Fences for chicken or not?

Beardedgeek

Another stupid question perhaps: If I have the fox alarm installed, do I need a fence around the chicken? Anyone has experience playing with and without an enclosure?

Hazelly

if you add a gate to the fence and then click close for everyone but SIM NAME then that should work I don't think foxes will get through if you do that.

Beardedgeek

Hazelly wrote: »

if you add a gate to the fence and then click close for everyone but SIM NAME then that should work I don't think foxes will get through if you do that.

That's how it is now; but I have installed the anti-fox alarm so I was wondering if it's 100% effective if you just go full free-range

Simmerville

I started with all my chicken fenced in. The fox still entered, but maybe I could have locked the fox out by locking the gate. I love watching the birds walk freely, they are so entertaining to observe + I like surprises that might occur. So, if I have the wild foxes challenge, I might unlock the coop gate while my sim is near by, and lock it for anyone but my sim during night hours or if I get busy elsewhere. Fact is I tuned off the wild foxes challenge ion most of my lots, I loved the suspense it added, but it took too much of my focus only looking out for a fox. So, I use that challenge on a few lots mainly without a coop My chicks are fine and I get to see the fox occasionally on my rotation

Beardedgeek

Simmerville wrote: »

I started with all my chicken fenced in. The fox still entered, but maybe I could have locked the fox out by locking the gate. I love watching the birds walk freely, they are so entertaining to observe + I like surprises that might occur. So, if I have the wild foxes challenge, I might unlock the coop gate while my sim is near by, and lock it for anyone but my sim during night hours or if I get busy elsewhere. Fact is I tuned off the wild foxes challenge ion most of my lots, I loved the suspense it added, but it took too much of my focus only looking out for a fox. So, I use that challenge on a few lots mainly without a coop My chicks are fine and I get to see the fox occasionally on my rotation

I decided to give it a try, and yes it works.

So, protip for everyone: The fox alarm is worth it.
I have a fence around the whole lot that is locked for chicken only (there is no option specifically for wild animals so if I am to lock out foxes I also lock out neighbors etc). I also was clever enough to put the rabbit stump very close to the chicken coop with the alarm on it, so the rabbits are automatically protected by the coop alarm.

The alarm starts blaring as soon as a fox goes thru the gate, and it immediately turns and walk away, keeping both rabbits and chicken safe.
...I also had to lock my front door for chickens tho, since they kept walking into my kitchen. They're tasty, but...

invisiblgirl

Beardedgeek wrote: »

Simmerville wrote: »

I started with all my chicken fenced in. The fox still entered, but maybe I could have locked the fox out by locking the gate. I love watching the birds walk freely, they are so entertaining to observe + I like surprises that might occur. So, if I have the wild foxes challenge, I might unlock the coop gate while my sim is near by, and lock it for anyone but my sim during night hours or if I get busy elsewhere. Fact is I tuned off the wild foxes challenge ion most of my lots, I loved the suspense it added, but it took too much of my focus only looking out for a fox. So, I use that challenge on a few lots mainly without a coop My chicks are fine and I get to see the fox occasionally on my rotation

I decided to give it a try, and yes it works.

So, protip for everyone: The fox alarm is worth it.
I have a fence around the whole lot that is locked for chicken only (there is no option specifically for wild animals so if I am to lock out foxes I also lock out neighbors etc). I also was clever enough to put the rabbit stump very close to the chicken coop with the alarm on it, so the rabbits are automatically protected by the coop alarm.

The alarm starts blaring as soon as a fox goes thru the gate, and it immediately turns and walk away, keeping both rabbits and chicken safe.
...I also had to lock my front door for chickens tho, since they kept walking into my kitchen. They're tasty, but...

I had a chicken return home 'Scared by Fox', so I locked the gate to keep them in. Unfortunately, that unlocked the gate for random Sims, one of whom decided to come in and knock over the trash. For once, my Sim was right there and after a 'Rude Introduction', proceeded to have a dust-up with the troublemaker.

