Fox Control for Poultry Keepers and Smallholders
Free fox control for hens, ducks, and geese across Yorkshire and the North. We confirm it's a fox first, then deal with the one causing the losses, by rifle with thermal and night vision.
Not sure it's a fox? Text a photo to Chris on 07397 942663 and he'll get back to you the same day.
Why it happens
How foxes take poultry
One visit, a whole flock
Foxes often kill more birds than they can eat in one visit, which is why an attack looks so much worse than the loss actually is. Bites cluster at the neck and throat, and one or two birds are often carried off.
A fox that's found a way in comes back
A fox that has got into a run almost always returns, often the very next night, and frequently to collect birds it killed and left behind. What to do in the first 24 hours decides whether it happens again.
Free-range, runs, and electric netting
Whether your birds are free-ranging or in a run, a missed pop-hole, a dig under the fence, or electric netting shorted out by long grass is enough. Secure housing and good fencing come first, and control is for the fox that keeps coming back anyway.
How it works
From securing the run to stopping the losses
1. Secure the birds first
Shut every bird into secure housing from dusk until it's fully light, and fix the weak point you found. Gadgets like ultrasonic boxes and flashing lights rarely hold a fox once it's been rewarded; see fox deterrents that actually work.
2. Confirm it's a fox
Mink, badgers, and dogs all leave a run in a similar state, and fencing against the wrong one fixes nothing. The evidence is checked first: bite marks, entry point, timing, and what's been taken or left. See is a fox really killing your chickens?. If it isn't a fox, you'll be told, and what's more likely to help.
3. Deal with the fox responsible
Where a fox keeps coming back despite secure housing, control is by rifle, by a certificate-holding professional, using thermal and night vision to identify each fox clearly. Depending on the ground, that means stalking, calling, or a bait station, only where a safe shot is possible.
4. Follow up
Afterwards we check the losses have stopped. The aim is to stop them, not to clear every fox from the area, which is neither realistic nor necessary. It's free: there's no callout fee and nothing to pay at the end.
Common questions
Questions poultry keepers ask
Yes. There's no charge to landowners, farmers, or smallholders, and no callout fee. See [how much fox control costs](/blog/how-much-does-fox-control-cost) for how that works.
Check every bird, record the evidence before you clear up, find how the fox got in, and make the housing secure before dusk. Our guide to [what to do after a fox kills your chickens](/blog/fox-killed-my-chickens-what-to-do) goes through it step by step.
Each leaves different signs. Foxes typically bite at the neck and throat, kill more than they eat, and carry one or two birds away. Mink fit through gaps a fox can't, badgers do more structural damage, and dogs leave injured birds and scattered feathers. If you're not sure, working it out is part of the free assessment. See [fox or badger?](/blog/fox-or-badger-what-dug-this-hole) if something has been digging.
No, and that isn't the aim. Foxes are present on most rural land without causing losses. Control focuses on the fox that's actually taking birds.
Yes. Foxes aren't a game species, so there's no close season, but the methods are regulated and welfare law always applies. Control here is carried out by rifle by a certificate-holding professional, with the landowner's permission. See [when you can legally control foxes](/blog/when-can-you-legally-control-foxes-uk).
Smallholdings and small flocks on rural land are covered. Control is by rifle, so it needs land where a safe shot is possible. Back gardens and built-up areas usually aren't suitable, and if control isn't right for your situation you'll be told straight.
Coverage
Where we work
We cover farms, smallholdings, and estates across Yorkshire and the North. See fox control in North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North Nottinghamshire, East Lancashire, South Durham and Teesside. Our fox calendar shows what foxes are doing month by month, and our case studies show how real jobs went.
Related: fox control for lambing farms, fox control for game shoots and our fox control service.
Losing birds to a fox?
Call or text Chris, a certificate-holding fox controller, with what's happened and where. If you can, send a photo of the damage or the entry point. It's free to talk it through.
Not sure it's a fox? Text a photo to Chris on 07397 942663 and he'll get back to you the same day.