Last night right about when it got dark I looked out the back door and saw a fox. It had just passed our chicken coop with 8 chickens and a smaller pen that has 4 smaller birds in it.

Something has killed at least 3 of our guineas, no idea if it was the fox or not. Their heads were ripped off, I thought maybe a hawk got a hold of them and realized they were a little bigger than expected. And now seeing the fox got me thinking.

So what would you guys do? Be preventive if I see him again or let him go?

Biting chickens' heads off is more a trait of raccoons than foxes. I'd keep an eye out for them.

Having said that, I found paw prints of a pair of foxes by our chicken coop, cornered them in a sewer pipe and killed them. As beautiful as they were, it upset me to have to do it, but it was necessary.

Over time, we lost all of our birds to predators, despite my killing the foxes, a couple possums, and over a dozen raccoons. The last half-dozen or more of our chickens we lost to a weasel that I spotted just once, when I was unarmed.

We gave up on ever being able to keep chickens.

if you do end up killing it, you should find a taxidermist who could take the pelt off your hands, either for a personal project or for you. I've always found Foxes to be gorgeous. My biology teacher in high school was a taxidermist and he had a beautiful fox in the classroom he'd done.

There's about a 100% chance the fox will kill your chickens if he gets a chance. It's what they do, unfortunately. I'd have no compunctions about killing him, if I saw him around my chicken pen.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
There's about a 100% chance the fox will kill your chickens if he gets a chance. It's what they do, unfortunately. I'd have no compunctions about killing him, if I saw him around my chicken pen.

Roger that.

Thanks for the replies guys, now I have to find that sucker and be ready when I do.

I don't think it was a fox... A fox is going to go after more than just the head, and is going to haul off and stash the remains. Plus, it would be easier to go after chickens and eggs than dealing with Guineas. Do you have any large owls (especially Great Horned Owls) around?

If they're decapitated, it's probably a raccoon. But the fox will kill them, too, given the chance. I see a lot of them working nights...they're fun to watch, but I wouldn't want them near my chickens.

Ripping the heads off? That sounds like a weasel to me.

Your fowl pen isn't strong enough to repel him? My neighbors chicken pen can hold a cow without issue.

We have had a family of foxes here , every season for 30 years. Never an issue with the chickens. they WATCH them and have tried to get in, but they can't.

Frankly I'd rather see the foxes than the stupid chickens.

Fox eggs are difficult to collect and not very toothsome.

I shoot them every chance I get.

One got some of my chickens, now none get parlay.

Weasels are notorious for biting the heads off of chickens and drinking the blood. They are tricky little bastards and hard to trap or kill. I learned that the hard way. If you have a problem fox you wouldn't be seeing the bodies, just feathers and blood.

Jim