Fox got my hen :-(

Bearpup

Hey Everyone,

Have had hens & ducks for the past 7 months or so & so far we have been really lucky- no foxes have been around (we live in Wicklow). That changed yesterday evening though. The boyfriend went out to put the hens & ducks to bed but there was one missing and a lot of feathers around the place.

Now I have to admit I am a real softie and this really upset me. I usually leave the hens & ducks out all day around the garden but this morning before I left for work I was afraid to let them out in case the fox came back to finish them off so they are stuck in the coup all day which isnt fair either.

Couple of questions- what are the chances of the fox coming back? any tips to stop him eating our hens/ducks? & lastly, we have dogs that the hens are not afraid off, does this mean that they wont see any danger if a fox comes near them?

Any help or advice is much appreciated.

jap gt

Bearpup wrote: »

Hey Everyone,

Have had hens & ducks for the past 7 months or so & so far we have been really lucky- no foxes have been around (we live in Wicklow). That changed yesterday evening though. The boyfriend went out to put the hens & ducks to bed but there was one missing and a lot of feathers around the place.

Now I have to admit I am a real softie and this really upset me. I usually leave the hens & ducks out all day around the garden but this morning before I left for work I was afraid to let them out in case the fox came back to finish them off so they are stuck in the coup all day which isnt fair either.

Couple of questions- what are the chances of the fox coming back? any tips to stop him eating our hens/ducks? & lastly, we have dogs that the hens are not afraid off, does this mean that they wont see any danger if a fox comes near them?

Any help or advice is much appreciated.

the problem is that the fox will see you fowl as an easy meal, more than likely he will be back, do ye let the dogs out all day, if so the fox is unlikely to return during the day if the dogs are out

Shenshen

I'm far from an expert on it. but to my knowledge foxes will mostly be out and about and hunting at night, so they should be ok during the day, until nightfall.

Other than that, I've very little advise... make sure that the coop is safe and secure, no loose boards, no holes that are just covered with chicken wire, no possibility of digging under and getting in that way.

You were probably lucky the fox only got one hen, they have a tendency to go into a frenzy and kill them all off.

crotalus667

How do you know it was a fox ???

The onlt real way to keem them safe is to enclose them scurly

morganafay

Are you sure it couldn't have been one of the dogs, or even a stray cat?

I don't really know anything about foxes, like if they'll come out in the middle of the day. But maybe if you just shut the hens in earlier in the evening it could help?

Bearpup

Hey,

Thanks for replies, While we are at work the dogs are in a run on the other side of the land so wouldnt be seen from where the hens / ducks are.

I dont know for sure that it was a fox, just presuming. There were quite a few feathers around the place but I know it would be unusual for the fox to just take the one unless we disturbed him. I dont think it was a cat as I have never seen a cat around the place.

Usually we have the hens put to bed by 7/7.30 but we were across the road in the neighbours house and didn't get back til 8.30, our own fault really :-(

Think we will have to build a coup as they are completely free range at the mo, roaming around the garden and then into their coup at night.....

Thanks again for the advice :-)

homerhop

foxes will hunt during the day, and yes it will return to get another easy meal

Graces7

So sorry.

Foxes do have a tendency to kill and kill and kill, sadly. We lost a whole flock to them once; they just killed a dozen.

Keep the hens in if you are worried; period.

Wild ones are raising young and they will come out in the day.

Discodog

Foxes will be out during the day especially now when young adults will be around. Foxes will tend to kill all the hens in one go as will any opportunity predator - they will then return to remove the corpses. Because it was only one hen it could be another predator like a Stoat, Weasel or Mink - all are pretty common.

Whichever it was they are likely to return, just as we would if we found a good food source. As a general rule most deterrents like Lion poo do not work nor does peeing around your garden. Leaving a dog out would definitely deter any predator.

Ducks are much easier as you can give them an island.

Odysseus

Shenshen wrote: »

I'm far from an expert on it. but to my knowledge foxes will mostly be out and about and hunting at night, so they should be ok during the day, until nightfall.

Other than that, I've very little advise... make sure that the coop is safe and secure, no loose boards, no holes that are just covered with chicken wire, no possibility of digging under and getting in that way.

You were probably lucky the fox only got one hen, they have a tendency to go into a frenzy and kill them all off.

I no expert on them myself, but I see foxes during the day often enough when I'm out and about in the farmlands by me. Yes the are more active at night, but if they see a meal during the day I'm sure they will have it. I am suprised that only one was taken though if it was a fox, they do have that spree tendency.

Starlights

We have been keeping hens for about 2years now and none have been eaten by foxes or any other animal.
We did get geese and they got ate by foxes.
Our hens are used to dogs aswell and run about during the day with them and are locked up at night