this be enough to keep them out if they could smell a chicken?

 

Angela

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There are numerous urban foxes in Oxford, and they even come out in the daylight. I would never let my chickens out of the Eglu run unsupervised (but luckily I like gardening, so they come out when I am out).

 

My neighbours have a hen run with eight-foot high sides, but still the fox got in and slaughtered all their hens on two occasions by burying under the wire. They seem to have solved the problem by continuing the wire underground and making a wire roof to cover the run completely.

 

If you have urban foxes in your area, the run has to be 100% impregnable.

 

Needless to say, seeing the suffering of my neighbours has made me ultra-cautious: finding bits of their beautiful pure-bred chickens in my garden after the carnage was horrible.

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We did the same with Eglu Towers, but the chicken run is at the side and rear of our garden so it isn't an eyesore from the house. We don't mind looking at it anyway and they can look quite neat and tidy.

 

It is an option worth considering. Mesh wire looks neater than wire netting which we used. Combined with new wooden posts and a gate, it could make a nice addition to any garden :D

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I didn't make it clear that it is the (British) designers of Foxwatch who guarantee that it works - you get 90 days if you get it from them, Concept Research (www.conceptresearch.co.uk) - but it seems to be open ended if you get it from Grovelands. The latter do say on their website (www.grovelands.com) that it can take up to 3 to 6 weeks to take effect.

 

Incidentally, the general view about other deterrents seems to be that foxes just get used to them, even the the Scarecrow water squirter which operates by PIR when a fox appears (also we thought we might be squirted too!). Concept claim that foxes never adapt to Foxwatch.

 

The 2 of us in Bristol both work, and in winter we'll be leaving home and getting back in the dark - so the chicks would be stuck in the cage all day long except for weekends. Watching how they behave, we don't feel there is enough room in the cage for extended living.....so when our Foxwatches are up and running, we want to let the chicks out when we are at work. Only letting them out when we are in the garden wouldn't give them much time eg if it is raining like it was yesterday.

 

I'll report back on our Foxwatches.

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How do you know the fox watch is actually working Paul?? I can see the PIR triggering a light but if you can't hear the noise being emitted how do you know it is actually doing what it says on the tin :? Can you use a bat detector or something to check the noise is there :shock:

 

I know just another stupid question :oops:

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Good question Louise. Concept say that if the red light goes on, the Foxwatch is working. My brand new ones seemed to work the first day, then they only lit up when I was a few feet or so away (instead of 40 feet) - so Concedpt are replacing them (designed in the UK but made in China or somewhere cheap and a bit dodgy). I suppose if the red light was working, and a the chicks were still foxed one day, you would send the Foxwatch back to have it checked. Not ideal, but we don't have much choice but to give the Foxwatch a go. Once you see your hens sunning themselves in their garden dust bath etc etc,, you're not keen to cage them up all day long when you're out.

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Oh please be careful Paul, as it would be terribly upsetting to be foxed. It probably does seem like they are caged up in the run, but they really do have enough room and will be happy in there until you let them out and can be near them when they free-range. Some of the girls live in the run full-time and have happy lives. You can always make a dust bath in the run for them.

 

It would be more distressing for your girls to be foxed, than to be safe in the run while you are out.

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Bat detectors do measure ultrasound but not sure if this is whats used for something like foxwatch maybe it would tell you on the package they cost about £40m for a cheap one and are easy to work.

 

You may have to use something different for infrasound?? not sure if thats what the opposite to ultra is called :oops:

 

I wouldn't trust something I couldn't test myself but thats just me :lol:

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:( Its happened, I've been expecting it at any time, but we had our first fox attack. I was in my bathroom when I heard an almighty rumpas from the garden I run out to find Abigale in Mr fox's mouth through the netting I have put up around the eglu.

When Mr fox sees me he jumps releasing Abigale minus a mouth full of feathers. I manage to grab a handful of stones and throw them in anger but sadly miss.

Mr fox runs off, I picked up Abigale who was walking around like she was drunk. Not a drop of blood anywhere, her wings and legs are fine, she just has a patch on her chest of missing feathers.

When I lock both Abigale and Amelia away back in the eglu, I was very touched by the concern shown from Amelia. She started preening the effected area, and seem to place a reasuring wing around poor Abigale. They slept that night side by side instead of the usual beek to tail!

I think I have been very lucky thanks to the netting bought from the Omlet shop.

I hope Abigale recovers from the shock soon. :!:

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fox.jpg

 

Here is the fox that killed my chicken. He sits like this on the roof of the building on the other side of the wall at the bottom of my garden, watching my hens all the time.

 

I let them out today into their net pen and was talking to my neighbour over the fence. I heard my hens flapping, and he was in the garden behind me, about to leap over the netting. He was only a few feet away from me, yet did not feel in the least threatened.

 

I scared him off, but he only retreated a few feet and lay down in my garden and had a wash and a scratch. I stood and watched him for a long time, and he looked me fearlessly in the eye.

 

What on earth can I do with this fox? He lies on top of the Eglu run as well, and doesn't bother to shift himself until I nearly reach him.

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Renadine was the only answer - it is a foul smelling chemical you spread around. But it is now illegal. You can't buy or sell it, nor can you even own it on your own premises. Other than renadine there is very little that works. We live in an area where foxes have chewed through people's brake cables causing car crashes in the morning!

 

Having a dog helps but is far from fool proof - the only answer is to never turn your back on your girls, even for a minute. :x

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