Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[koo2cat]

Hi All

 

We have a fox lurking, waiting to catch our 7 beautiful girls!! He has been hanging around on and off since Sunday morning. Our house backs onto open countryside and I have seen foxes in the field before but never in broad daylight or at 7am in the morning on a gorgeous sunny day! I really cant keep my chickens in their Cube run all the time as it just isn't big enough and although they live in a fenced off area during the day, it ain't fox proof!

 

I have ordered a foxwatch today and wondered if any of you have used it and how successful it is. I am praying my girls don't get nabbed but fear their days are numbered at the moment. It would be terrible to loose them by a fox attack.

Fingers crossed and praying!!!

 

Cat xx

[the bradley bunch]

hi cat,

 

i've never used a foxwatch but i would advise never leaving your chickens out alone in a not fox proof area even with a foxwatch. otherwise their days most certainly will be numbered

 

if the run isn't big enough for them to stay in long periods you maybe need to buy some chicken wire, etc to make a simple yet safe run extension - however high you make it make sure it has a fox proof 'roof' as well as sides (you can just use chicken wire for this also), as fox's are very agile and will use trees, fences, sheds to jump into even the highest of fenced off areas (even if you don't think there is anything they could use they will normally find something, especially if they are hungry). it shouldn't take more than one afternoon to sort something out, it might not look very attractive but it will be a quick solution to the problem.

 

until you have the time to do this you really ought to keep them in their run and only let them free range when someone is out there with them. if you read the 'fox attacks' thread you will see how clever and persistant these animals are...in some cases even taking FR supervised chickens when the owner's back is turned . i don't want to worry or frighten you but you really must be vigilent when it comes to protecting your chooks from hungry foxes.

 

a few simple guidelines to follow are:

never allow chickens to free-range unsupervised or leave them alone in an area/run that is not fox proof.

always shut & lock the door to the hen house at night - not just the door to the run, however secure you think it is.

if you are lucky enought to have a man about the house or a very obliging friend/family member, then spray the garden perimeter with his urine once every few nights when you put the chooks to bed.

try to put your girls away to bed early, before a fox's natural hunting hours (by 9pm in the Summer and 7pm in the Winter) - this is so that even if a fox does pass through your garden there won't be any visible evidence of the chooks being there.

 

obviously in your unfortunate case Cat the fox is already aware of the chooks in your garden, and as you will know once they've discovered there are chickens around they will hang around at all hours waiting for any opportunity to pounce. this is why it's so important for chicken owners to keep their girls locked away and hidden in their hen house when fox's might be on the prowl (from dusk till dawn). the foxwatch should effectively discourage the fox from entering the garden during supervised FR and stop him from trying to get into the hen house at night - which i imagine would be distressing for your girls (hopefully someone else will be along shortly to confirm how well it works).

 

finally...for anyone else reading this thread...always assume you have a fox even if you've never seen one, and act with the same precaution as you would if you did have one lurking around.

remember the fox is just a hungry innocent animal acting out of instinct to get his next meal, and may not have eaten for days. but we want to keep our chickens safe

[Lydia]

I have 4 Foxwatches and they are a good deterrent most of the time but I would not ever rely on them 100%. Bottom line - if our girls are out of their run one or both of us is in the garden with them at all times.

 

You need to run them off the mains not batteries. They are good but just a deterrent and we did have a fox visit the garden late last year and in the snow during the day - I guess he/she was desperate and chose to ignore the sound, or perhaps just deaf.

 

If you want to freerange your girls unattended many on here swear by electric fencing. I have never used it myself so can't comment but there are lots of threads on here about it. Failing that invest in a large, secure, roofed walk in run.