Fox broke into my coop :(

Sorry to hear about that Louise. It happened to me three times when I started keeping chickens. I know how annoying and distressing it is to find all your birds slaughtered by a fox.

I think you're going the right way in deciding to build a fox-proof chicken house, I built my own about ten years ago, the chickens are shut in every night and to date it has proved fox proof.

I should add that my DIY skills are abysmal, but I found this book very useful, it gives simple easy to follow instructions on building your own chicken house: Gold Cockerel Books - Poultry House Construction, build a hen house book

 

That sucks, sorry to hear about your chucks :(

 

Oh Louise so sorry to hear about your chickens, must have been awful for you, we had the same thing happen a few years ago but with our pet rabbit, we didn't know at the time we had a fox as we'd only recently moved here, but have seen, and heard, a pair of them many times since, think they come to drink from our pond, so haven't risked getting another rabbit, hope you find a way to keep future chickens safe.

 

You are all so lovely and you have made me feel a lot better, so a virtual bunch of flowers or pint to you all.

My run and house were separate so that they could be moved around the garden so that the hens could have clean grass or places to scratch and be healthier or that was the intent but as a result the whole thing wasn't as secure a fixed house and run would be. I think the next lot will have to forgo some of the ideal things and have to make do with a bit less but be safer. A lesson learned the hard way. But at least I found out now rather than before I added to my flock and shelled out on another shop bought hen house which I was planning on doing. All home made for me from now on!

 

:grouphug:

thats just awful honey, i had rabbits once and a fox had the whole family

 

Hi Louise, we are also in France (36) and keep chickens. I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I know how attached you can get to them. At the moment we only have 3 left out of the 6 chickens we started with 7 years ago. ( they're all oldies now) All ours are free range and don't get locked in at night. (they go 'home' themselves at dusk)
I believe only one of our hens was taken by an animal. I say 'animal' because I've never seen a fox on our land but have seen polecats! Even then the chicken just disappeared, no evidence,feathers etc where left.
My neighbour keeps lots of hens but keeps them enclosed in a large run with high fences and electric wire over. Also a scarecrow! yet he says he gets hens taken. I'm just wondering whether hens that are enclosed have 'nowhere to run' as it were. Whereas mine can get away.

 

Hi Mandy
My litle birds were certainly sitting 'ducks' and I was really sorry about that. Sadly I haven't the space to let them be really free range and also I think it is preferred locally to have birds under cover, when I was building my run , my neighbour asked if it was going to be covered, it wasn't but it is now. I have seen birds running around loose outside the village in more rural areas.
Out of interest where do your birds sleep and how do they cope with bad weather at night?

Today my husband is saying that we can repair the coop but install inside a secure permanent run, but I have lost confidence in that coop and then there is the cost of the building a new secure run. For me the house is the thing that really needs to be secure as they will only be in the run in the daytime. 3 little pigs and all that!

 

This is the chicken house. The situation in the photo has changed, as they're not as close to the fencing now.


It's now situated on our land between the goats and the pig (both fenced) but open to the back where there is scrub/woodland and to the front where our garden is. They seem to have an evening routine,they go for a walk to the lavoir then dawdle back home before it gets dark. Whenever it's dark they can all be seen inside the coop. The coop doors aren't shut. We fenced them in for a while during the restrictions for bird flu. They hated it.
If the weather is bad during the day, they can be found in our cellar!
It may be possible that being situated amongst other animals puts the like of foxs off.
In the past I've been worried that buzzards will go for the chickens. They will sometimes perch on the fence posts and eye them up. I think this is why my neighbour has a scarecrow in his run. That seemed to happen more during the time when the hens were fenced in than now.

It's a tough choice if you have to choose between a more secure run or a new coop.

 

Aww sorry to hear about your chooks Louise .

 

Ever get that nagging feeling you've forgotten something important?
After a nocturnal loo visit at one o'clock this morning I lay in bed thinking "Have I forgotten something?"
Then it hit me.....I'd forgotten to shut the hens in for the night!
Oh well, they'll probably be alright, I told myself.
For the next five minutes I lay there trying to get back to sleep, while visions of marauding foxes, decapitated chickens and worse filled my imagination.
Finally, I could bear it no longer. So it's off down the garden by torchlight, wearing wellies and dressing gown to make sure my girls are safely secured.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this. :o

 

That sounds so familiar Trunky your not the only one....on the rare occasion when i've done the same i've thought to myself (in the middle of the night) stop fretting they'll be fine....but as you say your amagination runs riot and it's just no good you've got to go and check.....i know we'd never forgive ourselves if the one time we didn't bother and Mr Fox came .....it doesn't bear thinking about.....thankfully i've been lucky...so far....

 

And do you speak to them as you approach, re-assuring them that's it's only you and not Mr Fox, or am I the only one who does this?

 

Err, I think you might be Scrungee.
Although I have been known to chat to my girls occasionally, I didn't go that far.
Although they're not the brightest of creatures, I'd imagine that even chickens would probably realise that a fox is unlikely to turn up carrying a torch!

 

You know that and I know that, but do chickens really know that? And why do they start asking me who I am when I start getting close after dark?

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I've even talked to my chicken on the phone.