Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Reflection on July 16, 2013, 20:57
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Hello. I'm a teacher in a school that has three chickens. We hatched the chickens in the classroom and they now live in a quad garden in the centre of the school. In the garden is a large oak tree and the chickens have loads of room to run around and scratch about in the earth. The children love them and we get an egg from each of chickens every day. It seemed to be the perfect set up......however.
Today one of the cleaners found a fox in the corridor. It had walked straight into the school through reception. I'm now worried. Could a fox get in over the roof? Would he jump down a drop of 20ft into the quad. I don't think he could get out again. The chickens are put into a coop with a run over night but with no extra security as I didn't ever think a fox could get in. Now I'm wondering how capable a fox could be. Do you think that, as the fox had to come into the school, it's because he couldn't get over? One of the children said that one of the chickens was flapping, calling out and jumping up and down today. He went out to 'comfort' her....could it be that she knew there was a fox about?......worried :unsure:
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Welcome to the site Reflection. :D
The hens will sense danger, a fox has an unmistakable odour. The fox was probably attracted by the hens rosey and thought it might grab an easy meal. They are good tree climbers so could use the tree to gain entry to the hens. Once they know there is food available they can be very determined but they will often go for the easy meal. This could be from the school kitchens or bins. ;)
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Hi Reflection, I have split your post off into one of it's own. Hopefully you will get more replies :)
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Thank you. This is a great site. I've been reading for hours. I'm learning a lot!
I can't decide if I'm over reacting. The caretaker just text me as he had to go back and check them! They're very much part of our little community. The chicken house and run is on concrete slabs. (They're only in it over night)
So, if the fox did get in to the quad tonight I hope he wouldn't get to them. He couldn't dig under..... :blink: :blink:
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What is the run made from - is it weldmesh or chicken wire - chicken wire is meant to keep chickens in but it wont keep foxes out.
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Some of the weak points can be hinges/doors and catches/nestbox. If the coop and run is lightweight a fox would try to topple it over so if you can bolt it to the paving that should help with security.
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We have this hen house. It's quite sturdy, the wire is pretty thick, certainly stronger than chicken wire but it is just sitting on slabs. I'm hoping that would be enough....maybe will have to think about how to secure it further.
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A padlock on the nest box would be a good idea.
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I'll get one on there tomorrow & we'll find a way to secure it down. Lets hope that tonight is peaceful! Fingers crossed. Pesky fox.
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Other ways would be to find them a foster home for 6 weeks or put up an electric fence. You might be able to borrow one for the short period. Where abouts are you? I could lend one in north Wales or could foster the chooks. I'm sure for other areas you'll get similar offers.
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you ought to make sure you have signs on all the doors that lead out onto the courtyard that the doors must be kept shut at all times. A hungry fox is a very opportunistic fox - one slip up can lead to heartbreak.
The wire you have on that run is galvanized welded wire mesh although it isn't a very thick gauge.
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ehs284 thank you for you're generous offer. We're in Southampton. They're fine for the holidays as our caretaker will be in school to let them out and put them in every day. But I will research the electric fence option. I'm trying to assess the risk at the moment and it would be an option. Would it be mains powered?
Joyfull, you're very right about signs on the doors! We have them already. Not because of the foxes but because the chickens are always keen to get into the school. They're very friendly and have no fear of the children...my worry has always been that they would get into the school and create chaos. Not a fox. But now it feels a little more serious.
On another note, when we pet one of the chickens, she squats down and stamps her feet. It's the funniest thing but she seems happy!
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that is because she sees you as a cockerel - this is her mating dance - if she isn't laying already then she soon will be :)
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Lol! That has made me smile. :D Before we got the chickens I had no idea how funny they could be and how inquisitive they are. They're such characters. I'll think about that, me as the cockerel rather than the fox and look forward to seeing them in the morning. Thanks again for your advice. At least we've seen the danger and can do the best we can to protect our girls. Good night.
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night, and hopefully you will get an egg from her before the children break up for summer :)
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Lots of variations on electric fences. Majority use a 12V battery. New deep cycle are best but very expensive and not essential. We use a small sealed motorcycle battery with a cheap solar cell and it's worked well for about 4 years.
They are to keep out predators like foxes; if your birds are good fliers they may may get over it. You need to make sure that they don't have raised launch pads such as the coop, feed box etc. because if they use this route out they may not be able get back in.
I think it may be illegal to use one to keep the children under control, but if you do try it, please put it on Youtube as thousands of teachers would love to see it.
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Love it EHS> When you say the chickens are in a quad, are they totally surrounded by buildings? The only way in being through a building? If so I think you would be very unlucky to get a fox attack, the fox in the corridor really was chancing his arm and may have been a one off. A fox would be very reluctant to jump 20 feet straight down!
I'm not sure about your risk assessment using the fence around children in what seems to be a relatively confined area. Although it will make them squeal it should not do damage but if you had a child with a heart problem/pacemaker etc it is not ideal. Sorry to be negative but I know this is a difficult area for you.
Ideally they will be better left where they are for the holidays rather than being moved which will stress them and may stop them laying. :)
I hope you are able to satisfy yourself that they are safe whatever you decide to do and have a wonderful holiday. :) :)