Practical Poultry Magazine Practical Poultry September 2013 Back Issue

So what’s your opinion on foxes? Do
you regard them as the scourge
of all hen keepers, everywhere,
or are you more pragmatic about
their presence?
For my part, I’m very much a follower
of the ‘live and let live’ doctrine. However,
don’t get the idea that I’m some kind of tree-hugging,
sandal-wearing fanatic, because
I’m not. Nevertheless, I don’t kill wasps in
the kitchen, drown spiders in the bath or
stamp on snails in the garden.
By and large, I like to let nature take its
course; after all, it’s been making a pretty
decent job of things since way before we
arrived on the scene. But therein lies the
rub, of course. We, as human beings – the
most dominant species on the planet – have
done plenty to upset the natural order of
things, and we continue to do so.
A perfect case in point is our delight in
placing vulnerable chickens in the sort
of confined spaces that they would never
normally occupy, given the choice. What’s
more, not content with having plucked them
from their natural habitats and forced them
to live where it’s most convenient for us, we
typically make escape – should it be necessary
– all but impossible, by fencing them in.
So, given all this, it always strikes me
as somewhat harsh that foxes get such a
bad press. Yes, they’re going to attack and
kill chickens if they get the chance. Why
wouldn’t they? Foxes are naturally excellent
predators and there’s no reason why we
should expect anything different? As long
as we keep putting food on the ‘table’, then
they’ll continue coming for dinner; it’s what
they’re designed to do.
Nowadays, though, there’s next to no
excuse for getting it wrong. It’s perfectly
possible to protect chickens from foxes
with the right equipment, some common
sense and an organised approach. To prove
the point, Sorrell Fielding, featured in this
month’s Me and my birds story (page 22),
manages perfectly well, despite being far
closer than most to this wiliest of operators.