Backyard chicken keepers often worry about predators, especially the intelligent and persistent fox, known for its ability to breach enclosures. Understanding a fox’s diet and its approach to a chicken coop is the first step in effective protection. This knowledge helps identify a fox attack and implement strategic physical barriers to keep your flock and their eggs secure.
Fox Diet and Egg Consumption
Foxes are classified as opportunistic omnivores, readily consuming a wide variety of foods, including plant matter, insects, small mammals, and carrion. Eggs are a highly desired food source because they offer a dense package of easily digestible protein and fat. A large chicken egg provides a fox with approximately 84 kilocalories, making it an efficient meal.
The drive to consume eggs increases significantly during the late spring and early summer when adult foxes are actively foraging to feed their litters of cubs. This period of high energy demand makes a reliable supply of backyard eggs an appealing target. When a fox accesses a nest box, it typically carries the egg away to a secluded spot before consumption.
Foxes generally consume the egg by biting the shell open and licking out the contents, or by crushing the egg entirely. They leave behind scattered fragments or crushed pieces of shell, unlike the clean damage left by other predators. This habit of carrying the meal elsewhere often results in the disappearance of eggs from the nest, which is a telltale sign of a fox’s visit.
Identifying Fox Predation Signs
Distinguishing fox predation from that of other animals requires looking closely at the damage pattern and the location of the remains. A fox typically carries the whole egg away in its mouth, crushing it to consume the contents in a safer location. This often leaves behind a pattern of small, scattered shell fragments, as the entire egg or shell is rarely found at the nest site itself.
This differs from other common egg thieves. Raccoons often roll eggs away and crush the ends to scoop out the contents, frequently leaving the shells near the nest. Skunks tend to open the egg at one end and lick out the contents, leaving the shell mostly intact. Snakes swallow eggs whole, leaving no shell fragments, and are primarily a threat to chicks and smaller eggs.
If a fox has taken the eggs, you may find canine footprints, which are generally smaller than a coyote’s. Egg remains may also be found along a likely travel path away from the coop. The fox’s careful approach means there is often little sign of forced entry or large-scale disturbance near the coop itself, unlike the forceful digging associated with other larger predators.
Securing the Coop to Protect Eggs
Preventing fox access relies on structural security and consistent husbandry practices. The most effective barrier against a digging predator like the fox is creating a physical apron around the perimeter of the run. This involves burying galvanized hardware cloth at least six to twelve inches deep and bending it outwards in an “L” shape to discourage tunneling.
The entire enclosure should be constructed using welded wire mesh or hardware cloth with openings no larger than one inch. Standard chicken wire is not sufficient to deter a determined fox. All doors and access points must be secured with two-step locking mechanisms, such as padlocks or carabiner clips, since foxes can manipulate simple slide bolts with their noses.
Since foxes are opportunistic, removing the temptation of an easy meal is a strong deterrent. Collecting eggs from the nest boxes multiple times throughout the day eliminates the primary reward a fox seeks. Securing all feed in metal containers with tight-fitting lids prevents attracting rodents. Rodents are a primary food source for foxes, and eliminating them reduces the predator’s overall presence near the coop.