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Well we left the gate open once too often , and last week our 3 hens were abducted/murdered by predator(s) unknown. All that was left was feathers. No trace of any bodies. No trail of feathers leading away. No footprints. And I've had a good hunt around. Mystified!

Can a fox carry away 3 full-size hens? or is it likely to be something else?

Yes they can. They may have buried them somewhere nearby (in my case, my neighbours plant pot) and come back for the rest. Foxes are pack animals and hunt in groups so there may have been three foxes.

Zoe

It could even have been a single fox. The myth is generally that a fox will kill them all and only take one, is just that, a myth, the fox would have come back for all of them.If us humans had not removed the dead carcasses.
So sorry about your poor chooks though.

This is the time of year when the vixen gives birth, and so it is also at this time that her mate will be out desperately trying to find food to take back to feed her.
So yes, a fox will certainly carry a chicken for miles and possibly do it three times in one night, and it will almost certainly be a dog (male) fox.

Not that it helps you ... sorry.

trinder wrote:It could even have been a single fox. The myth is generally that a fox will kill them all and only take one, is just that, a myth, the fox would have come back for all of them.If us humans had not removed the dead carcasses.
So sorry about your poor chooks though.

Yes dead right. Foxes get a bad press for being callous killers who do it for pleasure. Actually they are super efficient predators and would never leave a single bird if they were not disturbed. I have heard of a single fox removing dozens of chickens when left undisturbed.

i have seen the aftermath of a single fox in a comerical hen house. over 100 dead birds in a night. and the bugger took ONE then cam back the next night where he became closely acquainted to mr shogun and his rather scattering daughters

i have seen the aftermath of a single fox in a comerical hen house. over 100 dead birds in a night. and the bugger took ONE then cam back the next night where he became closely acquainted to mr shogun and his rather scattering daughters

Farmer 1 Fox 100. Fox wins.

bill1953 wrote:Farmer 1 Fox 100. Fox wins.

Thats an interesting take on getting killed you have there Bill, on that basis then Hitler would have won the war , the Argentinians would have the Falklands, and Slobberdan is still enjoying life in the Balkans?

I don't like foxes and badgers when they kill things of mine, on a TV screen, in a zoo, or on a walk they are lovely.

I saw the fox/murderer the other night... about 8:15 just getting dark.. I was down the garden with a big torch when two eyes lit up. It wasn't a cat. It was a fox.... and bloody fast it was too. probably checking whether I'd restocked the chickens (not yet)..

is it worth getting a pest-controller to trap it.. or would another just take its place?

should I pee on my garden's boundary to warn it off? (I've been reading the interweb on foxes!)

dave45 wrote:is it worth getting a pest-controller to trap it.. or would another just take its place?

Probably not as probably yes.

The onus is on us to protect our chickens/ducks/whatever from the fox and keep them secure at night. During the day is another matter though and not so easy to protect them.

Sorry you lost your chickens - I lost a duck like that in December - big pile of feathers but no trail of feathers and only a small hole under the boundary fence that was much smaller than the duck, yet not a feather around the hole at all or anywhere near it. Was like the fox and duck disappeared in a helicopter!