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Foxes, Dilemma.....

TheGaffer

Mama Doe
OK, I need some opinions,

My 3 pairs of buns have really got to move outside before the baby comes. They currently reside in the bedroom that will be the baby's room.

I'm absolutely terrified of putting them outside. We have foxes that live next to are garden and are at the bottom of the garden everyday.

Originally, the plan was to put up a fence at the point where they are getting in (the gardens quite overgrown ATM) and have sheds at the bottom of the garden.

I'm worried that even sheds won't keep a determined fox out.

I'm thinking now of putting a shed nearer to the house. We have a patioed area right outside the kitchen window. Do you think the foxes will stay away because it's close to the house?

There is the option of having 1 pair indoors, but there's no room to keep them all in, in different rooms.

Help me please.....
 
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i wish i could help but im puzzled.

they dont all have to be in the same room in the house........

awh im sorry i cant really help, but i figured maybe you could put them in a heated garage if u have one. or the basement... even though its a little creepy. still, better than being eaten.
 
i wish i could help but im puzzled.

they dont all have to be in the same room in the house........

awh im sorry i cant really help, but i figured maybe you could put them in a heated garage if u have one. or the basement... even though its a little creepy. still, better than being eaten.

Sorry I didn't explain properly, they all have dog crates in the bedroom and each pair has time out in the pen and on the landing. they cope with each other when they're all in the crates but do get antagonised very easily if another pair gets close, if you know what I mean?

I don't have a garage or a basement, if only it were that simple:)

I could possibly have a pair in the kitchen/hallway. The only other downstairs room in our house in the living room, but they all too destructive to live in there.
 
A walled side return on the house? You could check planning laws re a brick shed/outbuilding. If you go for a shed I'd suggest a solid concrete/paving base, then line the walls with mesh - stops chewing in and out. Most animals go for an obvious starting point so its the bottom edge, corners and window/door joints you want to reinforce.

Tam
 
This is just my personal opinion, probably strongly influenced having seen the devastation a Fox attack can cause :cry:
If there is absolutely no way you can continue to keep all 6 Buns indoors and you *know* there is a Fox population at the end of the garden then I would have to seriously consider rehoming the Buns that cannot stay indoors. Although it would be so hard to do it would be even worse to move them out and then loose them to a Fox :cry:
Personally I dont believe that there is such a thing as a 100% Foxproof hutch/shed/run. I just could not take the risk if I knew for a fact there were Foxes on my doorstep.
Also, a Bun can be badly effected by fear just from the smell of a Fox. Rabbits who have previously lived indoors will be even less able to cope with the sounds and smell of Foxes prowling about. Sadly it is not only a Fox attack that can kill a Bun, the fear the presence of a Fox evokes can be enough :cry: :cry:

Janex
 
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awww what a nightmare... i agree with jane tho if there was a chance of foxes id rather send my two back to the rescue than risk a fox attack.. the poor bloke at work saw what a fox did and is very very disturbed by it all :cry::cry::cry::cry:
and once they suss you have rabbits they will never leave such an easy food source alone :cry:
 
This is just my personal opinion, probably strongly influenced having seen the devastation a Fox attack can cause :cry:
If there is absolutely no way you can continue to keep all 6 Buns indoors and you *know* there is a Fox population at the end of the garden then I would have to seriously consider rehoming the Buns that cannot stay indoors. Although it would be so hard to do it would be even worse to move them out and then loose them to a Fox :cry:
Personally I dont believe that there is such a thing as a 100% Foxproof hutch/shed/run. I just could not take the risk if I knew for a fact there were Foxes on my doorstep.
Also, a Bun can be badly effected by fear just from the smell of a Fox. Rabbits who have previously lived indoors will be even less able to cope with the sounds and smell of Foxes prowling about. Sadly it is not only a Fox attack that can kill a Bun, the fear the presence of a Fox evokes can be enough :cry: :cry:

Janex

To be honest, rehoming some has crossed my mind. As much as I love them, like you said if I put them outside knowing the risk of fox attack/presence and then something happen to any of them, I'd never forgive myself.

There's just no room to have them all inside. The spare bedroom (where they all reside now) will be the baby's room. Our bedroom you can hardly move around the bed it's so small. Too many toys in Jacob's room, and it's also a small room.

There's no way we could 100% bunny proof our lounge, which leaves only the kitchen and small hallway (kitchen leads off the hallway). Which realistically only 1 pair could live in.

