Keeping hens, electric fences and fox repellent!

I was reading a fantastic book called ‘Choosing & Keeping Chickens’ by Chris Graham and it had a great section on protecting chickens from attacks by foxes  by setting up electric fencing.

As anyone keeping chickens knows, foxes are one of the biggest threats to your poultry and learning how to deter foxes and protect your chickens are vital.

I really recommend buying the book (the reviews on Amazon are unanimously positive), plus don’t forget my Top 1o Fox Repellent products to look at too. I’ve reprinted the excellent section of the book here…

“Boundaries
Foxes represent a real danger to chickens, but they are almost more of a problem in towns because urban foxes have adapted well and are much more confident than their country cousins.

However, whether you live in an urban setting, your birds will need protecting. Traditionally this meant putting up a heavy-gauge wire fence mesh, about 2 metres (6 feet) high, with braced solid wood posts and wire tensioners.

This would enclose the whole area, and the wire mesh would be dug in to a depth of at least 30cm (12 inches) all round to guard against burrowing attacks.

Such precautions will not necessarily be enough to dissuade a determined fox, and many keepers supplement the fence with mains-powered electric wires.

These run all along the top and bottom of the fence. Both electric wires are positioned 20-30cm (8-12 inches) away from the fence, with the bottom one set 20-23cm (8-9 inches) above the ground.

This level of defence is a big investment and so tends to be something that keepers consider as they get more involved in the hobby.

Of course, seeing the aftermath of a fox attack will alter your priorities dramatically; it is extremely upsetting for all concerned.

Shock Tactics
Electrified netting is quick and easy to erect and is simple to reposition when you want to change the location of the run.

Typically, it is the horizontal strands that carry electricity, with the current being pulsed around the circuit by a single transformer, which can be powered from the mains supply or a 12 volt battery.

The advantage of this is that foxes seem to hate it. Popular belief has it that they are able to sense the current and that provides enough of a deterrent.

However, foxes can also detect when the current is not flowing, at which point they will be in like a shot.

The control systems for this type of fencing are usually very reliable and, when problems arise, it tends to be a result of human error.

Often people will switch off the fence when they go in to feed their birds, then forget to switch it on again afterwards.

These systems can also be prone to short circuiting, caused by branches touching from above or contact from vegetation growing up below.

Because of this, users need to watch for stray branches and to keep grass trimmed back at all times. It is useful to keep a tester handy so that you can check the fence everyday.”