The Poultry Keeper

oznog · Joined: 15 Jun 2008 Posts: 8

First post ever.. unfortunately after coming home to find fox in midst of killing all 4 girls.. he got them free ranging in the garden, around dusk.
So now we are wanting this never, i mean never to happen again.
seems there are two choices, alot of people talk about the electric net and it sounds good, but what keeps a fox from just either jumping over it (as most hieights are just under 4"? or simply digging under it?

Then if we go the route of building a permanent large run- looking into doing it out of building site panels/ weld mesh. what is the best way to make a roof that will deter a fox; can it be made (the roof that is) out of chicken wire stretched out and connected to weld mesh. Can chicken wire also be used to bury along bottom?
I am really just after the suggestion that = no more poor dead hens...
Thanks

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1405 Location: Manchester

foxes don't tend to get over the electric netting because when they jump fences especially one as high as 4ft they have to touch the fence to get over it, similarly digging under, they dig enough to squeeze through which means they'd still touch the electric netting.

if you build a pen for them you can extend chicken wire/weld mesh in a skirt around the bottom to stop them from digging under as they are not clever enough to find the edge of the wire to dig under (though make sure the edges of the wire are pegged down securely). Roofing would probably be better being either weld mesh or a solid roof.

mojo · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject:

a complte box built from building site panels with a man sized door and a seperate internal coop...(make it so it goes thro door).................put it on wheels and you have a really fox proof pen and in AF comes around a tarp across the top wires will prevent trouble