Some have said that.... an ill informed local attacked an apiary with insecticide spray wiping out three hives after a letter to the environmental health was unsuccessful in forcing the owner of the hive to move them. Subsequently it turned out that their problem was actually caused by a huge wasps nest.Some people might think the same of beekeepers!
At least the wicker man must have had a dusting down at that point
A 6 foot fence is a doddle for a fox. I quite like our urban foxes and if they ever get to our chickens, then it’s only gonna be our fault.
We have the same perspective when it comes to our chooks and foxes. Our garden is on the nightly route of several foxes, and last year there was a fox earth in the garden just two doors away, that had 4-5 fox cubs. However, as long as we're sensible the foxes and chickens don't meet.
I would shoot the squirrels - they are a bloody nuisance - they keep finding a way into our loft and then chew a hole through the soffit boards but ... 'er indoors (whilst recognising what a pest they are) refuses to let me at them ... we must have at least 8 or 9 living between us and the two or three gardens either side .. they breed like ... squirrels !
Yes ... we have six foot fences all around the garden and the foxes go up them like a ladder .. No problem at all. Our hen run has fox proof mesh that's 6' high but it also has a roof of the same mesh as I was pretty sure the fox would get in there. We've only ever lost two hens - they were sussex whites - our hens were always allowed to roam free in the garden when we were there but the sussex whites were unruly little beggars who were the very devil to get in to the coop. In frustration we left them roaming in thje garden one Sunday afternoon for half an hour whilst we made a trip to the garden centre. When we returned we found one dead and the other taken ... fox fodder. We now have a tractor so they can be safe and we can move them around the garden so they can clean up any areas that we choose and be safe from the foxes.
Well ... I've yet to find a cat lover in my neck of the woods that can justify allowing their aninmals free to roam, kill birds and spoil (or at least soil) my flower beds ... I'm not argumentative but I've had discussions at times .. cat owners just don't appear to see the problems their unfettered pets create. And yes ... I probably am a grumpy old man who thinks that free roaming, semi feral, cats should be on farms in the countryside not in our towns and urban gardens.
Please no more mention of dusting on this forum. The icing sugar post is enoughAt least the wicker man must have had a dusting down at that point
Sorry for your loss. I know it's only their natural behaviour and they can't change it but it's that element of them that puts so many folk offside. When we first had poulty/waterfowl we'd occasionally lose one if we were late putting them to bed at night and we accepted that that was our fault then around 2 years ago we started to lose birds during the middle of the day so we built runs for them all out of fox-proof mesh. The winter before last a fox managed to chew its way into a run containing 6 nearly full grown Muscovy ducklings that we had hatched months earlier - bit the heads off 6 and took the 6th. A couple of months later it managed to dig its way into the run containing their parents and killed all 3 there as well. Unfortunately the land where we keep our birds (and bees) is out of sight of our house; even if I did have a gun I've only ever seen a fox on our field, or the one next to it about 3 times.
We even had 2 strands of barbed wire around the top. This is the first time we have had a problem in 6 years. We are now adding an electric fence before getting any more hens.
