[chrismahon]

So sorry to hear that Bionic. Incredibly bad luck and very easily done. I've forgotten the occasional pop-hole but fortunately they are now all in an enclosure. As said, it will be back for the last one. We had one that struck 3 times. Every time I blocked off the access and it found another point of entry. First attack was 10.00am, then 2.00pm then 7.00pm, so no pattern really. We previously used to have a very large fox every night which walked all around the coops and runs to see if any had been left open. It never changed stride and followed the same route. Last time I saw it was jumping a 5 foot wall without touching it with about a foot clearance spare and it always came during the night at about the same time (I used to walk the area in the middle of the night to check for thieves). The attacks were a different fox -an urban one. We tried a trap but it wouldn't take the chicken inside. I raked the soil all around and could see it had circled the trap several times every visit.

[Mammyshaz]

So sorry Sally 
Just one of those things that comes with keeping hens I guess, just heartbreaking when it happens 

[madchickenlady]

Such a shame, we all slip up now and then, but that's not much consolation I know, I've lost a few in daylight and it is so upsetting.   

[plumseverywhere]

we lost one when we forgot to shut the second coop up one night, felt awful for days...until the little s*d came back middle of the day and decimated my entire flock bar 3 lucky hens.
We did as greg said, trap and lead. Not easy but reduced the numbers by 8 in 2 weeks.
Yesterday we found 2 foxes within inches of the chicken run, dog saw them off but I know they are watching..and waiting.     

[Offgridgreg]

Oh they'll be watching of that you can be sure watching everyone else's too,you could as I did and use it to
Your advantage I put the trap inside the coop up against the pop hole they can't resist the sound and site of a flapping bird..
They would be no sniffing about,I'm sure you'd be surprised how hard they will hit the back of the trap especially if they've had dinner in there before,some times the quickest way with a sly old bugger!!!
It's a lot more affective  than the rubbish I hear about pee'ing or hair balls around the coop that is for sure..

[HesterF]

So sorry  So easily done too.

[Stereo]

Personally I'm not so sure they are so sly. Having lived in the countryside all my life I've had some close encounters with foxes with chickens and pheasants.  I think they are pretty dumb and are on a programme loop. Yes, they may do the same round every night (pretty stupid when you think about it). But give them a good spark on their nose and they will rarely come back for a second try if the fence is on or not.  A good bit of electric will beat 99% of fox problems. I've heard people saying they jump over netting etc but I would bet that netting was not putting out a good shock. A fox investigates with its nose like any other dog / cat type creature. If it gets a good belt on the shnozzer the first time it sniffs it's not going near that thing again.

[suziequeue]

We have a 50m electric chicken fence going round the chicken coop which we disconnect and open each day to let the chickens free range and then shut them up at night and switch on. Their coop door is also on a timer switch.


We have never had any problems with that combination.


We lost chickens one time when we decided to do without the netting last summer and four of our newer hens didn't make it into the coop before the timer door closed and OH didn't check numbers on the roost at last light so issued the fact that the newbies hadn't come in. Then we lost four