The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: benkt on January 16, 2012, 08:28:16 pm
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When I went out to lock up this evening I found we'd been visited by a fox. Three Khaki Campbell girls missing, Two Aylesbury's found dead and another badly bitten. I've cleaned up the injured girl and covered the bite on the back of her nexk in purple spray. I've also moved her and the three surviving Khaki's in to another run which has slightly more secure housing in case he comes back tonight.
I'm absolutely gutted about the Khaki Campbells we've lost so if anyone has replacements for sale I'd gladly buy them up. At least I've a drake and two girls left to try to start hatching again in spring. Tomorrow will be spent trying to find someone who might come out and here and try to shoot foxy before I lose any more.
No more work for me though tonight I'm feeling knackered and shaken, glass of wine and telly instead!
Ben
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Oh no :-*
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Horrid thing to happen but thats nature, to Mr or Mrs Fox you are a handy take away and I know they sometimes do not eat any but kill the lot!!! Not sure how to make it better for you but maybe a lesson learned for the next lot...my daughter gave up after a while and several things killed.....THink the wine is the best answer then something will come to you...(think there should be a glass of wine smiley!! :bouquet:
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Feel for you Ben. We were hit for the first time on Christmas Eve. Lost two Blue laced Wyandottes from our breeding trio -just one hen left. Our fault, as we had become complacent about security. So we've impimented a 4 stage plan of improvements with just the electrification of the boundary wall to do now.
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weve been getting day time vist from at least 3 foxes for weeks now seen them as well and chased them of but have lost over 30 birds in this time as well from as early as 9am to 3pm they are around
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I've known folk say the fox never visits and on the one night they haven't bothered/forgotten to lock the hens away he's been. The truth is he comes around every night on his "rounds" just in case you've left him an opportunity :(
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unfortly ours are easy pickings for the fox they are free range but we have noticed that the ducks no longer go up into the field but stay by the house and ive seen the fox dueing the day from kitchen window making his way to my birds , also caught the fox heading to the duck house but sent the dogs out to chase him away
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maybe borrow a trap and put the dead in the trap for him then shoot the buggar
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ive had 2 men with guns out trying to get them , but they never seem to be out when they come which is early eveing , they did see 3 foxes but was walking the area first so no gun on them and with 3 acres of trees the foxes have lots of hiding places think they going to try bating the area oh what fun we have with our animals but cant live without them
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We thought we were Ok but lost all nine one night when the son was in charge and forgot. Every single chicken was taken over a 4ft fence and carried off. We tracked them for 400m to the main road and then lost the track. It must have taken most of the night. At least we didn't just have a carnage of slaughtered birds to clear up
We now have two electric fence tapes on standoffs on the fence to make it harder for him. He still got one in the autumn but was unable to get it out of the orchard because of the electric. Perhaps he learns because he switched his attention to the neighbours and got all theirs.
It seems eternal vigilance is needed.
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Sorry to here about your loss, must be terrible :(
We have our poultry inside a 2m fence, housing with open access for all the chickens to come & go as they wish (we live in the Spanish hills). We have seen foxes & heard them. A Spanish neighbour told us a trick to keep them away: A man must urinate in a bottle then pour it around the base of the fence (not female urine as hormones no good) this must be done weekly to keep the odour fresh! Don't worry it doesn't become smelly to humans.
Whether it works or not? We have not had a problem with foxes since we started poultry keeping, about 6 yrs ago.
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We relied too heavily on urine spread along the base of the boundary walls. The area that wasn't treated along the canal was where it got in midday. Of course rain washes it all away as well so after rain the spread has to be repeated. It may have an effect during the day, but at night it doen't work at all -they know we are not around at night despite the smell. One visits every single night and walks around all the coops to see if any have been left open. It enters and leaves at the point where the urine spills are most concentrated.
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It enters and leaves at the point where the urine spills are most concentrated.
upgrade to tiger pee!
we lost our duck this year, still gutted. :'(
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aw, really sorry for you, it's just horrid to lose some of your flock.
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We're in two minds about the foxes because we have hundreds of rabbits some years, and the foxes make a difference. Its a delicate balance.
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You don't want men with guns you want men with dogs ,a good sturdy Jack Russell will do the trick, I have 2 Jacks and a chihuahua who thinks she is a Jack Russell she will take on the pigs if they get out. ;D
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i have two dogs out side most of the time but they will only chase the fox , not seen foxy about these past days and no more birds gone so hopeful they have gone elsewhere :thumbsup:
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I think just the presents of the dogs and the smell makes Mr Fox think twice, though in the really cold weather they are very hungry and do push there luck.
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Dog very ill and can not get out of dog flap for a few nights. On night 2 or 3 a fox took 2 ducks. Our first visit in the 9 months that we have had birds.
Maybe anecdotal but some more evidence that dogs keep the fox away.
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Oh no! Hope the dog recovers soon :-*
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So many foxes around this year. Not bloody cold enough! My neighbours dog got a bit of mange which the vet says was probably from foxes. Yuk! hate them. Spoke to a local gamekeeper and he says they have shot over 200 foxes on his estate!
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one of our dogs died yesterday and the other westie is unlikely to go out in the dark. so best i lock the birds up every night now. s_d it >:(
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I have a friend who loads up a few mackerell with large trebble fish hooks when he has a fox problem, this works for him as it wraps them up nicely.
He lost a half grown pig to a big dog fox so I dont condem him for his methods
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Hi Ben
Sorry not been in touch re cockeral. We too were visited by fox, he took 3 chickens (left a dead fatso) and my 3 khakis and 2 saxony girls ( just one saxony drake on his lonesome recovering). Rest of chooks must have flown up into rafters of the barn.
The light sussex are all OK, but for other reasons the trip to DM was cancelled.
I saw the fox heading for the yard yesterday, during daylight, and rushed out, but he disappeared. I never thought it would happen to us, but it is awful when it does. My thoughts are with you.
We have an unneutered dog and he tends to pee around the edges, on the night of the attack he had not been at the smallholding for a day and a half, so there probably is something to the dog thing.
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For about 4 years, we had chooks free-ranging over our land. It was such a treat to watch them pecking away at the lawn, pulling up a juicy worm, then running hell for leather with it in its beak being chased by the others. However, new of the plumpness of my birds quickly reached the Foxy Daily News, consequently we lost loads of our girls and 2 boys.
We re-stocked again a few months ago after months without, but we made the sad choice that to keep them alive they would have to be kept in a run. I hate seeing them enclosed, I would much rather let them roam in and out of the plants and trees, even if they were partial to my blackcurrants and raspberries! However its that, or certain death as Im sure news of our new arrivals has made the front page by now!!
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Mary - can they not free range and return to their coop of an evening.
We built a coop in the barn behind a small wooden door. The coop has a frame of 4x4 inch oak beams then 12 feet long oak pannels ( 17" wide and about 3/4 inch thick). Roof or corragated iron.
it slaughtered me moving the wood and building it so If the fox gets thru that lot then I may as well pack up!
We kept the chooks in there for just 2 days then let them out into a pen. When I open the gate to the pen they free range just as you described. Every evening at dusk they make their way home.