[sabrina]

I was busy cleaning the house this morning when I heard a carry on outside, looking out the window I saw the hens legging it towards the hay barn screaming. rushed outside to see a fox almost on my doorstep with our cockerel in his mouth. I ran towards it yelling my head off but even so he tried to keep hold of his prey. Only when my dogs stuck their heads out of their shed in the back garden did he drop the poor bird and make a run for it. I let the dogs out but by the time I had put on boots there was no sign of the fox. Took me over an hour to find all my chickens, cockerel had gone into hiding in my neighbours field. All his tail has gone but otherwise seems OK. All I need now is someone to shoot the fox. I have all the chickens shut in the barn where they will stay until this is sorted.

[Birdie Wife]

  you're very fortunate to have been there and able to save your cockerel! Good luck with finding someone to shoot your fox, they can be very persistent pests 

[harry]

youll have to lock them up for a long time... theres never one fox in the area and now they know they will be back especially now coming into the cub season, theres only one solution..electric fenceing. very hard to shoot a fox you need a 2.2 rifle, a 12bore isnt ideal you cant get near enough even if you did see it, and you cant shoot a 2.2 on your land, a shed/barn wont stop them either. its got to be an electric barrier.

[Anke]

Neighbours here have been successful with a foxtrap, but you would need to dispatch it yourself once it is in the trap. They are quite expensive to buy, but again someone nearby (gamekeeper?) might have one.

My solution is electric netting around all the runs, but even so with all this snow we have had they haven't been working very well. So far no fox (touch wood...)

[northfifeduckling]

Sabrina,
I'm not sure where you live and if have a friendly farmer near you who can do it, but if not - do you have an agricultural college in your area? they tend to train gamekeepers as well and might be happy to send someone or help you along with info how to find help.
Good you were there in time to prevent carnage! 

[Calvadnack]

Electric fencing is the only way - we lost some of our hens during the snow when the fencing shorted out and the pond froze.  Foxy then started to pick off the ducks - everyone is now inside and behind netting.  We called our local gunsmiths to recommend someone who could shoot the fox for us. The chap we're using is local and teaches shooting, so is insured and does foxes part-time.  It's not a quick solution as the wiley fox hasn't been around when he is !

[chickenfeed]

  as already said you could trap or snare a guy was buyin some fox snares from our local livestock market the other day as mr fox had killed half of his poultry in a day. but by past experience no matter what you do other than kill him he will keep coming back now he knows you have got a good easy source of food for him

[sabrina]

My neighbour told me that the local farmers are about to start lamping before the lambing season gets under way so with luck the fox will not be a long term problem. The chickens are safe in the barn which has big double doors now kept shut. I sat with them for a bit yesterday to help them all calm down. I was very surprise that I still got 8 eggs. they have lighting and the radio on which seems to be something they enjoy. they have had free run of the place but now I shall confine them with electric fencing which is a shame. 

[harry]

you dont neccesarily need a full electric fence....... i have a fence plus  trip wires going all round the perimetre a foot then 2 feet away from the fence so the fox cant get near the fence to dig under..... if you only want to keep a fox out then you may only need the trip wires. surround the area with 3 4or 5 wires placed about 9" and 18" off the ground and one more about a foot away from these,the more the better use all the wire up.  this way the hens can roam and run for safety but the fox will walk into the fence, once the fox has done that  it wont do it a 2nd time, you need an energiser a small one and a reel of useually orange wire and some posts, these trip wires dont short out like a fence.and is a lot cheaper. like i said you need a 2.2 to kill a fox and anyone that has one cant take it to an unlicsensed bit of land to shoot it. its a possible prison sentence.  .i put a hen in a secure cage and staked it to the open field to  attact the fox but it didnt come, you cant wait days for the fox to appear, if you go for a full fence you still neeed the tripwires to stop foxes digging under

[tintin]

Hi, down here is Somerset we have a really bad problem with foxes for the last 18 months, my o/h shTjeot 4 in our garden last year, but we have had to keep all the chickens behind flexinet and electric fencing on the outside. Prior to this we had not lost a chicken in 8 years, they had full run of the garden and paddock.  Once the fox knows their there, he will come and come again especially with the cold weather.  We have a trap as well, always catch a fox on other people's land not our own!!  The flexi net and electric fencing seems to work, and we can move it around for fresh ground, we do meat chickens twice a year and touch wood the fox has not had them with the same sort of fencing around them.  Good luck.

[harry]

if youve ever walked into an electric fence like i have sevaral times you will understand why the fox soon learns

[sweep]

we are lucky here in Canada with more relaxed gun laws we have a 22 for foxes etc we also have a 300 win mag for bigger problems.
early last year we had problems with foxes and chickens so i found the run the foxes were using set up my lawn chair about 75 yards away an hour before dusk and sat and waited, shot one vixen fox and then waited until the gog came looking and got mim as well.
a few weeks later we were out shopping our 13 year old was home alone when he heard a comotion over at the hen house so he grabed the rifle and went over expecting to shoot a fox and was confronted with a black bear stood on his back legs trying to peel the walls open!! so Elliott crept back to the house and locked the door!
then early August my wie and i were puting all livestock away early as we were going to a garden party at a neighbours so elliott was playing with the dogs on the lawn when a cougar leaped out of the woods and tried to take one of the dogs lucky for us our older dog led him a merry chace in the woods and escaped, so we were late for the party because i was cougar hunting with the "big gun" never did find it though.

[doganjo]

Oh boy! Am I glad I live in boring old Scotland!

[harry]

you need a mains electric fence.. 250,000 volts.

[tintin]

A mains electric fence would be ideal, but we have no electric near so use batteries and change them twice a week, i can assure you it certainly gives a shock high enough to make us jump when we've touched it by accident!!  And it keeps the seems to keep the sheep away so they don't get hitched up in it.  I would never consider it  totally fox proof though they easily jump/climb 3ft plus high fences much to the cost of friend's chickens.