What to Do About a Sneaky Fox

By Mary LaFrance

This past weekend I got a text from a friend of mine who said she saw a fox run across the road near my house with a chicken in its mouth! Foxes, among other predators, are the nemesis of poultry farmers. They are very clever and persistent, and if they find a hole in a fence or an opportune moment, they can wreak havoc on a flock in minutes. Luckily, all my chickens and ducks were accounted for, so I do not know who lost a chicken that fateful day. I am glad that I got a tip off about the fox so I could keep an eye out for potential disaster. This made me think about some things that can be done to help deter predators who might be scoping out your chicken coop.

The first thing you can do, even before you get chickens, is to fortify your chicken coop. To do this, walk all around your chicken coop and try to think like a predator. Are there holes in the fencing, a gap in the siding? When designing your coop think about enclosing the exterior run so that nothing can fly in or climb over to get in. Another good thing to do early on is to dig a trench all the way around your chicken coop and bury wire fence so that if a predator were to try to dig under the fence their claws will get stuck. You will need to keep the practice up of periodically walking the perimeter and checking for any gaps and repair them right away. The best offense is a good defense. Even if you have a solid chicken coop there are still things you will need to watch out for in order to protect your flock.

If you let your chickens' free range, then you will need to practice responsible chicken care. Before letting your chickens outside make sure there are no predators present, lose neighborhood dogs for example. While your chickens are free ranging, make sure they still have access to the coop or hiding places in case they need to make a quick getaway. Chickens will naturally return to the coop to roost at dusk. Pay attention to the times of dusk so you can be sure to securely close the coop at night. These are all things you can do to better manage your flock, but what could you do about the predators?

Should you trap predators that are hanging around the chicken coop? This is an ethical question that you will have to decide for yourself. If a predator finds a hole in the security and gets rewarded with an easy meal, it is going to be very difficult to get them to stop terrorizing the remaining flock. The last fox that attacked my chickens was shot by a neighbor. I have since purchased a live trap that is designed to contain the predator until it can be relocated and released. If you are going to trap predators coming around your chicken coop be sure to check all pertinent trapping regulations for your area.

As maddening as it can be to keep predators away from your chickens, just remember that predation is a natural process and comes with the territory. Routine maintenance of chicken coop security, practicing responsible chicken care, and setting live traps are just some of the things you can do to protect your flock against predators. I continue to see the fox at the chicken coop in the early morning and have been letting my dog out earlier and earlier as an easy deterrent. So far, the live trap has been unsuccessful, but I will continue to try new bait and set ups to see if I can catch the sneaky fox before it gets to my chickens.