Do Foxes Eat Ducks? and How to Keep Them Safe?

I have a beautiful flock of ducks in my backyard, I have an indoor coop that they go in and out of in the yard to roam and play.

I noticed one day that they were missing one, then the second day I noticed that they were missing another one! It took me a lot and I kept looking into it until I discovered that there was a fox behind what happened.

It was the one who pursues the members of my barn and pounces on them one after the other! What should I do to get rid of the danger of these foxes that threaten my ducks?

Ducks are very beautiful and cheerful creatures that many of us enjoy when we see them swimming happily in ponds. But as usual, these creatures do not escape from the enemies who lie in wait for them to prey on them!

There are many predators that eat ducks, such as raccoons and wolves, but foxes are the most famous enemies of ducks.

Ducks are often attacked by foxes, which is very worrying for duck keepers. In fact, you cannot guarantee the safety of your ducks from foxes by 100%, but there are many simple steps that will yield decisive results in protecting your ducks and giving them a chance to live a safer and happier life.

In the coming lines, we will discuss the most important tips that will help you protect your ducks from foxes in a large percentage.

Can Foxes Eat Ducks?

Yes, foxes are known to eat ducks. After all, ducks are an easy prey for foxes especially those on the ground. Foxes usually hunt wild ducks and geese. However, you need to keep in mind that domestic ducks are always are at risk, if you live in area with foxes like the UK.

How To Protect Ducks From Foxes?

Here is our 5-Step guide to keep your ducks away from foxes attacks:

1. Electric Perimeter Fence.
2. Fence Components.
3. Electric Fence Functionality.
4. Important Considerations.
5. Gates.

Before we step into the details of each stop, here is a short video that demonstrates how you can keep your ducks safe from foxes by using an electric fence:

Now, let’s head into the details:

1. Electric Perimeter Fence

We think that the primary and most effective method of protection against foxes is an electric perimeter fence.

It works as barrier to prevent foxes from gaining access to ducks coop.

2. Fence Components

Our electric fence will consist on 3 main components:

1. Sheep’s Netting: We will use it as the base layer. It will make it difficult for foxes to penetrate.
2. Chicken Wire: We will add it to the Sheep’s netting to make it more challenging for foxes to dig under the fence.
3. Electric Wires: Two lines of electric wires are installed. The bottom line is crucial because its height is the average height that a fox comes in contact with, especially when they come closer and try to sniff the fence.

3. Electric Fence Functionality

It works by delivering an electric shock to any animal that touches both the top part and the mesh of the sheep’s netting, which is grounded.

You need to make sure that even if a fox jumps over, it will make contact with both wires and receive a shock.

4. Important Considerations

1. Energizer: Keep in mind to use a powerful energizer to deliver strong and effective shocks.
2. Battery Maintenance: In case of using batter-powered energizers, make sure to keep them fully charged to main the strength of the shocks.
3. Grass Management: You need to trim the grass around the fence regularly to prevent it from touch your wires and shorting them out.

5. Gates

Unfortunately, gates works as a potential weak point in your electric fence. The solution here is to attach a flexible electric wire to the fence posts close to the gate.

This way, if a fox tries to climb or jump over the gate, most probably it will get in contact with the wire a shock will be delivered.

Important Tips To Keeping Your Ducks Safe From Foxes

Here are our top 6 tips that will help you get rid of foxes:

1. Learn More About The Fox
2. Lock Your Ducks At Night
3. Keep Ducklings
4. Check Your Ducks Constantly
5. Make The Barn Fence High
6. Support The Fence With A Small Wire Mesh

Let’s make sure that you understand each one of them:

Learn More About Foxes

In the beginning, first, get to know the personality of the fox and what its method of hunting is so that you can develop an appropriate plan to protect your ducks from it. [1]

Fox’s Favorite Hunting Time

First, the fox’s favorite times to attack ducks are from the beginning of twilight to dawn. The dark times are the perfect times for the fox to begin his hunting journey.

When the ducks go to rest at this time and the voices calm down, often the owners of the ducks have given them dinner to leave them and go, and not come back again to them until early in the morning.

