Articles:Foxes and Chickens

Keeping Your Chickens Safe From Predators

Whether or not you have ever kept chickens as pets or on a farm, you are probably already aware that one of the most challenging aspects of chicken keeping is keeping foxes and chickens apart and your chicken coop safe from predators. Chickens, ducks and all other types of domestic fowl face threats from a lot of different types of predators but the one that is probably most common is the fox. The tense relationship between foxes and chickens goes back a long way and poses many challenges for the chicken keeper. Foxes, know to the scientific world as vulpes, occur on every continent in the world and the most common type is the Red Fox.

Foxes are very adaptable and have been known to develop a certain level of tolerance for humans, as evidenced by the fact that when the natural woodland habitat is scarce or in decline, the fox will happily adapt to life in towns and cities and modify its diet and behaviour to feed on scraps and food waste from household garbage.

For this reason, even the modern trend for ‘urban chicken coops’ faces a threat from marauding foxes.
Hunting at night, the fox can easily navigate the urban landscape, scaling walls and fences to locate and pillage even the most inaccessible chicken coop.

Here’s a few interesting facts about the relationship between foxes and chickens -

·         Foxes belong to a group known as ‘canids’

·         Foxes are solitary creatures and hunt alone at night

·         The Red Fox is the most commonly occurring of all foxes and is found on each of the five continents

·         Foxes feed on all types of birds and animals smaller than themselves including rats and mice.

·         When a fox enters a chicken coop in search of food it will often kill all of the chickens in the coop even though it will only take one.

·         Foxes are closely related to dogs but they display many of the behavioural characteristics of cats.

·         Generally speaking, foxes are careful to avoid any contact with cats or dogs and so, they will stay well clear of an area where they pick up their scent.

Throughout the history of keeping chickens and domestic fowl, many different ways of keeping foxes and chickens safely apart have evolved. Some are quite practical and make sense, and others not so effective. A common recourse taken by rural farmers is to eliminate the fox by shooting. I for one, really don’t like to take this option as at best it is a short term solution since it really only cures the symptom rather than the problem. It won’t take long for the slain fox to be replaced by another one and the chicken keeper is usually only aware of the problem after the fox has entered the coop and killed the chickens.

Here’s a few of the ways chicken keepers try to protect their coop -

·         Laying your own scent by walking around the chicken coop a few times every few days.

·         Keeping the family dog or cat near the chicken coop to lay the scent of a natural enemy for the fox.

·         Urinating in and around the area of the chicken coop to lay traces of human scent.

·         Tying clumps of human hair to the chicken runs and coops, again, to lay down a human scent and hopefully ward off the fox.

Some of these methods are clearly impractical and unpleasant and the best way to ensure thefoxes and chickens are kept safely apart is to provide them with a properly constructed chicken coop which will prevent the fox from getting to your hens no matter how determined he is. A point worth bearing in mind is that if there is an opening anywhere in your chicken coop big enough for a squirrel to get through then there is a risk that a fox can get in too.The methods mentioned previously should really only be seen as additional precautions to be taken once you have provided safe housing for your hens.

Foxes are very nimble on their feet, they are skilled climbers and jumpers and this should always be borne in mind if you have a penned area or a run for your chickens. It is not at all uncommon for a fox to negotiate an 8ft fence so a mesh roof is essential on the roof of the run in addition to the sides.
If your chickens are roaming freely in the yard during the day it is essential that they are locked securely into the chicken coop during darkness. If you forget to carry out the most basci task of closing the pop hole once the chickens are all roosting for the night you can almost certainly expect to lose your chickens to a fox at some stage.
If there is any risk that you cant be sure you can do this yourself every night, motorised and timed door closers are now easily available to fit to your chicken coop and are a very useful addition to the chicken coop.

Buying a readymade chicken coop will put you at an immediate advantage in your efforts to keep foxes and chickens safely apart. A commercially available chicken coop will usually be well designed and of sturdy construction but its worth taking some time to research the various types of chicken runs and coops available first and buy the best quality you can afford. Make sure to check for good build quality and secure locks and fittings.

Should you try your hand at building your own chicken coop, time spent at the beginning to produce a design that is practical and secure will pay dividends in the long run. Building your own chicken coop is one of the most effective ways of providing your chickens with safe and secure housing that best suits your budget and available space.

Keeping foxes and chickens apart is a relatively simple task as long as you make the effort to plan your coop well and build a strong and sturdy enclosure.
The time and money spent is well worth the investment and is surely a better option than having to deal with the constant threat posed by unwelcome visitors to your chicken coop and the risk of them getting inside and killing your entire flock.