Foxes

Foxes are the number one predator of our chickens in the U.K (unless of course you live on the Isle of Man where there are no foxes!)

Fox-looking-for-chickens

Foxes usually rip the heads off chickens and will kill as many birds as they can in a frenzy if they manage to get into a run or coop. Foxes usually get into a run by digging and squeezing under a fence or by going over the top of a fence. Fences need to be buried at least 8 inches deep with the wire then curled flat outwards by another 8 inches. They can clear a 5 foot fence with ease. Remember foxes are more like cats than dogs and can jump!

Foxes can also tear rabbit wire fences with their teeth – it is best to keep fences taught and ideally use the I inch rectangular wire as this is thicker, stronger and they can’t get their teeth into it.

They will squeeze through the smallest of gaps… but don’t take my word for it, this short clip shows him in action!

Foxes usually work alone but towards the end of summer, sometimes the Vixen will hunt with her cubs to teach them.

When are your chickens at risk?

Foxes are generally nocturnal creatures, hunting under the cover of darkness; however when there is a large population of foxes or a shortage of food as is often found in the urban environment, they can start to become a pest during the daytime. Young cubs that are just finding their own food often stay out until mid morning, I frequently see them playing on the bales of hay in the fields near my home in late June and July and from time to time they will come into my garden.

The winter is obviously a dangerous time for chickens when food is short, however the time when most of us get caught out is June to August. Cubs are learning to hunt on their own, will often come early evening or morning when it is light and don’t have the fear to stay away from us.

If your chickens free range, a fox may make a dash, grab a chicken and run off. During these risky times, you may need a small secure run to house them when you are out but there are other options. Electrified poultry netting works wonders at keeping them safe in a large area and you may be able to speak to your local game keeper if you have a problem fox that is very determined.

Do you have any advice on Foxes? Please leave a comment below if you do.

157 Comments

  1. Hello

    I’m currently working out how to build a fox proof chicken coup for a london garden. I’m going to dig it into the ground for sure, but I’m concerned about the grass. Do chickens eat grass? If they eat grass and I’m securing the run to the ground won’t the ground eventually end of barren as they will have eaten all the grass? Do you need to keep reseeding?

    thanks in advance

    • Yes, that’s right, it will end up as mud – so most people will add boards around the bottom with 6 inches of wood chips on the floor (or sometimes sand) that can be changed once in a while but allows the birds to scratch and forage.

      See my page on Chicken Runs for more information.

  2. Hello,
    we have purchased a second hand Chicken Coop/Run in anticipation of the arrival of our first chickens. The previous owner has secured chicken wire across the base in an effort to keep out foxes. Is this safe for the chickens as it means they have to walk on the wire? Or would you reccomend removing this?
    Thanks

    • Yes you can have chickens on wire but it will stop them scratching – which is one of the most natural behaviours for a chicken. If you are letting them free range as well whilst you’re around, it’s not so bad I guess.

  3. I lost 2 hens & a cockerel last night – the heads of 2 were eaten. One was carried across the garden & then left.
    I’ve got electrified netting. It wasn’t damaged, so the fox must have jumped it. It’s taken him 12 months to work out how to do that !

    • It is possible that it is a new fox in the territory and it didn’t get a shock before trying to jump the netting. I say to people around here that use electric fences NOT to shoot foxes in our local area because they respect the fences and keep away, it’s usually new foxes that come into the area (they are territorial) that will try to get in and if they don’t get the shock…

      Check the netting is still working (you need at least 4KV which can be measured with a tester. Electrified poultry netting is very hungry as there are usually 16 or more strands within it). Also check for dips or low points in the netting.

      We used over 400M of netting here before we made permanent enclosures and there are a lot of foxes around us (we live between two woods and there are fields and hendgerows all around us) and found it to work well.
      Once you are happy that it works, I would bait the strands with bacon rind for the next couple of months so that when the fox comes back, he takes this and learns about the fence.

  4. Totally gutted as I lost all my 6 chickens last night, for the first time I actually forgot to close them up! Went into the run this morning to find the top off the coop and just some feathers but not a sign of a bird anywhere. We live in and around hills and a friend has had hers wiped out in the last couple of weeks she thinks by a mink! Just feel so bad as I never forget to close them on a night

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.