Therefore, the fox is a predator that often begins its journey hunting ducks at night. Because the fox is smart and very careful, he avoids confrontation and clashes with humans and wants to get out of the duck hunting process as a winner without losses.

Therefore, you will have to take more precautions and intensify the necessary security measures to protect the ducks at night time, which we will gradually address in the following lines.

What Does The Fox Eat?

The fox feeds on mice, rodents, and rats. So the presence of these rodents near your barn will serve as an attraction for the foxes and will make the fox a sustainable visitor around your area to eat its delicious meal comfortably even if there is no duck ready to hunt in your barn.

But it soon discovers the matter and hears the sound of your ducks and realizes they can still get more treats from your ducks! Therefore, these rodents must be placed within the plan of protection of your duck.

Fox Hunting Method

Foxes often hunt in pairs, meaning that two foxes go out to hunt together, one of which attacks the prey and the other serves as protection for it and intimidation for the rest of the herd members so that they do not attack it.

The fox will also hunt ducks that fall in his way. Where it is not satisfied that he hunts only one duck to satisfy his hunger, but rather he hunts what he finds available to him and then stores it in any hiding places around him, whether in piles of hay or holes in trees or so on, in order to eat it later.

Foxes love to hunt duck eggs and bury them in their lairs so that they can overcome starvation in times when food is not available.

This must be taken into account, as ducks must not be allowed to remain in an unsafe place, as you could lose your entire flock if the fox managed to reach it.

Things That Attract Foxes

The fox does not just attack the barn to eat the ducks only. He eats duck eggs and chicks if he finds them! The presence of feeders and waterers is also a signal to the fox that there are ducks being kept in this place.

Also, the smell of stored fodder will tell. So it is not safe to leave any of these things in full view of the foxes. Foxes have an excellent sense of smell and can track ducks and their nests.

Several foxes have also been spotted following the duck feeding places to get to the ducks. But it must be kept inside the chicken coop only. Bring them into the barn at night after your ducks have finished roaming during the day.

Duck feed should also be stored in tightly closed buckets so that the smell of the feed does not permeate outside.

Lock Your Ducks At Night

Some may think that it is better to leave the chickens in the yard and not bring them into the coop. Thinking that it gives the ducks access to food and water during the night and allows them to go immediately to the grass and fodder in the early morning. However, this is not true to a large extent.

Firstly, the ducks will not need to pass through the feeders and water during the night, but rather they will have to rest and go to sleep.

The second thing is that it is not correct with regard to the security aspect, as it makes ducks available to foxes. Where, as we mentioned, the foxes are active at night and go to pounce on the ducks when the weather begins to get dark.

There is no chance for error and if a fox attacks your flock at night not only will it likely be able to steal one duck, but it can take out the entire flock of ducks as ducks gather together at night so the attack on the ducks will be horribly and catastrophically bad!

Keep Ducklings

You should keep the ducklings in a secure area of the coop until they are adults and able to fly. You also have to take good care of them when you start shooting them with the big ducks.

You should also cover as much of your yard as possible so that the foxes don’t prey on the ducks. Ducks in familiar, covered places are less likely to be attacked by foxes.

Check Your Ducks Constantly

Ducks are generally peaceful, weak, naive creatures that cannot protect themselves due to their poor ability to fly and run fast. So don’t just put food and water in for them and go. Rather, check them out from time to time until you are assured of them.

You can also try to make sounds and make some noise so that the foxes sense your presence and move away immediately.

Make The Barn Fence High

To keep foxes out of your enclosure, you must enclose it with a tall fence, at least six feet high, so that the foxes cannot pass through it. This high fence will prevent foxes and other predators from getting into your enclosure. And the ducks in the free range will be more comfortable and safer.

You can also use an electric poultry network to ensure complete security. An electric fence with at least a .5 to .7 joule output will work well. If you need a higher level you can use .7 to 1.0 or even joules.

Support The Fence With A Small Wire Mesh

If you use a perimeter fence in your barn. You have to support it, so consider adding a small, sturdy wire mesh such as hardware cloth to make the fence more durable and prevent the fox from entering through any holes through the fence after defrauding and expanding it.

If your budget is not wide, use hardware cloth, at least on the lower sections of the fence. This will be a security measure to deter foxes and many other predators.

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