Does shooting the fox fix the problem?

[The Phantom]

Hi all,

We just had our second fox attack in three weeks. The one three weeks ago occurred when my chickens were out free ranging around 6:30pm and I ran inside for 20 minutes to do laundry. The fox managed to 8 of them, most being young birds. I tried to call a couple humane trap and release companies, none of which called me back. So, it was then that I decided that they cannot come out unless I am outside with them, period.

Yesterday around 5pm , I was out gardening around the coop so I let them out. It was a beautiful day and they all stayed around me as I was digging up dirt. I then heard commotion about 10 feet from me on the adjacent side of the coop and saw the fox with not one, but TWO of my young silkies in its mouth! I chased it until it dropped my birds. One survived, one didn't Keep in mind that this was in broad daylight, while I was right there! THEN, after I chased the fox away, it kept trying to come BACK as I was corralling all the chickens back into the coop! It had no fear of me whatsoever! It blew my mind!

So, I come to you all to ask, will shooting the fox be a problem solver? Will it actually help? I now know that even if I'm outside with them, they cannot come out. It really stinks because of course they love coming out and eating the grass, bugs, etc. Granted, they do have a pretty large run that's attached to their coop which is all predator proof. I was all for humane trap and release logic for the fox, but now I just want the thing gone. For good. I shooting the fox a good idea?

Shoot it!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

....What? What does any of that have to do with chickens or ecosystems?

It has everything to do with the scientific concept of Integrated Pest Management. Perhaps this link can help explain the concept of IPM to you.

http://agrilifecdn.tamu.edu/txwildlifeservices/files/2011/07/PredatorControlforWildlifeMgt.pdf

 

[Howard E]

So how is the fence strong enough for a fox to zapp them bad but light enough for the chicken to not get killed? Are you saying first do one wire to zap the chickens while learning... Then more wires for the predator because the chickens will already know to stay away from it? I have baby geese hatching in a week..... Electric fence here we come!

Yes. Some say they only use one wire for predators too. I used out little house dog as my test animal. He is a runner who likes to roam. He would jump over as many as 3 wires......up to 15 inches. When the 4th wire went up he gave up. If you start with more wires, the birds may hop over and never get zapped.

Only 2 or 3 might do it. For predators, I have recently started clipping a piece of bacon or chicken skin to the wire........drape it over the top with a clothes pin. That is cheating, but almost assures the dog or varmint is going to get zapped on the nose or tongue. In your battle with predators, this need not be a fair fight.........they get about as much a chance as the Judge gave Bad Bob........which was no chance at all..........

 

[tasteecakes]

I'm sorry to have to tell you this but unless you mean hardware cloth predators can and will kill your birds through welded wire. A fox killed my Rouen drake right through the fence. It's a pet playpen fence that I let them run in when I can't be outside. . I have privacy fence around 3/4 of my yard and the rest is barn wood fence. I knew it wasn't predator proof per say but being in town and never seeing a fox come into my fenced yard I mistakenly thought they would be safe. Unfortunately sometimes the birds are not smart enough to back away from the fence.

My sister had a raccoon grab a rooster through the wire and try to kill it. I think he ended up losing the wing but he lived. But yeah, if the holes are big enough for them to fit their paws or snout through then they can probably still kill them. It wouldn't take much to run some hardware cloth along with the welded wire though. It might be worth considering getting a great pyrenese to help protect all your animals in the future though, including the smaller dog. Let that fox try to be that bold and get a large dog in the face.

 

[mountain chicken1]

in the future I will never think twice about shooting a threat again.

about 3 weeks ago we encountered a massive mt lion attack they killed approx 30 deer and elk , so my new philosophy is if it's a threat shoot it !

in all my years I never seen so many cats in one location it was a army they weren't hunting for food they just wanted blood . this all happen the day before we were to introduce the birds to the coop .

so for the last 3 weeks the birds have been roaming around in the barn .

I spent days cleaning up a big mess hoping for a heavy rain to wash off the rocks so it soaks into the ground . wound up renting a back hoe dug a big deep hole to bury all the carcasses
one of the most disgusting jobs I ever had to do.

the stench was the hardest part to over come as it just lingered for days .

I have one cat that's been watching me for days all the others seemed to have moved on , little does this cat know his time is up . he will be the topping of the pile , beautiful animal shame I'm putting it down ,

I'm not going through this again only this time with the birds ,

am I crazy looking him in the eyes all I see is that kill stare . I can't do it ! than something inside just pulled the trigger bang it's over.

I plan to introduce my birds tomorrow now that the threat is gone. hoping never to encounter another mass slaughter again.
I told my wife and my daughter you see a threat shoot it .

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Cute of you to edit your post. Funny. I don't see anything about the "rapists and robbers" "scratching at your door" that you mentioned in the link you posted. 9_9;

Also cute the way you pretend to have misunderstood that I was responding with confusion to the one line about pests, as opposed to responding confusion with your rant about guns and criminals and rapists.

Can you please point to where I said killing a single predator would damage an ecosystem?

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Cute of you to edit your post. Funny. I don't see anything about the "rapists and robbers" "scratching at your door" that you mentioned in the link you posted. 9_9;

Also cute the way you pretend to have misunderstood that I was responding with confusion to the one line about pests, as opposed to responding confusion with your rant about guns and criminals and rapists.

Can you please point to where I said killing a single predator would damage an ecosystem?

I believe the post in question was meant as an analogy not that predators are the equivalent to rapist and robbers. .literally.
I think everyone is just very passionate about wanting to protect our birds and it is a frustrating thing when there isn't a foolproof win win solution.
I feel like everyone's viewpoints are valuable let's all keep the convo civil and respectful for the op please

 

[shawluvsbirds]

in the future I will never think twice about shooting a threat again.

about 3 weeks ago we encountered a massive mt lion attack they killed approx 30 deer and elk , so my new philosophy is if it's a threat shoot it !

in all my years I never seen so many cats in one location it was a army they weren't hunting for food they just wanted blood . this all happen the day before we were to introduce the birds to the coop .

so for the last 3 weeks the birds have been roaming around in the barn .

I spent days cleaning up a big mess hoping for a heavy rain to wash off the rocks so it soaks into the ground . wound up renting a back hoe dug a big deep hole to bury all the carcasses
one of the most disgusting jobs I ever had to do.

the stench was the hardest part to over come as it just lingered for days .

I have one cat that's been watching me for days all the others seemed to have moved on , little does this cat know his time is up . he will be the topping of the pile , beautiful animal shame I'm putting it down ,

I'm not going through this again only this time with the birds ,

am I crazy looking him in the eyes all I see is that kill stare . I can't do it ! than something inside just pulled the trigger bang it's over.

I plan to introduce my birds tomorrow now that the threat is gone. hoping never to encounter another mass slaughter again.
I told my wife and my daughter you see a threat shoot it .

Ugh. That must have been very frightening to see. I'm assuming this happened close to your home?

 

[Rilerdude]

Smoke that fox! I just got rid of one tonight, and saw a larger adult this morning. I'm thinking there's a den around as we've never really had foxes in our immediate area per se. Usually mountain lions and coyotes. We lost a couple birds as well and found what was left of them within sight of our house.

 

[McChooky]

If any of your friends are hunters have them find the den and spray coyotes urine around it so she'll move the kits somewhere she feels is 'safe'.If she comes back have him shoot her