[doganjo]

Beat me to it  - not a good enough job on keeping your hens safe!

I thought  my duck run was secure - 7 foot netting, latch on the gate,  heavy wooden drop down pophole - my dog opened the latch, lifted the pophole with one paw, reached in and retrieved a duck - brought it to hand very pleased with himself,  so I couldn't rage him - but a fox wouldn't have been so obedient and just as clever in opening things.  So it's a deadbolt on the gate today, and a snib on the pop-hole.  Makes life more complicated for me, but the ducks will be safer.

[demonfarmer2630]

I have put a security light up facing my run so if he comes back he will get a blast of light equivalent to high beams on a car and as I said the air pistol has low power as I shot my self with this and I'm still walking around  so its not that bad I try not to hit living things so I've put up a couple of metal sheets to hit instead makes a loud noise and as I said my neighbour wants to kill it I just want to defend my hens I have a secure run but I could go under or over my run is 24ft by 12ft and I don't have the cash right now to secure my run completely if you really want to save the fox come and have a look at my run and see for your self I don't want to kill anything  but the chickens that I eat

[HesterF]

How high is the fence? That's the relevant part rather than the length and width.

[demonfarmer2630]

Posts stop at 5ft but with the extra wire comes to 7 ft

[bigchicken]

Seven feet should be high enough unless the Fox can pole-vault. And please don't shot yourself again

[HesterF]

So how is he getting in?

[doganjo]

By teh way, my instant security lights didn't stop foxy taking my hens - 10 out of 11.  How he missed one of them I don 't know, but 18 months later she is still laying well - a battery rescue, with 9 lives I think! 

[john and helen]

1…using an air rifle on a fox will see you in court for cruelty,

2… not many (if any) police firearms departments will let you use a 22 lr to shoot a fox..

Devon does allow 17hmr round, but many only allow 223 …..

you will need to trap the fox 1st , then take it to a safe area, away from houses to be destroyed

one thing you can try is..spread your urine around the outside of said chicken run… best do this from a bottle, as your neighbours might complain if they see you peeing outside….

not knowing the area…give your local PC a call….  http://www.cityvisitor.co.uk/kennoway/pestcontrol.html

[spandit]

2… not many (if any) police firearms departments will let you use a 22 lr to shoot a fox..

Mine allows me to. I do have a .223 but the licence doesn't limit me to using it

[F.CUTHBERT]

You have had a lot of good advice on this thread.
DO NOT TRY AND POISON IT.
DO NOT SHOOT IT UNLESS YOU ARE GOING TO KILL IT.
Take help from your neighbour or make your run completely fox proof if you can. Anything else is just going to land you in trouble or end up with an animal suffering.

[Backinwellies]

Cuthbert has summed up the thread nicely. 

 Maybe any more comments would be better focusing on fox proof (well as much as possible) enclosures.

Thank you

moderator

[demonfarmer2630]

That's all I wanted in the first place lol so any ideas people

[Stereo]

Well. to go back to page 1. A couple strands of cheap electric wire and a cheap ebay hobby energiser with a car battery will work. Once they've had a whack they are very wary in the future.

[JulieWall]

Electric fence as someone else said, buy a cheap unit as it won't have to run much wire to go round a chicken run. If he gets a zap off that he'll look for easier prey elsewhere.