[Barn owl]

Hello, I am new to keeping chickens and am going to be having a few hens  shortly but I am so scared of the fox thing!  Can you tell me ....am I definitely going to loose my babies to Mr. Fox or are there some of you who have never lost any?  Please tell me the best ways of keeping them safe x

[grinling]

Build a fully enclosed run area. Most recomend weld mesh. This need to be put in a L shape at least a spade depth and spade width as well as up the sides of the run. Helps to cover the run with something waterproof to keep area dry. Make door large enough for house to be moved outside for deep cleaning.
Do you have a regular fox?

[Barn owl]

Aww thanks for the advice  . Well I don't know yet whether we are going to be visited by a fox as we are just about to buy our new house and that's where we'll keep the chickens.  It is on the outskirts of a village backing onto fields so I would expect so.  Years ago we lived right in the country and every morning I would wake to see up to 3 foxes at a time in the field.  I just don't fancy going to let the chickens out and finding a massacre!  I thought about harries fencing which is strong and we have been told is almost fox proof as they don't like the spikes on top, find it difficult to climb and I have also thought about electric fencing for them.  We are only going to have 3 to start and I want them to live as freely as possible.  I know foxes are going to do all they can to get them...that's nature....but just hoped they don't always manage it!

[Sassy]

I've done well with electric fencing. The main advantage being that it can be moved about easily to rest the ground as well as deterring foxes

[Barn owl]

Yeah was hoping to have a run that we could move about, think I might build a coop into a large run and have electric fencing right round that as well.  I really fancy having Buff Sussex hens, they are so pretty and according to my research (lol) are easier to keep, plus they give lots of eggs 

[ehs284]

Do some careful planning and lots of web searches because the costs involved are not insignificant and if you have to re-do work, it's an expensive waste. I guess our eggs cost about £200 each for the first few years  .
Not that I'd change anything - I don't know what I'd do without having the little perishers around controlling my life.

[isobel]

I lost several hens to the fox when we moved to the country 3 years ago and finally gave in and got electrified poultry netting. It was a bit of an investment but since we got it 18 months ago I have never had a problem and my hens are out in the field all day long when I am out at work. The car battery I use has to be recharged overnight about once a month or 6 weeks which is no hassle in the great scheme of things. The first night we switched on I could hear the foxes squealing as they investigated it! It has worked a treat and is no problem to move about when we attend to the grass cutting etc. Highly recommended for peace of mind. Now the main threat to my chicks is the buzzards not the foxes!!

[frenchliving]

We are in open countryside and fortunately haven't had a fox attack (pure chance and luck) They do/can come early evening before the girls are shut up too!

We have concrete all the way round and then put log roll around the bottom too, and our wire is secured to that, so know digging will lift it up, we have put wire on the top too and now felt type stuff o keep it dry!

I think it helps that we have a  chicken/egg farm around 1.5km so hopefully all the foxes are there!

[Barn owl]

My dad had a cross terrier years ago and when he took it on my uncles farm, the dog would run off and hunt down foxes and it was the only dog he ever knew that would single handedly kill a fox, some of them were really big. I could do with him now as he never touched or killed anything else!  I don't think my chihuahua would do such a good job   Probably get taken by the fox mistaking him for a fluffy bird!  Anyway thanks for all the advice, my husband and I have been chatting and we are definitely going to invest in chickens and runs etc. as since I researched a bit about free range eggs on the net, I have learned that a lot are not actually free range (well what I think of as free range!) and not such nice things are going on....I havn't bought an egg since even though I always bought free range anyway!  So the only way my husband is going to have cakes again is by getting me my own chickens    Really like the idea of L shape fencing buried, can see that confusing the fox