If this was only going to be a temp problem I could look at long term fostering but with the current housing/mortgage market we're going to be here at least 2-3 years. I wish we could afford to build an extension but we couldn't possibly afford it.
 
May sound a bit extreme, but how about an electric line at 2 levels round the run. Its common practice for chickens and we use it ourselves. Its quite expensive and with a baby around you would need to ensure he/she couldn't get to it. We have a line that runs about 9" off the ground and 6" on the outside of the run and another one about 3' up. We've had chickens for 4 years and not lost one yet, even through they are right in the path of the foxes local highway.
 
Would a shed with normal windows (like a little house) be fox proof? garden access could be supervised. You could separate the shed with wooden partitions so buns can't see/bite eat other? And if space is a concern you can make various shelves/levels
 
i think if you see them daily...its unfortunatly an accident waiting to happen, unless the outhouse type thingy s concretet...

im sorry youre going thru this decision xxxx
 
May sound a bit extreme, but how about an electric line at 2 levels round the run. Its common practice for chickens and we use it ourselves. Its quite expensive and with a baby around you would need to ensure he/she couldn't get to it. We have a line that runs about 9" off the ground and 6" on the outside of the run and another one about 3' up. We've had chickens for 4 years and not lost one yet, even through they are right in the path of the foxes local highway.

Yeah, I agree...If your garden is big enough...try electric fencing :D

But TBH I don't think even the most canny fox will be able to break into a secure shed unless you accidentally leave the door open.

We have foxes here (not proper urban foxes though), but I've never seen any evidence that they've tried to get into any of my hutches.
 
In the next few months I'll be putting 2 of mine outside. I have foxes around here regularly, just last night I was woke at 2am by one 'screaming' outside my bedroom window, I watched if for around 20 mins, me shooing it off then it coming back, till it was eventually scared off.

I have 3 foster rabbits outside and have had an outside rabbit here for 10 years knowing there are foxes around, it is possible but you need water tight security. A fence of any size wont deter a fox, they climb as good as cats and a simple wooden shed or playhouse isnt secure enough, a determined fox will rip the bottom panels off and chew at the corners. I have a double lined shed, but on my new shed there will also be mesh inbetween the 2 layers. I also dont think having them loose in the shed at nght is safe enough, mine are locked in a secure hutch inside the shed, and allowed to roam the shed all day. I also have a dog (2 up until last summer) and my sheds are close to my kitchen window, wouldnt be safe enough at the top of the garden, the closer to the house the better. I let Butch (my dog) out as late as possible and encourage him to wee and poo near the shed, I leave this overnight as its a good deterrent... I know the track the fox takes and it seems avoids the dogs/rabbits area. I also get my hubby to wee in an old milk container and I pour that round the perimeter of the garden every now and again, sounds disgusting but its a good deterrent and safety has to top of the list.

Having said all this, I know when my own buns go out into the new shed, I shall have a few sleepless nights, I MAY even keep an indoor hutch free for them and bring them in over night, if I'm still worried... though touch wood all the fosters have been fine out there.
 
I would have thought a shed would be safe enough. We have foxes in the Grove (god don't they make the most awful din! :shock:) and I as I was getting into bed late one night I did see a fox trying to scale our back fence but scared it off. The next day i went and bought bolts for all of my hutch doors. I was out feeding the rabbist the other night whilst foxes were stood at the top of the road (maybe 250 yds away) screaming, and the buns didn't bat an eyelid - too much yummy hay to be eaten to worry about foxes! :lol:

I've had rabbits in out door hutches for 14 years and touch wood have NEVER had a problem - and I regulary see foxes in the gardens and around locally. Could you have a security light on the shed, one of those ones that come on with movement so that if a fox walks towards the shed the light comes on and scares them off??
 
We had a fox in the garden a few months ago and I bought two fox alerts www.foxolutions.co.uk. I don't know if they work but we haven't seen any sign of foxes since. As it was only once it may be that they were just passing through so I can't be sure that the fox alerts have made a difference but it does feel like I am doing something. Does anyone know what sort of wire henridoodle had on her runs?
 
Personally I would be more surprised to hear of a garden (surburban or countryside) which wasn't frequented by foxes. Plenty of us have outside buns in strong hutches with bolts and shutters and no problems with foxes breaking in. My buns do not seem too bothered by the foxes anymore tbh. Claire x
 
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