Smart Feeder - Light sensor values

[Silkiemum]

Really worried about my girls - we have never had any problems with foxes (well not as far as we're aware of ) but the last three days we've had visits from a very very persistent and obviously very hungry fox. he patrols round their run and is terrorising the girls and one of them injured her claw in her desperation to get away from him. He is very brazen and stands his ground when we go out there. We chase him away but he comes back sometimes a minute later. We shut the in the cube in the end in the hope he would go away and to calm them down. just so nervous about whether he can get in. the run is made of wire fixed to wooden panels, has a wire roof with a perspex slope above that, it has a solid paving stone floor and the bottom 18 ins has an extra layer of chicken wire. Am I worrying too much - it's horrid that they are so scared of him but I guess if that's the worst of it, t hey will get over it or do I need to reinforce my WIR (any ideas in that case?). What about repellants - do they work?... Advice welcome!

[jimnpaula]

Is your wire heavy gauge weld-mesh or just chicken wire? Chicken wire is rather soft and bendy, good for keeping chickens in, but not so good at keeping foxes out.

[Silkiemum]

Oh gosh don't know, will have to ask Oh who built it. What will the fox do , do they chew it?

[jimnpaula]

Probably push/pull at it and chew it if they can get their teeth into any holes. Shutting the ladies into the cube overnight should offer them enough protection for the time being, but make sure the poo trays have latched in so foxy can't pull them out. If it was me I'd be threatening him with gardening implements if he turns up tomorrow!

 

Your wir sounds a lot like mine; the wooden frames and the slabs and the roof. The weldmesh on mine is half-inch square and 16 gauge (the thickness of the wire).

[libby22]

If you want to reinforce the mesh, as I have done, I have used the green metal mesh shelves that come with the small plastic covered greenhouses. You can tie wrap them to the bottom half of the outside of the run and if you do it neatly, it looks nice enough too.

 

I have a fox living under next door's shed so he is around most of the time. He was in the garden as soon as I had the chickens and although locked into the cube, I was so worried and couldn't sleep.

 

A friend advised me to buy one of those giant water pistols and fill it with cold water with washing up liquid, making it really soapy. The idea was that once soaked, when he tried to wash himself to get rid of the water, he would get the soapy taste and hate it. I was dubious but wanted to try anything I could. I only did it the once, chasing him, yelling and soaking him in soapy water! Bet the neighbours had a field day!!

 

I haven't seen him since - he is in the other neighbours' gardens but not ours so far. I have been able to check for paw prints due to the snow but none as yet, but the water pistol is ready and waiting

[ohcarolina]

If your cube is outside the WIR and then make sure that the drain slit in the nesting box is covered. I've seen a couple of posts on here before where foxes have managed to get parts of chooks (like dangling legs) through the nest box.

 

Hope that makes sense as I'm not trying to panic you.

 

Caroline

[Silkiemum]

Thankyou all so much. We spent an hour propping fencing, old windows, a sheet of Perspex, etc all round the wire to give the girls some shelter and to keep him away from then edge if we can. Had not thought about the slit. In the n box! That is today's job! I would enjoy the water pistol! Thanks again from me and my girlies.