[nerdle]

Put your escapee back in and put food outside the run where they can see it. They will probably demonstrate it for you.

[Jomtie]

How horrible for you Ryan  . Sounds like good advice from nerdle. I really hope you manage to find the place that the fox got in so you can keep your remaining girls safe. What a worry though  .

[ANHBUC]

So sorry Ryan.  If you can put some photos of your setup on here we might be able to see any areas that are insecure.

The only thing that came to mind is that if you have weldmesh has the fox forced its way in losening the staples.  The weldmesh would spring back and might look secure.

[Thrift]

I just spotted foxy across the field, probably eyeing our set up. The hens were out on the roadside with Ben, so he rounded them up and in they went.

I was about to take Ben and Bessie over the field to see him off (well Ben would) when he departed into the bog.

[ANHBUC]

You never know Thrift, fox might have been on the menu when Bessie was homeless! 

[Thrift]

 

[isobel]

Having lost my cockerel Percy who laid down his life defending his gels last week I have finally relented and bought some electric fencing. I also found one day recently a huge heap of my other cockerel's feathers outside the coop but the bird was inside the coop and no hens missing! Bizarre, no idea how they performed that trick. Unfortunately the electric fence is not very nice for my cats who now can't hunt in their own paddock anymore but what else can you do. Wish I could be a fly on the wall when the fox meets the fence!

[natshens]

So sorry to hear you lost Percy:( Bless him for protecting his girls.
 I've gone the electric mesh way too, but being on a city allotment I'm scared of people pinching the power unit at night. We usually get a couple of raids every summer!
If I was allowed to camp at the allotment, believe me I would!

[Springlands]

We had a fox attack on Saturday and lost one hen. She was a black banty and called Miss Marple because she was so nosey - she was the only one that had a name. The fox attacked at 7.00 on the morning so it was broad daylight - OH was going to fill the coal bucket and he heard the commotion - he was just in time to see the fox escape over the fence with the hen.    The hens were very nervous all day Saturday and Sunday but seem to have settled now.

One of the ducks was slightly injured - we think he might have been trying to protect his lady duck - we managed to catch him and he had just a slight injury - seems to be healing well. 

[ANHBUC]

   Sorry to hear that Springlands.  I hope that he makes a quick recovery.

[Springlands]

Hi ANHBUC - he seems to be back to normal - chasing flies and butterflies and being VERY friendly with his lady duck.    The hens and ducks were very nervous for the first couple of days but seem to be settling down again. They have a new friend - we have a small wild rabbit who wanders up to the wire fencing of the run and watches the hens - and the hens come along and watch the rabbit. It is so funny to watch them just staring at each other for ages.

[ANHBUC]

Nice to hear your good news.   

[Thrift]

Sorry to hear about the attack Springlands ...... lucky the predator was interrupted or it might have been much worse.

[Springlands]

Sorry to hear about the attack Springlands ...... lucky the predator was interrupted or it might have been much worse.

Thank you Thrift - it is not nice to lose a hen like that but at least our drake has recovered - watched him chasing lots of butterflies yesterday.

[bennyjet]

how deep will a fox dig to get in a run? i've buried wire a foot deep all around AND have planks at the base of the welded mesh sides. I've covered the run with wire too so the only way a fox could get in is underneath.

A fox wont generally dig in very far, infact the best and easiest way to stop a fox from getting into a pen / digging under is to lay the bottom piece of chicken mesh in an "L" shape so that it creates an apron arround the outside of the pen about 18 inches to 2 feet wide (in other words bend the mesh into the "L" shape and put the bottom part of the "L" on the ground and the upright part of the "L" forms the first part of the fence.

A fox may try to dig at the fence but will give up when it feels the mesh (may even hurt its little feet a bit!) and wont think dig further back to find the edge of the mesh.

This saves a lot of digging and the mesh wont rot as fast as it would if it was under ground.

An old Gamekeeper taught me this trick!

No need for digging and no need for expensive electric fences around hen and pheasant pens.