Help with foxes

[eva]

Now I'm a fan of foxes and I'm delighted that I'm going to be living next door to a whole host of them...however, I also keep chickens and I can't bear the thought of them ending up as dinner! I'm going to be investing in chainmail fencing and the like but I wonder whether there's any wisdom on other non aggresive ways of keeping old Renard away? Any plants they hate or the like?

Any wisdom eagerly awaited!

[admin]

I've never heard of any plants keeping them away. Maybe the Lion poo mentioned somewhere would have an effect? Otherwise as much security as possible, and perhaps a big dog roaming the garden?

[eva]

Thanks - not sure if my cat is up to producing enough poo...might have to visit Longleat! ;D

I thought about a big dog but my poor little cat is very nervous already.....

[merrybel]

I know there are several electronic deterrents available, but they can all be a bit pricey. I've never heard of a plant deterring them, though. Just extra security for the clucks, I think. If you bury the fence at least six inches deep and then bend it outwards at ninety degrees, (so it's an L shape) when a fox digs down it only hits fence and gives up. Also keep the outside of the pen clear of shrubs and plants so the fox has nowhere to hide his efforts and you can easily see from the house - an outside light is useful as well.
I envy you, Eva. I would die for chickens in my garden, (or very nearly!) but just don't have the space. Good luck with the foxes - they are lovely, too!!!

[gwenifer]

Give Dudley Zoo a ring, they might let you have a bucket or two of Lion poo, or Leopard or Tiger.......

[eva]

Thank you both; I was thinking I'd have to go down 18 inches with the fence but bending it makes it less necessary.

Good point about the cover. The garden has a lot of it around the edges, so the house will need to be away from that!

I was thinking of an electric strip at the top of the fence because they climb, apparently!

Thanks for the tip about the Dudley Zoo!

[hejira]

Foxes will do anything to get at the chooks. My grandfather had one dive jump through a glass window to get to his dinner.

I've found the best way is to lock the chooks up at night in a coop or a shed. You don't normally get problems with foxes in the daytime at this time of year but in the winter they are known to roam in daylight.

I've lost over 40 birds to old Charlie in the past, and I know what it's like to see the carnage the bastard leaves behind. Sorry, but there is only one animal I truly hate, and that's the fox.

If you're using strong chain-link, then you won't need to go too far underground.

Good luck.

[sleepyowl]

They don't like smell of human hair so next time your having your hair cut put some of your hair clippings in old stockings & hang them from your fence, just like Hugh Fearnley-Whittinstall. Also counter-sink your fence into the grond about a foot down.

[eva]

Thanks both!

I'm having my hair cut in a week's time; my hairdresser already knows I'm bonkers, so I've no problem asking for the offcuts...and anyone else's for that matter! ;D

I want to make the perimeter as secure as possible because I'd hate it to be the one time I forget/am late in that the fox gets in. Or worse, when I'm away and someone is caring for them!

My current neighbour and I are hatching a plan and I'll let you know the design, in case it's useful to anyone else. It will include some electricity!

I also came up with the idea of building raised beds in front of the fence (still sinking the wire) and planting things with invasive roots to further thwart burrowing. The beds won't be high but they will be about two feet wide.

[eva]

Thanks for that! I'll put a sign up to warn Alsatians, maybe.. ;D

[eva]

Well I am finally installed in my new home and have a rather grand pen (2.5 metres high) in the back garden. So far not a sign of a fox. Apparently, they have been 'dealt with' and there may only be one left in the area. I'm not sure what 'dealt with' means ! Either some nasty individual has shot them or they have been taken deep into the countryside where they will probably be shot by a farmer because they aren't acclimatised to life in the real rural landscape. Well I can at least know that my chickens have a fighting chance!

[eleanor]

geese are good i hear. totally psychotic.

[eva]

Funny; I had just been thinking how nice a couple of geese would be - they really cut the grass and are great guard dogs! Foxes are a bit partial to taking them on, though.

[wyrdewood]

I have only just caught up with this thread. I don't know if it helps,but we used to have about 400 chickens when I was a child and my father had many a battle with the foxes trying to stop them. They are brilliantly resourceful and even got in through the roof once!! If they got into the coops they would kill about 20 or 30 hens and take only 1 or 2. This is because they can eat carrion which means they would ordinarily come back and eat the rest of the kill even when it is rotting. This gives foxes their bad reputation for over-killing. After many a year trying to defeat the foxes my father found an old country method that worked. Whenever one of the hens fell ill or died he would remove its head and hang it inside an upturned sack from a tree by the compost, some way from the coop. The foxes would come and take the hen and, for some reason, not bother the other hens. After a while we, as a family, developed a good relationship with the foxes even to the point that we could hand feed them. One year a vixen came with her new cubs to show us. As they grew to adults they never bothered the hens once! We even caught one of them in with the free range hens having a sleep!

Oh, and the other thing was once a year, when the hens were killed, drawn and gutted, my father would leave a trough of the offal and heads for the foxes. They particularly liked this and would be seen more at this time of year hanging around for their treat. I think this was one of the factors for me becoming vegetarian!!!

Last, but not least, burying chicken wire doesn't work as a fox can get right through it with their teeth. The best is to use a very heavy gauge wire and have an inner and outer layer. But it is only as strong as the frame it is fixed to !!

[admin]

Hi Wyrdwood

What a wonderful story which shows that working with nature is often better than trying to work against it.

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Rhiannon