Lost half my livestock this week

Discussion in 'Living Room' started by Depreciator, 16th Jul, 2015.

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  1. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    ..and pack dogs
     
  2. MTR

    MTR Well-Known Member

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    Enough of this nonsense you love your chicken you sleep in their enclosure
     
  3. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Talking about making the enclosure fox proof, pop off to your local Elders and pick up 100 m of electric fence, that'll wipe the smile off the fox's face.
     
  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Particular nasty weather?
     
  5. LibGS

    LibGS Well-Known Member

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    My chickens have an overnight fox proof area, 3 * 2 M and their coup is in there. Totally enclosed with welded aviary mesh, that also goes 20 cm down and 40 cm out. This means I don't have to get up first thing to let them out of the coup. There is also a daytime run connected to this via a gate.
     
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  6. Depreciator

    Depreciator Well-Known Member

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    When the building in the backyard gets turned into a habitable space (just need to finish the big glass door) I might spend a few nights out there. The chooks are next to it.
    I've got the materials I need to make the fox proof enclosure. The city building our office is in has about 20 floors of residential accommodation. Lots of Chinese students. When they move out, they often dump all their stuff in the garbage room. Yesterday, there were 12 x approx. 900mm square steel frames with solid 50mm square mesh. They would have made up 6 single beds. They are now in my backyard. I have a rule with my chook shed that it can only be made from 'found' stuff.
     
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  7. Phar Lap

    Phar Lap Well-Known Member

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  8. Phar Lap

    Phar Lap Well-Known Member

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    Dont want to sound too harsh Dep, but mate, it's not the Fox's fault hey.
     
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  9. Depreciator

    Depreciator Well-Known Member

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    It's the fault of the knuckleheads who thought it was a good idea to bring foxes to Australia.
     
  10. tess_

    tess_ Well-Known Member

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    I'd be devastated, depreciator :( I know someone near you who has lost chickens to foxes too.

    I'm on the outer inner west and seem to have been lucky so far.

    I still can't believe there are foxes in Marrickville though!!
     
  11. Depreciator

    Depreciator Well-Known Member

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    They live down on the Cooks River and use the back lanes at night when they come up the hill foraging. Still, I've had backyard chooks for 10 years in this house and it took them a while to find my place. It was time to do a reno on the chook shed anyway.
     
  12. Phar Lap

    Phar Lap Well-Known Member

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    True.

    Get to it mate, those chooks need a safe place to exist now you know the dangers.

    We were devastated when we discovered we'd forgotten to shut the gate one night. It was a horrible thing and totally our fault.
    Will never happen again though. We have a reminder goes off every evening just on dark to shut the gate!
    Also have a few traps set up for foxes. Helps not having restrictions of the city regarding the latter though.
    I'd be going electric wires around the lower section of the cage/pen and just have it on at night when the buggers are prowling. It'll soon stop ;'em.
     
  13. Depreciator

    Depreciator Well-Known Member

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    Yep, now that the foxes know of the food source they will be back. I'd like to get a trap but I can appreciate why they don't want us city people having them. I've been locking the two remaining chooks up. So this weekend I'll fortify the chook pen and then it's another drive up the mountains to restock.
     
  14. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    Remembering of course that the chooks are also an introduced species ;-)
     
  15. Depreciator

    Depreciator Well-Known Member

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    At least chooks are useful. Trout were introduced, too. I'm glad about that. Rabbits probably seemed like a good idea at the time, too. And camels. And let's not forget cane toads. I wonder how soon after they were introduced there was an 'uh oh' moment.
     
  16. Hodge

    Hodge Well-Known Member

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    Fox came last night and took 3 of my hens. I heard their death screams at 4am but was too late. I invite the fox to come again tonight as i have a surprise awaiting for him ;)
     

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