Well I'm Right Royally Pissed Off

[Greyman 29,556]

Don't any of you shut your hens away at night, I,ve had chucks for around 30 years and the only time I have lost any is when I,ve forgotten to lock em up at night, my fault not the fox,s

[terryd 8,708]

lucky you don't live near a stream I new a lady as a kid that got hammered by mink. She kept chickens and pigeons. When a mink got in it was a nightmare for her. Had her in tears a few times

[forest of dean redneck 11,777]

  On 12/06/2016 at 11:41, Greyman said:

Don't any of you shut your hens away at night, I,ve had chucks for around 30 years and the only time I have lost any is when I,ve forgotten to lock em up at night, my fault not the fox,s

When I had them on allotment 8 mile away I never did,but was lucky ,I got 6 in the back garden I still shut them in at night incase of rats. And they are surrounded by 5-6 ft fencing.

[vfr400boy 3,494]

I don't lock mine up but mine are in soild pens . It has been climbing over the tops of wire on some and digging under some others , not every one has time to lock them up and let them out every morning, we have all ways had a fox about but never one that's learnd to climb over tops of 6ft fence

[Rabid 1,936]

I lock mine away every night, but still loose the odd one during the day, when I grew up we had them in the farm courtyard surrounded buy buildings and the house, kept them like that for many years and never lost one to fox, when I moved to my current place, let them out during the day, half hour later when I was only 25-30 yards away from them lost two to a fox, they ain't always out hunting at night you know

[jok 3,388]

Well guys. You think youv'e done everything possible. I've 7 ft all round with total netting. If anyone wanted to be sure of not having another catastrophe thenI guess it's me. Bought 14 mixed beautiful birds who started laying right from the start. Happy as Larry. Came to me in the morning, lovely. Fox climbed next doors, got on my roof and forced his way in. All birds beheaded and not one taken. If I could do more I would. I take the point about shutting the pen drop door but in all fairness I genuinely thought I'd covered the bases. This fckd is defo having the .223. Tenacious, wily, cunning, bloodthirsty, evil, smelly and outrageously bold. Hope that's his undoing. An unhappy Jok.

[jok 3,388]

Sorry, should have said. As regards locking them in, most roost in the apple tree or on outdoor perches. They don't go in at night. Jok.

[jok 3,388]

3 nights waiting for the begger. He's waiting for my new flock to arrive the cunning git. Not showed his face at all and the neighbours have put a not happy with you shooting our lovely fox notice on my door. Fcking idiots. Wait till they want a bit of help.

[HedgeCrawler 224]

Some people just don't understand the time and commitment put into keeping poultry and how devastating it can be to loose them to the red menace.

Good luck with getting him and with your new flock.

[Sirblessed 2,511]

It’s funny now but not at the time. I lived on a 40 acre property some years back and had a few dogs, that were never chained, one morning I came out to see the youngest pup (6mths) who had previously never shown any interest in birds, sitting wagging his tail covered in blood and feathers hanging out of the side of his mouth. Ran down to the pen to see every bird dead. I did break him from the habit eventually. I have lost a few here and there to fox’s but the most I lost was that night.

[Rabid 1,936]

  On 23/06/2016 at 19:17, jok said:

3 nights waiting for the begger. He's waiting for my new flock to arrive the cunning git. Not showed his face at all and the neighbours have put a not happy with you shooting our lovely fox notice on my door. Fcking idiots. Wait till they want a bit of help.

Return the politeness by hanging the lovely fox on their door when you roll him over.

[sussex 5,796]

  On 23/06/2016 at 19:17, jok said:

3 nights waiting for the begger. He's waiting for my new flock to arrive the cunning git. Not showed his face at all and the neighbours have put a not happy with you shooting our lovely fox notice on my door. Fcking idiots. Wait till they want a bit of help.

This little lot was over three nights last year from the bedroom window ..bait on a string , fox pulls string , spoon hits the window wakes up the wife , she wakes me (I'm deaf) ..I do the rest ..

[HedgeCrawler 224]

That's a good lot from just 3 nights in the same place,nice one.

[sussex 5,796]

  On 25/06/2016 at 10:54, HedgeCrawler said:

That's a good lot from just 3 nights in the same place,nice one.

We have a stud and equestrian place right next door so they don't bother with them , I have a go at them mainly during the breeding season but we went to a country show and when we got home the wife went out to put a new drinker in the chicken run we had bought at the show only to find we wouldn't need it because Charlie had done the chicken ...War was declared ..new chicken were acquired after hostilities had run there course ..

 

I also redid the electric fence which now runs around the bottom , up a corner post and around the top on the pen a couple of times which stops the bloody things getting over ..I've lived here about 13 years and average easily 12 a year without trying to hard ..adds up to a few ..

[forest of dean redneck 11,777]

Does the home place control their rats? Is that or cats what's drawing the foxes in,or do you just have a numerous population there.