Chicken Memorials

[Cosmo]

So I knew we have had foxes in the garden in the past and this week I've been finding odd things left in the garden. The first was a teddy bear that was left in the middle of our lawn at some point over night, balls and other random objects. (The teddy bear freaked me out). Mr Fox has been number one suspect.

 

He and his brother also now stand accused of chicken taunting. I found two of them were harassing my chickens this evening through the bars of the run when I went down the garden just as the light was starting to fade. Funnily enough the girls weren't one bit bothered by them suggesting they have met before. Even if they weren't bothered, I am. Is there anything I can do to discourage them that will actually work or do I just have to put my faith in the anti-dig skirt?

 

Thanks, Cosmo

[Cat tails]

Don't know about any fox repellend as I don't have any foxes here, but if they are that bold, I wouldn't put my faith in the Go.

I know that Lee Weedon had a fox just bash a way through the door of his Go. And I think a very determined and hungry fox might just accidently open the hatch on the back. By just clawing at the turning k"Ooops, word censored!", they could open it, I think. Also the run clips are secure, but tie wraps apparently aren't. So if you have the up, I would fortify the panels at the back with wire or something.

 

Don't want to scare you, but I've heard of many gruesome attacks on this forum.

[Beantree]

I agree with Cat Tails, you need to fortify your defences immediately. Urban foxes are not discouraged by anything. Surrounding your run and coop with an electric fence would be a good idea.

[Cosmo]

I'm not sure an electric fence will be an option for us but I will look into it. I might be able to do it by moving the coop. It isn't in sight of the house at the moment so that might have to change. I put a slab against the back of the Go last night but that's not really a long term solution as it's so heavy I can barely move it. I've got some extra run clips so they will go on later today.

 

It appears one of our near neighbours is feeding the foxes. I can't decide how I feel about that. One one hand it will be attracting them to the area but on the other at least they have full stomachs.

[Cat tails]

I think the biggest problem might occur when the neighbour stops feeding them. They will stick around, but then be hungry.

 

Instead of run clips or tie wraps, you could try those metal bands that you tighten with a screw. They look a little bit like tie wraps, but are much more sturdy. Edit: I think they might be called hose clamps?

Edited August 14, 2015 by Guest

[sjp]

just because a fox has a full stomach it doesn't mean they won't still go hunting for food as they are hoarders they'll take food will it's in plentiful supply a store it for the learn times sadly the only sure fire deterrent is to remove the foxes if they're leaving their 'spoils' in your garden I think that means that they regard your garden as been a safe part of their territory

[Beantree]

Jubilee or hose clips they are called Cat Tails and that's a good idea. Can be a bit fiddly screwing them back together when they have been fully unscrewed though. As said, if the neighbour goes away on holiday and stops feeding them that could be more of a problem, but there is still a risk they will try for the chickens anyway.

[Grandmashazzie]

Is a WIR an option. We have our Go Up and Classic in a WIR which is on concrete slabs around perimeter. Not from Omlet it was advertised on gumtree and would be easy ish to make with wood and wire meld.

[Olly]

I don't think there is any fox deterrent that really works, I used a Foxwatch for a while and I think the fox visited my garden less, but a determined fox will not be put off. I'm afraid that your neighbour feeding them just means there will be more foxes in the area, and they will not be scared of humans so you have got a problem. As said above, foxes won't just kill when they are hungry - because they never know where their next meal is coming from, if they see an opportunity they will take it. That's why foxes usually kill the whole flock if they're not disturbed - they're stocking up for later.

 

An electric fence isn't a practical option for most of us keeping hens in a back garden setting. Removing one fox - by legal and humane means - won't help much either because there are so many urban foxes that another will soon fill its place. The only thing you can do is increase your defences.

 

I'm not familiar with the Go but generally Omlet advertise the runs as 'fox resistant', not fox proof. Slabs around the edge (or placing it on slabs) will deter digging. I would just add extra green clips if you're concerned about the run parts, they're hard enough for humans to open so I don't think a fox will get through them if there are enough of them. The best solution might be a walk-in run, as suggested above. And it goes without saying that free ranging must be supervised closely.

 

I think feeding foxes is irresponsible, and that's not just because I keep hens; it encourages breeding and most urban foxes lead a short and miserable life. I have strong feelings on this as you might gather! I should add, I've had hens for nearly nine years in an urban garden, and not yet lost one to a fox.

[Cat tails]

I would just add extra green clips if you're concerned about the run parts, they're hard enough for humans to open so I don't think a fox will get through them if there are enough of them.

