The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Mills on May 30, 2018, 11:33:35 am
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So I was woken up at 5am this morning to the sound of magpies and crows going crazy. Then I heard my hens. We ran outside to find a very large fox in my hen run. He'd killed one and horrifically injured another. He ran off without the chickens. We pulled the injured ones neck as she wasn't going to survive and we really didn't want her to suffer any more (she was top chicken and my best :'( )
I still have two live hens left, I'm worried the fox will return and try his luck again soon. I'm wondering what to do with the dead hens? Should we just incinerate them or should i take them as far as i can into the woods and leave them for the fox? My thoughts are that he left hungry, and he will be back tonight and after the live ones. It also does seem a waste to just incinerate them. I know the fox is only trying to survive but i do wish he'd stick to wild rabbits!
Any thoughts?
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You need to make your run more secure as it is very likely the fox will be back. You should dispose of your dead stock like any other farm animal through the the fallen stock people. You shouldn't bury, incinerate at home or put them in the woods. Although I am sure people bury them, put them on the bonfire and send them wrapped up in the household rubbish. :thinking:
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Sorry to hear your troubles. Have you got or can you borrow a fox trap and use the dead birds as bait. Keep the others locked in for a while.
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Yes, make your run more secure, and then borrow a fox trap if possible, and bait it with the dead birds. He will definitely be back I'm afraid.
I have to ask, has anybody here actually phoned the fallen livestock people for a hen? I was questioned when I asked them to come out for a single newborn lamb!
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I'm afraid I don't have a fox trap. I can move the hens to our new shed that was intended for raising chicks until I have secured their existing run though. It's a shed with full Avery so its more secure than the coop that's in the run.
Not sure I'll sleep tonight. I'm worried he'll get a lamb too. We have one 2 week old shetland lamb at foot and still one ewe to lamb in the next 10 days. :'(
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Ask your local hunt or farmer to point you in the direction of local fox control.
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I have to ask, has anybody here actually phoned the fallen livestock people for a hen? I was questioned when I asked them to come out for a single newborn lamb!
They probably questioned it because farms would collect a few dead lambs and have them picked up at the same time.
I don't guess they collect many hens either.
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Yes, make your run more secure, and then borrow a fox trap if possible, and bait it with the dead birds. He will definitely be back I'm afraid.
I have to ask, has anybody here actually phoned the fallen livestock people for a hen? I was questioned when I asked them to come out for a single newborn lamb!
I would not try to trap a fox as I don't know how to go about it, or how to dispose of it once caught. Although I am realistic, I am also very anti cruelty to animals and it could be quite horrible to botch disposal. Nor would I transport a caught fox somewhere else, out of its home territory, which would also be bad for its welfare and unfair on the local poultry keepers where the fox was dumped. Unless you are into shooting then the safest thing to do is to make sure your hens are safe, so the fox goes after the rabbits instead.
Leaving fallen stock lying around was the way it was often done before current regulations came into force, and this was a source of good food for wild animals and birds. I believe some people still do it, especially in less populated areas. The question is whether leaving the dead hens in woodland would cause the fox to leave the rest of the flock alone. Probably not.
No I've never called the knacker to collect a dead hen! I think they would think we were taking the p***
Nor have we disposed of a dead lamb that way. On large farms it seems to be easy to collect up 15 to make up a sackful, but I'm delighted to say we have never in the past had that many dead lambs :fc:
I have seen it recommended by officialdom to wrap the dead bird and send it off with the dustbin men.
I do agree that chucking out good meat is a waste, but in fact the meat would be contaminated with toxins from the fox's teeth. It would probably be OK for a dog. We were once offered the carcass of a sheep which had been put down by lethal injection. I think they were trying to get rid of our dogs :dog: :dog:
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toxins from the fox's teeth.
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but what toxins are in foxes' mouths FW? I can't find anything by a quick search online.
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Going back to what to do with your dead hens. I questioned the APHA egg inspector about this and she suggested we got an old chest freezer and put our deaders in there until we had enough to take tot he fallen stock service people. Can't say i've done it, but its an idea.
