AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

This morning I woke up to one of the chickens making a really strange noise. She sounded distressed and I thought maybe Bagee was laying her first egg, but when I went outside to check I found a lovely fox outside their coop. It ran off, and the girls were fine (not very happy, but fine). I suspect the fox has been here before and I know it will be back.

We dont feel comfortable letting the girls free range anymore (and we feel quite blessed that a fox hasnt taken one already since I went to tell my neighbour and they told me they had seen a fox around last weekend). We cant watch them all the time when they are out and we cant fox proof the yard so our only option is for them to never leave the coop. They wont like it since they are used to free ranging but I have already lost two chickens to sickness and the fish I put in our pond last week seem to be dying so god help me I am not losing any more pets.

I want to extend my coop out so the girls can have more room, and I want the extended part to be fox proofed. Does anyone know someone in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne who can do that? I am sure I read somewhere here there is a guy in the Yarra Ranges who does it but I cant remember the details.

Is your coop a home made one or a commercial one like you buy flat packed and delivered?

Its a commercial flat packed one. Is that important?

Hi, MrsM ,

Here is the thread to the previous post on fox proofing.
viewtopic.php?f=43&t=14906

There seem to be a lot of not so fantastic Mr. Fox's around the area, just spoke to someone today who said that a fox was teasing her sheep dogs. My boys have been rather unsettled the past couple of mornings hearing strange "barks" and crowing earlier than usual.

If you can tip your existing coop/rum on the side then attach some avian rodent proof mesh on to the bottom frame using a staple gun then that will stop the foxes from digging under and getting to your girls. It is really quite amazing that a fox can squeeze in in the smallest of spaces and take off with your poultry

You will need though to cover the floor mesh with a deep litter well as they can cut their feet and develop foot problems walk on the hard mesh flooring.

There are lots of topics on various methods of fox proofing and the best method of doing so, you can contact Maremma Rescue Victoria and a adopted a Maremma They are very effective on keeping foxes a bay and protect your poor innocent chookies.

PS
There is a viewtopic.php?f=43&t=16808&p=119619&hilit=fox+bounty#p119619bounty for foxes in Victoria

Thanks PP, but I've already done all that. The coop they are in now is fox proofed, so I am not looking for any more information on how to do that. What I am looking for is the contact details of someone who can build me a large (fox proofed) run to attach to the existing coop so that the girls have more room to scratch around. I cant build one myself and would rather get someone in who knows what they are doing.

Hi, MrsM,

If you go down to Excel Rural Fencing on Main Street Lilydale, they possibly could recommend a tradie who could build a fox proof run for you; or there is that new rural fencing place in Coldstream, maybe they know someone? Anyone you know who can help you out? Your neighbour with the chooks, could they lend a hand for a beer or two or recommend some? Maybe put an add in the local supermarket? It can be rather costly, a lot of digging involved. Get a couple of quotes and shop around.

Hi H&H!

There wouldnt be any digging involved because I do want to be able to move the coop should we ever decide to redo the backyard (which is a long, distant wish of mine). Basically I just need a rectangle frame enclosed on every side with wire, and a door.

I am positive that someone here mentioned a guy local to me (Yarra Ranges) who builds coops. I dont know anyone who has those skills and I want to make sure its done properly. I'll keep a lookout myself (local ads etc) and ask around, but I am hoping to get in touch with the guy mentioned here.

Edit: wickedwings, I think I am remembering what you said here viewtopic.php?f=43&t=14679&p=116585&hilit=building+coops#p116585

Hi, MrsM ,

I think these are the people, maybe Mr. ww can verify that they are the same people.

http://www.yummygardens.com.au/

Hi MrsM,

You rang for my attention? How can I help you?

What time of day did you see the fox? You say you woke up to a ruckus so I'm assuming early morning, just getting light perhaps? Foxes tend to be, but not exclusively, nocturnal, they don't get around much during the day so you would have a reasonable chance of letting them free range when you are home. I don't let mine out unless I am home and I make sure to lock them up at night. We did have a dog up until a few weeks ago and the scent of the dog would have helped deter the foxes, though I did find one on top of one of the small coops a few months ago and, like you, I was woken up by an early morning commotion.

I'll say from the outset, if pay someone to build an extension for you it will probably cost you more than some of the off-the-shelf ones available. Have you checked if there is an extension for your coop? If there is nothing available then something could be built for you or the cheapest solution would be to knock something together yourself. Whereabouts in the eastern suburbs are you, roughly?

Now, you say you don't want anything permanent yet, as you are thinking of changing the garden around. Two questions, if you put in a temporary solution, how big are you thinking, and two, could you give some consideration to how the garden might eventually look and make a permanent coop the first step? I myself think a good sized permanent coop would be the best solution if you aren't going to let the girls out to freerange, otherwise you should, in my opinion, have nearly the same amount of room enclosed anyway, afterall the chooks don't know it's temporary and still have the same requirements even if you are going to relocate them. This provides some problems in potentially wasted materials when you do make things permanent but you might not be concerned about that if it serves a purpose.

Have you got some photos of your current coop in it's setting so we can see how and where it might be extended?

Hi PP
Yes that was one of the blokes who build coops, and lovely looking ones they are too. I wonder what his prices are like?

ww

Wow, wickedwings, so many questions to answer lol

Firstly, I did some searching and found that you were the one that had mentioned a guy who builds coops and I think he would be close to me, so I wanted his details (and I think PP just posted them).

Fox was seen at 8:30am, and the sun was up and shining. I went to see my nextdoor neighbours because they keep guinea pigs in a hutch outside and I wanted to warn them, only to be told that they had seen a fox during the day a week ago (and for some reason didnt think to tell me). Foxes being around during the day is reasonably common here (Mt Evelyn) but I was under the impression that the daytime-fox threat would mainly be during Spring when they are trying to feed their young. It seems thats not the case.

I am pretty sure I couldnt do an extension myself - I did build the veggie garden fence but its far from perfect. It will serve its purpose, but its not a permanent structure, and I want the extension to be well built. As far as landscaping plans go, I have none other than thinking "one day I would like to redo the backyard". I dont know what I will move or keep or alter, but I do know its a long way off. The coop extension isnt, though. I will see if there is an extension for this coop available, and if it doesnt exist/isnt suitable then I will get in touch with the coop building guy. At this stage I dont know whether I want to extend the coop, or have an enclosure built and put the coop inside that (I think PP has that set up?).