 

It's not the green clips that are my concern, but the back panels of the run, under the coop, are attached with plastic cable ties to the legs of the Up. As others here have concluded, cable ties certainly aren't fox proof. I would replace those with hose clamps.

[Olly]

Ah, that's where lack of familiarity with the Go shows itself - I assumed everything used the evil green clips!

[clucker1]

I agree, a walk in run is your best bet if you can manage it. Ours is on concrete slabs with railway sleepers round the edge so Mr Fox has a long way to dig if he decides to and then will get a headache when he hits the slabs. We are lucky that Mr F normally only visits frequently in the winter, but his paw prints in the snow show he has been up to the back of the cube summertime, he visits every now and again, perhaps ever hopeful So far the chickens have been ok and I have had chickens for 5 years, the first 6 months they were in a omlet extension and cube....I seem to remember we weighted the skirt down with lots of bricks/stones.

[Cosmo]

Thank you all for all the advice. I've not physically seen the foxes since but they are definitely still visiting and probably always will do. They have left a tennis ball every evening so there is probably a poor dog nearby missing a few. I've fortified our defences as far as I could this weekend and I am working on further improvements.

[natasha]

I have a fox visiting few times a week and I usually get up before the hens and early enough to chase it away. After two fox attacks in early spring, when the fox grabbed hens by their feathers through the wire mesh of the Omlet run, I used a sound device and a sprayed fox deterrent around the garden (hasn't worked too well), but the best thing that worked for me was to be there in person with a stick in my hand. I also used long branches I cut from climbing roses and set up a prickly fortification around the run. I could see where the branches had been disturbed overnight but didn't happen too often. I usually come out when the hens start being anxious and noisy and walk around the garden to scare off any foxes and cats - we get a large number of cats as well.

 

Also the neighbour feeding foxes does not help - is it possible to talk to them and persuade (with a help of few eggs) that foxes do not need feeding?

 

BW

 

Natasha

[mullethunter]

I agree that putting the whole lot inside a bigger run would probably be the safest thing to do if you have the space / can afford it. Also as others have said, make sure a fox couldn't dig it's way in.

[Mar1a]

I have a WIR and we've just recently started getting foxes jumping on the roof. Fortunately, I made sure the roof was double wired when we put it all together because of this exact thing.

 

There is very strong wire dug down to 12 inches all the way round, soil then tramped in as hard as we could, then 12 inches of skirt coming out, and bricks and paving slabs all the way round. TBF has no chance of digging it's way in. The run is double wired all the way round, with polycarbonate sheets in between on three sides, but that's more to protect them from the weather than the foxes, but it serves a good double use. We have just this week put plastic spikes along the edges of the roof to try and stop TBF from jumping up onto the roof.

 

At the mo we have double layers (I clearly like doubling up on everything ) of tarpaulin covering the roof to keep the run dry, but before the winter kicks in, the tarpaulins will be replaced with a solid roof.

 

And still I don't think it's enough.

[Mrs Moo]

Does anyone recommend a fox deterrent in addition to the coop/run. We have a classic eglu inside a 6 x 3 m sq run with a roof which is made of weld mesh and has a skirt of the same all round the base. So far we've been lucky. But I happened to have a chicken die last week and without realising my mistake, buried it in the garden. Clearly a bit too shallow because the fox found her and has proceeded to devour her on a couple of nights leaving debris all over the place, Lovely. And now she knows where lunch is living and apart from the smell she's leaving in the garden I'm worried it's just a matter of time before she digs down far enough or whatever around the run. SO does anyone know a decent, effective deterrent that won't scare off all the wildlife and more importantly won't bother the chickens. Surely a sonic deterrent, while supposedly chasing away wildlife, is also going to freak out the birds you're trying to protect? Thoughts please.

 

Thank you.

[Beantree]

When we moved here there had been a sonic mole deterrent. The noise was horrible and there were no wild birds in the garden at all, so I would assume the chickens would hate it as well. We bury our chickens with a roof tile or two over the top and then soil. You can sprinkle lime as well.

Electric lines around the area will deter a fox and you could make the run mesh the earth circuit. We have two lines around the chicken runs at 8" and 20" height and no fox problems. Our neighbour however had no electric fencing and lost all his ducks. It is a bit of an investment though, made slightly cheaper if you can run a mains powered unit. We've just bought a Patura P1, which is mains or battery, but as it's German you may not be able to get it in the UK.