If you live in an area where there are foxes, you may wonder if they will eat your chicken’s eggs.
In this article, we will discuss whether eggs are eaten by foxes and if they do, what can you do to protect them.
Do Foxes Eat Chicken Eggs?
Yes, foxes eat chicken eggs, but only if they are left unattended in the hen house.
Foxes will happily eat chicken eggs, and it’s best to keep them safe by placing them in an incubator.
Foxes are omnivores, meaning that they eat both meat and plants. They can eat up to 40% of their body weight each day and have been known to eat small animals such as mice, rabbits, birds, and even snakes. However, they also feast on fruits and berries in the summer months when their usual food sources are scarce.
Foxes are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything that they can get their paws on – including your chickens’ eggs!
Are Eggs Good for Foxes?
Eggs are a great food for foxes. They are a good source of protein, fat and vitamins.
The benefits of feeding a fox eggs are:
Eggs contain high protein. This is essential for growth, repair and maintenance of body tissues. It also helps replace worn out cells.
Eggs contain fat. This is required by the body for energy production and insulation against cold weather.
Eggs are rich in iron. This helps in the formation of red blood cells and improves its oxygen carrying capacity.
Eggs are a good source of vitamin A. This vitamin in eggs helps maintain healthy immune system in foxes. It also increases resistance to diseases like pneumonia, hepatitis etc.
Choline in egg yolk helps make cell membranes more fluid. This will help with them function better than before.
As you can see, there are a lot of benefits that eggs offer for chickens. This is the reason why they will hunt for chicken’s eggs when it’s available.
Will a Fox Eat Your Chickens?
A fox is a wild animal and a predator, but it won’t attack your chickens without provocation. A fox will eat your chickens only if you fail to take the necessary precautions to protect your flock.
Foxes are opportunistic hunters. They will eat any small prey they can catch and kill in the wild, including rabbits, rodents, birds, and insects. If you have chickens in your backyard or pen, foxes might try to hunt them down as well.
Foxes generally don’t want to get too close to humans because they’re more likely to be shot or harmed by other predators if they get too close. However, if your flock is especially vulnerable — for instance, if it’s roaming free instead of locked up — then a fox may try to sneak up on it at night when you’re not around.
In addition, a fox might attack an open coop at night when it’s dark and hard for predators to see inside the coop.
How to Know if You Have Foxes in Your Area
Foxes are cute, furry creatures that can be spotted roaming through the woods. They are also known for their cunning and intelligence. Foxes have many predators, but they have a few ways to defend themselves from them.
Foxes live in dens that they dig out of the ground. These dens are often near water sources, such as ponds or streams. If you notice these features near your home, it is possible that foxes live nearby.
Foxes make noises at night when they are searching for food, which you might hear if you live near their habitat.
Foxes leave their scent behind on trees and bushes when marking their territory with urine and feces. If you notice this smell near your house, there may be foxes nearby looking for food or shelter from predators like coyotes and wolves.
What Other Animals Steal Chicken Eggs?
Coyotes, skunks, raccoons, hawks and opossums are just a few that will eat your eggs. However, there are a lot of other animals that also enjoy stealing eggs.
Raccoons
Raccoons are probably the worst egg thieves of all. They can climb on top of your coop and push down the lid on your nesting boxes. They can also climb over fences and gates to get in. If they are hungry enough, they’ll even break into your house through an open window or open door.
Opossums
Opossums aren’t as likely to try stealing from chickens as other animals are because their diet consists mostly of fruit and insects instead of meat or eggs. You may find an opossum in a tree near your coop one day, though — it’s probably looking for fruit from that tree!
Ducks
Ducks will eat eggs, or even the chicken if they can get away with it! Ducks are known to be a bit more aggressive than chickens and will attack them if they feel threatened. In most cases, though, ducks just steal eggs from the chickens’ nest. This can cause problems for both species because it means less food for everyone involved.
Turkeys
Turkeys can be aggressive and very territorial animals, so don’t be surprised if you see one chasing off your chickens or stealing their eggs. Turkeys are also notorious for destroying nests on purpose because they want to keep other birds away from their territory. They will usually lay their own eggs in another species’ nest so that they can feed from it without having to do any work themselves!
Geese
Geese are similar to turkeys in that they’ll destroy nests on purpose just to keep other birds away from their territory. If you have geese around your property, make sure that all of your nests are protected so that none of them get destroyed by these birds!
How to Protect Your Chicken’s Eggs From Foxes
When it comes to how to protect your chicken’s eggs from foxes, there are a few things you can do.
1. Build a fence. Foxes can jump over fences, so it’s best to build a fenced run that is at least 8 feet tall with chicken wire or other sturdy material and buried about 6 inches deep into the ground for extra protection.
2. Install an electric fence or motion-activated sprinkler system. These systems are designed to keep predators out of your yard by shocking them with electricity or spraying water on them when they approach your property line.
3. Consider having dogs patrol the perimeter of your property at night. Dogs have a keen sense of smell, which makes them great natural guards against predators like foxes and coyotes.
In Summary
Foxes will eat chicken’s eggs if they can get to it. They will usually carry the eggs in their mouth and take it to somewhere safe to eat. Once they are at a safe area, they will crush the eggs with the mouth and eat the content inside it. Sometimes, the fox will bury the eggs for later consumption.
