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Protecting the Poultry Flock
Foxes & Fences
The Fox
The fox is undoubtedly predator number one when it comes to free-range poultry, and the only safe option is to keep flock and fox physically separated. In the past, this was often difficult because landowners who would not allow effective fences to be erected in case they impeded the horses during a foxhunt owned much of the land.
It was also an offence for many smallholders on rented land to kill a fox because this was depriving the landowner of his sport, and to do so carried the risk of eviction. Writing in 1930, Sir Edward Brown refers to this attitude: “Most powerful was the opposition of landowners and of larger farmers. The former of these regarded food production as secondary to sport, which to many of them was a leading object in life. They anathematised smaller farms and holdings. To kill a fox was an unpardonable sin”. (Ref: British Poultry Husbandry. Sir Edward Brown. Chapman & Hall. 1930).
Electric Fencing Protecting the Flock
Copyright © Katie Thear 2005
Under these conditions, the only option was to make sure that all the birds were confined in a secure house at night and to utilise hurricane paraffin lamps as a defence, a procedure that A. K. Speirs Alexander mentions in 1948: “Our new batch of growers could not be induced to come back at dusk; the result over 50 killed, in spite of hurricane lanterns set about on poles." (Ref: Hens on the Land. A. K. Speirs Alexander. Farmer & Stockbreeder. 1948).
In many areas, in living memory, it was the custom to ‘do a deal’ with the local poacher; that he would quietly capture and kill the fox and receive some plump, oven-ready chickens in return for his cooperation.
The Second World War and taxation loosened the stranglehold of many big landowners on rural areas. Poultry keepers were able to erect high fences around their properties, but it coincided with the onset of ‘deep-litter’ houses where flocks began to be housed indoors, a move that ultimately resulted in intensive battery and broiler houses. It was not until the re-emergence of commercial free-range poultry keeping in the 1980s, that the question of anti-fox protection began to be seriously addressed again. Two options have emerged as effective means of protection: tall fences and electric fencing.
Fences
A fence needs to be at least 2m high in order to keep out most foxes. In rare cases, a really determined fox might succeed in scrambling over. In that case, having an extra 30cm of fencing angled outwards will usually do the trick. There are some who claim that leaving the overhang loose is more likely to discourage a fox, but in my view, it is better to have it rigid. The fence obviously needs to be well dug in to prevent burrowing under. Poultry netting supported by sturdy fence posts with bracing at the corners is effective.
Electric fencing
The availability of electric fencing has transformed free-range poultry keeping. It is arguable that without it, the keeping of extensive commercial flocks would never have happened.
An electric fence circuit has four parts: the controller or energizing unit that provides the electricity, conductor wires held by insulators, the predator to be excluded and the ground on which the fence is erected.
The controller produces pulses of high voltage electricity, which travel to the fence wire via the output lead. The earth lead of the controller is securely earthed to the ground. The circuit is incomplete until an animal touches the wire and receives a shock as the electric pulse goes through its body to the ground. The voltage is not enough to hurt the animal, but is sufficient for it to be given a wide berth in future.
Energizers are either mains or battery-operated. The former must always be installed inside a building and the instructions from the manufacturer followed precisely.
It goes without saying that all mains electrical installations should be carried out by a qualified electrician. Mains operated systems are normally used for permanent perimeter fencing. Battery-operated energizers are more commonly used on a small-scale, or where a fence is moved frequently. They usually operate from rechargeable batteries, either two 6-volt batteries or one 12-volt one. Wind-powered generators to energize the fencing system are also feasible.
If there is an existing perimeter fence or hedge that merely needs supplementing, then two strands of electrified wire, top and bottom, may be sufficient, erected about 25cm outside the existing barrier.
Where access to the land needs to be controlled on a daily or weekly basis, it is not practicable to move a permanent fence. Lightweight electric netting is available, that can be dismantled, rolled up and re-erected further on. It is effective at controlling the access to specific grazing areas, as well as excluding a fox.
The netting is made of polythene and stainless steel conducting twine and is erected with support poles and ground spikes. Grass must be kept short where an electric fence is erected, otherwise the growth will earth the current and the fence ceases to function. It is worth reiterating that fencing and netting specifically for keeping hens in and foxes out is the type to purchase. General-purpose electric fencing for keeping livestock in will not necessarily keep a fox out.
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Copyright © Katie Thear 2005