Smart Door Power Options

[jellykelly]

They've probably been in before, but I can see now as they're paw prints are in the snow.

 

The girls are all safely shut up at night, so providing they don't visit during the day, the chooks should be safe. However, I'd sooner them not keep trying their luck by visiting the garden.

 

I've currently got my two sons peeing in a bucket so as I can pour their wee around the runs and garden tonight, but is there anything else I can do?

 

Dh would sooner I didn't spend anymore money on adding 'stuff' to the garden. He already feels that we have the most expensive eggs in the world!

[Egluntyne]

Human hair stuffed into pop socks and hung around the run is supposed to put them off. Chat up the local barber.

 

Also the smell of citronella is reputed to deter them.

[jellykelly]

Lol - I'll just stick pop socks over the kids heads and stand them out there!

[janette1954]

[Mincepies]

A fox took my favourite hen, Britney, in daylight on Thursday afternoon as the gang of five were free ranging in the garden. They are now confined to a temporary, very small Colditz until we are able to create a larger fox-proof run.

I've been researching fox deterrents - there's a really good sticky thread on Omlet with lots of tips - and they range from the male urine trick, to socks containing human hair (should be male hair), getting someone you know with a male dog to walk around your garden and so 'scent' it, a sonic device called Foxwatch which senses movement and gives off a sound foxes (and dogs) don't like, humane traps, and electric fences.

I'm really sad about it, not only because I can't believe Britney has gone, but now the remaining chooks are no longer able to run about the garden as they please, sunbathing, dustbathing, scratching around, and hassling the neighbours for food

Last night I was awoken at 4am by the sounds of two foxes screeching and barking, as they do in mating season, so no doubt there'll be more cubs - and chicken killers - to come...

[jellykelly]

Do you thing tiger poo would deter them?? I plan to take the kids to our local zoo in the half term break anyway, so whilst there I could grab a bag - they're happy to hand it out!

I wouldn't like to chuck it around my garden though to find that it does nothing!

[emchook]

If fox poo is a shocker on the nose then I can only imagine that Tiger poo would be potent stuff !

I hope you have a big garden to keep yourself away from the pong !!!

[Olly]

I think that in rural areas where foxes are less used to human contact, things like human urine or hair may help to deter them because they want to avoid anything to do with us. Unfortunately in urban areas the local foxes are very used to smelling humans - in fact, they get a lot of their food either directly or indirectly from us - and so these things are less of a deterrent. That's just my view, it costs nothing so it's worth a try!

 

A Foxwatch may work (opinions differ on this, but it worked for me) as a deterrent - it may put the fox off using your garden as a regular route. It is not a preventative, and a hungry (or desperate) fox will take a lot of risks. You could try tiger poo, citronella, Vicks VapoRub or lots of other things, but the only safe route is a secure run and supervised free-ranging, or electric fencing if that's an option. My girls only come out of their WIR if I'm actually in the garden doing things - and even then I've had a fox enter the garden, before I saw it and shouted.