Foxes – they’re the masters of stealth and cunning, prowling around like secret agents, monitoring your poultry houses for any sign of weakness in hopes of “chicken tonight”.
My name is Poultry Pete and I’ve been rearing and showing purebred poultry for over 45 years. I’ve tried and tested dozens of fox-proofing strategies including electric fences, roofed-in runs, dug-in wire and even sensor lights and cameras.
In this article, I take all the guesswork out of it. At the end of the day, protecting chickens from foxes can be achieved most effectively and efficiently by following these two strategies:
- Effective shed construction & sensor light
- Ongoing vigilance by the owner
Other strategies I’ve used that are worth discussing:
- Repellents
- Automatic Doors
- Flock Guards
A Winter Warning about Foxes
Opportunistic scavengers European red foxes have been documented as more numerous in many suburban environments than country areas. We have trapped and dealt with two foxes in recent times at the College where I work but we know that there will be plenty more to take over their territory.
Winter is a peak period of fox activity as it is mating season. As the weather gets colder, foxes get hungrier, particularly the vixens that are falling pregnant and ravenous.
Why do they kill all the chickens but only take one you may ask? The movement of frantic chickens excites foxes to kill all in their view. Foxes have what is referred to as a ‘larder’ mentality, seizing one bird after another, returning continually to the den to fill their ‘pantry’.
By night, foxes may travel 10-15 km within their home range, revisiting sites of interest several times. By day, foxes usually rest in hides which may be a hollow log or tree, an enlarged rabbit burrow or dense undergrowth.
‘The red fox, unlike other mammals, hears low-frequency sounds very well. It can hear small animals digging underground and will frequently dig in the dirt or snow to catch prey. The fox stalks its prey, much like a cat.’ – Mental Floss
A fox may use several resting sites within its home range and does not necessarily return to the same site each day. What is most concerning is that foxes are becoming more brazen during daylight hours and have even been known to stare down humans or even approach for food handouts!
Fox-Proofing Strategies I’ve Tried over the Years
So how do you mitigate the risk of a fox attack, particularly if you want your flock to have a greater level of freedom?
Throughout my several decades raising and showing purebred poultry, I’ve tried and tested dozens of fox-proofing strategies including electric fences, roofed-in runs, dug-in wire and even sensor lights and cameras.
At one point I even had microphones and live speaker turned on 24/7 to listen in on my pens. I’d keep the receiver at my bed side table, sleeping with one ear open in case of an attack.
This was not a sustainable strategy!
At the end of the day, you want to have a system that takes little ongoing effort or angst, a strategy that doesn’t require continued checking-in or monitoring.
Fox Proofing Strategy 1: ‘Tight as a Drum’ Shed and Run Construction with Sensor Light
Your shed and run needs to be bulletproof and without any weak spots, so make sure you follow these 5 steps:
Step 1 – Shed Design
Design your poultry enclosure to include a securable/lockable house within the run for the chickens to sleep at night. Avoid purchasing housing comprised of cheap, soft timbers and soft wire as foxes can literally rip them off. A metal super-structure or hard wood is preferable. Strong 10mm mouse or bird wire is advise
Step 2 – Shed Construction
Construct the outside run with mesh on all sides including the roof. Reinforce corners as foxes have been known to pull wire off from the sides
Step 3 – Angled Fences
With fences, ensure an angled out-ward facing overhang at the top of about 45-degree angle as a barrier to scaling the fence.
Step 4 – Buried Wire
Bury wire netting to a depth of between 400-500mm and/or lay a flange or apron of netting 1-metre out on the surface, pegged along the ground as a perimeter to prevent foxes digging under.
Step 5 – Sensor Light
Install a sensor light near the run. This will alert you to any suspicious activity and will also provide another deterrent when a fox triggers the light.
Fox-Proofing Strategy 2: Vigilance by the Owner
Setting up your shed and run safely and securely is only the first piece of the puzzle. Ongoing vigilance is also required.
Don’t do what I failed to do one Winter – forgetting to deal with a hole the size of a fifty-cent piece in the external wire mesh which started looking a little bit bigger than before.
I thought little of it until a few days later when it became the size of a tennis ball. ‘I must wire that up’ – I thought to myself, but instead procrastinated, much to my despair.
The following morning, an entire pen of beautiful, big Houdan cockerels were completely GONE, extracted through the hole which was now the size of a small dinner plate.
The fox must have pushed his snout in every day together with a good chew of the wire!
The darn thing must have slipped in and out a dozen times with Houdan dinner in mouth until his pantry, now supermarket shelf was filled.
