Keeping Your Chickens Safe From Predators

As a chicken keeper you will inevitably have some visits from some unwanted intruders. The main animals that will try to harm your chickens are foxes and badgers. If you live in a built up area then you are less likely to suffer from foxes or badgers but urban foxes can still be a big problem. If you live in a rural area and keep your chickens in an orchard or a field which is open to the countryside then you are more likely to have a problem with daytime attacks. However foxes are nocturnal animals so you shouldn’t worry too much about daytime attacks.

The Walk In Chicken Run is the safest place for your chickens

Your best defense against predators is having a fox and badger proof chicken coop. All of Omlet’s chicken coops are fox and badger proof due to an anti tunnel skirt attached to the run which stops badgers or foxes burrowing in.

A crafty fox hunting in the daytime

As long as you shut your chickens away every night as soon as they have gone in to roost then your ladies will be safe from any unwanted visitors. If you want to stop foxes and badgers from getting into your run there are a few things to can do.

Fencing - Foxes are crafty animals and can get over or under most fences, but there are things you can do to make it very difficult for them. The fence should be at least 6ft tall and ideally slope outwards to make it hard for the fox to climb over. To make the fencing burrow proof your can dig it into the ground a foot and turning it outwards. Placing bricks or large stones on top of the outlaid wire before covering with soil is also a good idea. Foxes can chew through chicken wire so ensure your chicken fencing is strong enough that a fox can’t chew through it such as galvanised wire. Or alternatively you could electrify the fence which is a very effective way of keeping Mr Fox away.

Deterrents - Owning a dog is a good way to deter foxes. Urinating around your chickens run can sometimes work as a deterrent. Some people claim hanging human hair around your garden will deter foxes. However if a fox is very hungry these are pretty unlikely to work, so your best method of defence is fox proofing your run.