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As fleecewife said, no one really wants an angry wild fox in a big cage trap. Dealing with a rat in a cage trap is bad enough for the fainthearted/not used to shooting animals.
Several lines of electric fencing around your pen? You could buy the whole set up for not that much, from a local ag merchant or Amazon next day delivery, but run several wires at different heights, a decent, powerful machine.
Then I'd tie the dead birds to the outside of the fence, laying on the ground, in such a way that fox will see them, easily get hold of them and have to stand about/stoop under an electric wire and will get a powerful zap of electric. If it comes back, it'll get another shock till it learns that your birds are secure and not worth the bother. One line at the top or bottom of the fence or something is insufficient as they are super cunning and will try to find a way to avoid it/not know it electric till jumped back into the pen.
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Interesting idea about baiting and zapping Steph Hen, worth trying IMHO.
Otherwise I would just bury the hen, nice and deep with a stone over the body.
As I understand it you are allowed to bury 'pets'.
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I agree with using some electric fencing to keep "Charlie" at bay.
I always burn my hens when they die and not leave them for the fox, as they also will dig up anything if buried I have found, plus, that just keeps them on the lookout for food.
As foxes are opportunists, they will keep coming back now to check on your birds, so making it as hard as possible to get to them is essential.
Are they free range or always in a run? I have mine in a permanant run with a metal grill right over the top of it, as I have loads of foxes where I am and I only let them out to free range when I am at home to keep an eye on them.
if your run is too big to put a lid on the top, try using wire around the top and then put some form of pipe on it, so when he tries to grip the pipe it will just spin round causing him to fall off, that and plenty of electric fencing.
:fc: it all works out for you.
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Going back to what to do with your dead hens. I questioned the APHA egg inspector about this and she suggested we got an old chest freezer and put our deaders in there until we had enough to take tot he fallen stock service people. Can't say i've done it, but its an idea.
Wow freezer would take years to get enough to send off here .... and all that electricity used!!
Surely Mr Fox just ran off with them didn't he :innocent:
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During birdflu we had a couple of pigeons drop dead on our land. I dutifully called up to find out if we needed testing or what not. I was told one or two birds didn't matter, double bag them and put them in general waste.
We incinerate any dead chickens we get. We have only had 3 in the last 2 years though, I can't imagine storing them up for the hunt would more hygienic. At the end of the incineration there's not even bones left. We did lose some geese to the fox, we could have probably called the fallen stock people for them but we incinerated as we do for chickens.
I like the idea of setting up the electric fencing and using the dead chickens as bait so that the fox learns the fencing isn't to be crossed. You could then incinerate them afterwards.
Dans
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toxins from the fox's teeth.
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but what toxins are in foxes' mouths FW? I can't find anything by a quick search online.
Hi Perris
I can't quote you any actual toxins, but I'm going by accounts of lions, in fact all cats, and dogs mouths, all carnivores which don't clean their teeth. I have also heard that a human bite is one of the worst for a variety of bugs. I mentioned toxins in particular as they would be injected deep into the hen's flesh and toxins don't seem to give an 'off'smell to meat as many other microbes do, so you might think it's fine to eat. Toxins are also, I believe, not destroyed by cooking. If you know something different please let us know, as it truly is a waste when a fox kills a henhouse full of chickens then leaves them spread around.
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thanks FW; I don't know whether there are or aren't, that's why I asked. But I'm living testimony to it not being harmful in at least one case :eyelashes:
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thanks FW; I don't know whether there are or aren't, that's why I asked. But I'm living testimony to it not being harmful in at least one case :eyelashes:
Ah, I see ;D . We put several in our freezer after an attack, but I never felt safe to risk it. Clearly the foxes near you have clean teeth :idea:
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This might help - http://www.nfws.org.uk/fox-problems-fox-repellents.html (http://www.nfws.org.uk/fox-problems-fox-repellents.html)