[rosied]

Hi,

I am new here and new to keeping chickens.  I recently lost all my hens to what I am assuming was a fox, came in broad daylight with my dogs in the garden and killed all my girls, not a mark on them though.  So, obviously before I get any more I need to make them some kind of secure pen.  I have two small children and dogs and rabbits so I am not sure about electric fencing but haven't ruled it out as it would seem to be the best at keeping the fox away and would mean I could move the run about it necessary.  I think like a lot of people I had this idea of free ranging the hens around my garden but that seems to be impossible with the fox being so bold.  So I want to make sure the next lot are as safe as they can be without taking away too much of their freedom.  Are electric fences happy to be turned on and off frequently?  So that if I were to go out I could turn it on and if I were in the garden with the children or if they were playing out there I could turn it off?  Also I have thought about having the electric fence behind a preliminary boundary of none electric netting just to keep the kids and dogs safe then I could leave it on as it were.  Any ideas?  Also I have heard that I need to remove the grass from under the electric net to stop it shorting out?  do i have to totally remove it or just cut it short?  Sorry if I am asking daft questions, but I don't know which option would be best for me.  A pen would probably cost as much to build properly and seems to be no guarantee of safety.  Not that I think an electric fence is a guarantee, but seems to be the better option.  Or I have heard of people just running a couple of electric wires around their pen for extra security...how does this work - what sort of wire?  Sorry for all the questions, but I only had my hens a week when the fox took them out and I really don't want that to happen again.

Please help!

[Vember]

HI Rosied

Welcome to the Hen House

 I'm real sorry to hear of your fox attack, nasty things  :evil:
I think the idea of a an electric fence behind another non electric one is a great idea
I don't use an electric fence but from what I've heard you have to stop the grass actually touching it :?

There is loads of info here about protecting your hen from foxes, I'm sure someone with more info will be along shortly

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=25998

Sarah

[Foxy]

Hi Rosied!




lecky fence would  be a good idea! Firstly you can get 25m or 50m in a nice dark green colour to blend in with your garden. Dogs are no problem -they will learn very quickly. So you could let the dogs into the garden without any fear of hurting them -they usually touch the fence the once and thats enough!  
Young children -I haven't any experience Im afraid but I am assuming that if they are old enough to play in the garden without too much supervision then OK to leave fencer on but toddler age or thereabouts would guess you would turn the fence off.
Grass is fine as long as doesn't get too long -but a good energsier should be OK. The bottom strand wont be electrifed anyway.

[woodburner]

"not a mark on them"
If I found all my birds dead with no sign of what killed them, I'd be worried about bird flu.
I'm assuming there were other signs, that you haven't mentioned though. Feathers all over the place for one. And they must have died of something, if not visible injuries, I presume broken necks? Neither of those actually rules out your own dogs being the culprits. :shock: Were any bodies missing?

Whatever it was though, the chooks need to be safe from it. Leccy fence is harmless, if kids or dogs do get a shock from it they will learn to avoid it just as the foxes do.  :shock:
I did some costing up of alternative fencing methods about a year ago and decided that as I would need to keep groups seperate at some point in the future, moveable covered runs would be my best option, but if I had wanted just one big run (also moveable), poultry netting would be the most economical way.

[rosied]

Well I am assuming broken necks, there were some feathers and a blooming wing or two but very clean kills whatever had them.  Eyes were bulging so I think broken necks.  I know it may have been the dogs but since they let the rabbits hop right under their noses I doubt it.  Also not to put too fine a point on it, had it been the dogs I would have expected much more mess, as they would have been shaken and ragged between them for fun. (I would think) Looking on the internet it would seem a fox does kill very cleanly and quickly.  I could be wrong, I have no experience of these things but this is my instinct.  I am leaning towards a fixed pen as well now as my garden would not accomodate the size of electric fence I would have to buy.  Also talking to people I have heard that a lot of foxes have made daytime runs around here...hindsight is a wonderful thing.