If you’ve been following me on my chicken tending journey, you’ll know how excited I was to get baby chicks in the mail. Well, after nearly 10 weeks, I faced a heartbreaking event when a fox killed my chickens, leaving only 2 of them.
This fox, or similar animal (I didn’t actually see it, as I encountered it in the dark), and I am at a loss. The realization that the fox killed my chickens has left me saddened by their deaths, mad at the fox, angry with myself, and questioning my resolve for raising chickens and homesteading in general.
Success Through Failure
As far as my resolve goes, I’m thinking about how failure is just being knocked down and not standing back up. This has been my first attempt at raising chickens and I live in a heavily wooded area with all kinds of wildlife, and I’ve wanted to give my chickens as much freedom as possible by fencing in a large area.
Anything worthwhile takes years to get good at, and homesteading is no different. There’s aspects of homesteading that I’m going to be good at – like building structures – and others that I’m not so good at, like remembering to get the chickens in the coop before dusk. So, it’s important for me to determine my homesteading weaknesses and then either work on that skill, or find a system that makes that task easier.
As I’m writing this, I have yet to tell my family the news, and I’m sure they will be just as sad, if not sadder, than I’m currently feeling. The fact that the fox killed my chickens is heartbreaking. We have spent the last 10 weeks raising our chickens from day-old chicks to beautiful pullets, and have enjoyed pretty much every part, except for all the poop. So, while this is a tragic setback, and we’ve lost our pets, I’m sure we will find joy in raising the next flock.
No One to Blame but Myself
Their death is clearly my fault, as my fence did not keep out the fox, and I did not go out to the coop to lock it up until after dark. The most frustrating part is that I ordered an automatic coop door from RunChicken and it arrived yesterday, and I planned to install it today, but it rained all day, so I planted some seeds instead.
So, I’m mad at myself, but I’m super freaking mad at the fox. The fox killed my chickens, but I would never hurt it. I definitely need to figure out a way to improve my fence. If the fox dug under the fence, then I’ll have to dig a trench to put fencing in. Though, in all honesty, the fence is more to keep deer out (to protect fruit trees) and to keep the chicken in. So, I’ll start looking into other predator deterrents, but I think just getting the chickens into their coop before dusk is the primary solution to keeping the chickens alive.
I’m also looking into getting a trail camera to make sure the predator I’m dealing with is actually a fox, and not a racoon or other animal that could climb the fence. I was originally looking into trail cameras to take a timelapse video of my garden as it grows during the spring, but this seems more important.
Update: A Second Fox Scare
Two days after the loss of our 5 chickens, I went to lock up the coop only to find just one chicken in the coop (Ash Katcher). Our other chicken, Cecilia, was no where to be found. I searched through all the bushes for about 45 minutes before giving up and assuming the fox got her. I closed up the coop with Ash inside, and went back inside in dismay.
The next morning, I heard some rustling in the bushes, and Cecilia popped out! Jubilation! She strutted around, started eating some bugs and met up with Ash Katcher like nothing had happened. I refilled the water and feed for the two of them and it was a normal day.
Until I needed to get the chickens back in the coop. Again, Cecilia was no where to be found. But I heard some rustling in the tree above the coop, and there she was! Sitting about 25 feet up on a branch. I know “chicken of the tree” usually refers to iguana meat, (or sometime squirrel meat), but that nickname is apt for Cecilia.
Clearly, Cecilia survived overnight outside of the coop by climbing up into the trees. How did we get the chicken out of the tree? We used a 16 ft extension pole with a window mop attachment to try to get her to hop on. However, she made her way down from the tree as the pole got close to her.
AddED Protection For the Chickens
So, I may not need to worry about the foxes getting Cecilia, but for Ash, and our new batch of chicks, how can I protect them from foxes? I spent a decent amount of time doing some research but have yet to make a decision. I found that the fox(es) definitely dug under the fence, but the fence was also a few inches off the ground where they got under.
No-dig Fencing
Even though our fence is stapled to the trees (so the trees are the fence posts) and the roots of the big oak and holly trees make the ground kind of hard to dig into, I think a fox could probably find a route through the roots under the fence. So, instead of digging a tech and placing fence into the trench (which is a lot of work for a 600′ long fence), I found these no-dig underground fence sections that are kind of like half of a grill grate – so you push the thick steel rods into the ground. The rods are connected at the top, and are space about 1.5 inches to 2 inches apart. I’ll definitely do this in the spots where the fence is high, though I’ve temporarily added more fencing to cover the holes. These no-dig fences are kind of expensive and I’ll probably hit a lot of roots trying to put them in, so I plan to use them selectively around the fence, kind of like stakes to fix holes in the fence.
Electric Net Fence and Electric Wire or Tape
I’ve also looked into an electric net fence, and electric wire, but a 4 ft tall electric net fence to cover my 600′ perimeter would cost about $1,000. Not only that, but I would need to add a gate to compete the circuit while allowing me in and out, but that would be in addition to the 8 foot tall arbor and gate that I already built. It’s annoying enough to bring in groceries with 1 gate, let alone 2. A single, electric wire or electric tape with an energizer would only be about $300, easier to install, I can could just run it up and over the gate. Maybe I could even use both the electric net fence and a wire, and run the wire over the gate to not need an electric gate…hmmm more to think about.
Pepper And Garlic Spray
It seems another common method to deter foxes is to spray hot pepper and/or garlic mixtures around a yard, or a fence. This is the cheapest method, but it would need to be re-applied after every rain.