So, I've ended up keeping the gate locked for everyone but my Sim and employees, which was the point of having a gate around the property, anyway. I think it's rather cute when the chickens wander into the house and look up at my Sim wanting attention.

randy2355

My experience with free range chickens is that they simply wander around, even off the lot, kinda drawing your sims lot into the surrounding environment...I thinks that's kinda cool!

Beardedgeek

randy2355 wrote: »

My experience with free range chickens is that they simply wander around, even off the lot, kinda drawing your sims lot into the surrounding environment...I thinks that's kinda cool!

It does also seem to me, after testing it for a day now, that foxes actually cannot attack chicken before they (the foxes) has arrived on the lot. Meaning you have three yellow bundles of nuggets walking with you when you go fishing, but the foxes walk past you and ignore the chicken, instead triggering the alarm on the lot when they get there.

GalacticGal

There's an alarm? I have my Coop surrounded by the rock fencing that also surrounds my Sims' entire lot. I use that fancy double-gate with the flowers on the bar atop it. My Cantrell family (one of them) is a Celebrity, so he has to have his lot secure. And he lives on that first empty lot you see on the map. Wild Foxes Trait. None of the foxes has ever breached his security, which is lucky he has Toddlers, and 8 chickens.

Beardedgeek

GalacticGal wrote: »

There's an alarm?

Under "Actions" for the coop you have "Upgrade". One of the upgrades is an automatic Fox Detection Alarm that rings and scares off any foxes.

bshag4lv

In HoB, yes I have fences with locked gates because of the foxes...my sims always seem to have chickens. In rl, there's absolutely no way a chicken would go wandering around my house, for one, you can't housebreak a chicken...enough said. EA chickens are adorable and yes, everyone else gets to have free range chickens.

Simmingal

I have my chickens fenced in cause I'm paranoid they'll go missing otherwise

haven't used the fox alarm cause I'm having problem with upgrading the coop cause it keeps thinking i don't have 2 upgrade parts when i do though

Anyway I just decided to turn off the fox challenge for few lots cause I don't think every lot needs to have it

GalacticGal

Beardedgeek wrote: »

GalacticGal wrote: »

There's an alarm?

Under "Actions" for the coop you have "Upgrade". One of the upgrades is an automatic Fox Detection Alarm that rings and scares off any foxes.

LOL I mostly have Roosters in my Coop. For some reason the chicks that hatch have been mostly Rooster Chicks. Who needs an alarm when you've got a majority of Roosters? Besides, the entire property is behind a security fence. Gates are locked. Can't have the Stan or other Obsessed fans coming and going now, can we? Seems to keep the foxes out, too.

Sindocat

Fences keep chickens from straying. Gates won't necessarily exclude foxes. And while the alarm drives foxes away, I have yet to determine if it responds to foxes in the enclosure or only if they enter the henhouse itself.

Roosters will defend their turf - but can also be killed.

Amapola76

bshag4lv wrote: »

In rl, there's absolutely no way a chicken would go wandering around my house, for one, you can't housebreak a chicken...enough said.

I may or may not know people who raise backyard chickens IRL, and it turns out, while you cannot housebreak a chicken, there are companies that sell chicken diapers. Yes, I can confirm that I could not stop laughing for several minutes when I first heard about this.

babajayne

Sindocat wrote: »

Fences keep chickens from straying. Gates won't necessarily exclude foxes. And while the alarm drives foxes away, I have yet to determine if it responds to foxes in the enclosure or only if they enter the henhouse itself.

Roosters will defend their turf - but can also be killed.

I agree that a gate won’t keep a fox out. In my experience, the coop alarm only goes off when the fox gets close to it. My gate is a few paces away and it’s not enough of a breach to set off the alarm.

MasonGamer

My chickens are double gated, and I’ve yet to see a fox get into the enclosure.

bshag4lv

Amapola76 wrote: »

bshag4lv wrote: »

In rl, there's absolutely no way a chicken would go wandering around my house, for one, you can't housebreak a chicken...enough said.

I may or may not know people who raise backyard chickens IRL, and it turns out, while you cannot housebreak a chicken, there are companies that sell chicken diapers. Yes, I can confirm that I could not stop laughing for several minutes when I first heard about this.