Don’t let your flock out into an unsecured area too early in the morning. If there is insufficient noise and disturbance (non-chicken related) in the area then it’s quite possible a fox may be lying in wait.
Step 1 – Be Aware of Day Attacks
Be aware that foxes can and do feed during the day especially when they are hungry, however, they need cover from which to launch an attack. Therefore, it is advisable to clear away or expose areas where they could hide. This is simply a deterrent and is not foolproof nor fox-proof
Step 2 – Daily Check-In & Weekly Maintenance
Keep your pen and run boundaries well secured. Foxes will look to exploit any weakness, be that a short circuit in an electric fence or by expanding a hole dug by a rabbit.
Be sure to check the integrity of your set up weekly and complete any relevant maintenance. In winter, I’d also recommend a daily walk around your pen to check your birds and look for any sign of attempted entry.
It may take weeks for the fox to find one, but you can be sure if your chickens are on the usual route the fox takes, it will inspect these potential weak spots.
Step 3 – Foxes are Smart – Don’t be Predictable
Walk around your flock at irregular times when you let your chickens out to roam. A pattern to your movements is no different to a weakness in your fence. Foxes can read human routines so try to have yourself and family members use the area around your run for different times and purposes.
Step 4 – Put your Birds to Bed at Dusk
When the birds go to roost at the end of the day, be there to close the door around dusk. In fact, be there 15 minutes before. It’s good practice to call your birds and throw wheat in to the door of their housing to encourage them to head in before twilight.
Other Fox-Proofing Strategies – Honorable Mentions
The following strategies are worth discussing, however, they will start to cost you money and convenience. In my opinion, the two strategies I’ve already mentioned are your best bet.
Nevertheless, for those wanting further peace of mind, here are some of my other honorable mentions.
Repellents
There are a range of quite clever and well-researched repellents on the market ranging from red LED lights to simulate predatory eyes to odorous and noise-making repellents.
Dingo urine was even popular at one point!
Some of these have been tried effectively but beware – foxes are super-intelligent and whilst one may work for a time, they may call your bluff.
There are two ways to get rid of foxes:
- Repel them using odor or taste repellents
- Frighten them off with electronic deterrents.
Effective repellents can be divided based on the active ingredients used. The most powerful ones are those containing the concentrated urine of wolves, which are foxes’ natural enemies.
Such products generally come in the form of either liquids or granules. Treat your yard with dingo urine repellent and a fox will think that the territory is already occupied by its enemy.
Repellents made with pepper extract will allow you to protect your crops. Since the pepper has an irritating effect, it will discourage foxes from consuming your plants and vegetables.
Deterrent devices frighten off foxes with flashing lights, ultrasound, or a sudden burst of water.
If this option interests you, Stop Pest Info’s comparison table may help.
Automatic Doors
HenSafe supply solar-powered automatic door closers that operate on a timer.
It may look like a French Guillotine but it’s a neat and sturdy door that opens on a timer and is quite effective at letting your birds out and shutting them in.
Flock Guards
Maremma dogs make excellent and effective protectors. Whilst I would advise against free-ranging outside your secure run, a dog guard might be your solution.
The Maremma breed make excellent guards but require particular care and training to bond with your chickens.
Alpacas as herd guard alpacas are used regularly to protect animals and are worth considering if you have a larger property.
How do I know when Foxes are Around?
Fox Poo or ‘Scats’
Keep a look-out for ‘scats’ – in other words fox poo.
Fox scats have a distinctive smell and composition. They produce dog-like droppings that are usually pointy at one end and full of fur, feathers, tiny bones, seeds and berries.
In rural areas, fox poo is quite dark, but in urban areas, where foxes eat human food waste, it can be lighter. Fresh droppings have a distinctively musky or ‘foxy’ smell.
Their Distinct ‘Howl’
The most commonly heard red fox vocalizations are a quick series of barks, and a scream-y variation on a howl.
All fox vocalizations are higher-pitched than dog vocalizations, partly because foxes are much smaller. The barks are a sort of ow-wow-wow-wow, but very high-pitched, almost yippy.
But I don’t have foxes in my area, do I?
You would be amazed how many people have said this to me over the years – some naively assumed that high fences or having never seen a fox in their area meant they were not vulnerable only to have carnage when they were not expecting it.
Trust me, they are in your area including the city CBD, surrounds and suburbs.
Foxes are smart and persistent, so even if you design and construct an apparently impenetrable pen, you’ll still need sustained vigilance.