a fox has had my hens therew the electric netting!

[Anonymous]

hi,

im not a happy bunny today. a fox has had two of my lovely ladies. it has slashed the electric netting into a huge hole and dragged them out. i now dont know what to do for the best as they live free range and have done for years behind 50 meters of electric netting.

should i start a huge fencing operation and get it all chicken wired? will a fox chew threw chicken wire? and then put srtands of electric around the outside?

i have never in my life had a problem with foxes. now i dont know what to do for the best. they are now inside for the day in the stable a im worried for their safety if the fox comes back!

 

[podstable]

I am sorry. If fox has torn electric fence ,rather than jumped it , is it shorting out , was there any break in fence circuit , was supply ok? I would just be surprised if a fox would chew or tear at it if it was working properly? It might be worth checking before spending a fortune on other methods of fencing .Ros

 

[dawn]

How awful for you, I am sorry too. I agree with Ros about the fence, I've recently started using one after dog attacks on my free range chickens and not being used to it yet have managed to shock myself a number of times. This morning I pulled a dandelion stalk that was touching it, I didn't touch the fence itself and still got a fair old shock throught the dandelion. I can't imagine a fox being able to withstand that on it's delicate mouth tissues at all, let alone for long enough to chew a hole.

I suppose it'd be hard to check now whether it was working at the time though, but I'd be inclined to try again rather than chicken wire as I'm sure a fox could chew through that much more easily and it'd cost so much more.

I know what you must feel about having to stop them free ranging, I'm the same.

 

[Rebelodicus]

I am sorry. If fox has torn electric fence ,rather than jumped it , is it shorting out , was there any break in fence circuit , was supply ok? I would just be surprised if a fox would chew or tear at it if it was working properly? It might be worth checking before spending a fortune on other methods of fencing .Ros

X 2 :|

 

[Tim]

Oh dear, I'm so sorry. It is heartbreaking (and sadly I speak from experience )

I agree that the fence is not working... I bought a tester after having similar heartache earlier in the year. It's a glass tube with the electronics inside and has a very bright LED that flashes when the fence is working. This way I can see the fence is live at night. It also claims to scare the fox so it can be placed at weak points (eg gate or low point) to deter the fox.

There are pictures of the tester here on this page: Electric Fencing Chickens (bottom picture on page).

 

[Anonymous]

hi all,

we have spent the last two hours down the field with torches trying to get the fencing working properly. it was not working. we have learnt that sadly the hard way. we have a unit with a brand new battery and nothing is coming out. after spending 2 hours trying to fix it we have had no luck, chickens are shut in the stable for the night and tomorrow we will try again.

i have bred the cream legbar chicks to sell on for profit but it seems my money is going to be spent back on the chickens trying to stop the fox getting the rest of them. sometimes i wonder why i bother! i think that poultry netting is hard to get electrified and ours is also damaged by the strimmer hitting it and has a few repair jobs in it.

hopefully the fox will stay away and tomorrow will be a better day!

 

[Anonymous]

sorry too...

should i start a huge fencing operation and get it all chicken wired? will a fox chew threw chicken wire? and then put srtands of electric around the outside?

i think foxes cannot chew on to chicken wires. though, it depends on what kind of chicken wire will you bee using, i suggest go for higher grade chicken wire, a little bit expensive but it works...