foxes

So, i recently bought this piece of land and installed a big chicken ren, the day after i went to check how they've spent their first night in their new habitat. Well, one died already, apparantly a fox already found his way to the new preys and killed one. (paw prints and bunch of feathers were clearly visible)
I searched the internet and only came up with the solutions of transforming your ren to a bunker or repelling them with scent or sound, while the next site i come across already claims this as not working.
I don't want to use snares or traps to catch the predator as wildlife means more to me than a couple of chickens. I prefer the more natural way and this would be to implement animals that could ward off the foxes or creating more interesting and easier food sources.
I read that dogs could do the job but since this plot of land is further down the street from where i live it's not really possible to put a dog there. So has anyone got any other suggestions or experiences with deterring foxes?

In Oregon, we had foxes... but mink, bobcats and raccoons were more of an issue with chickens.  The only effective thing in the end, for us, was to secure the pen completely on all sides - top and bottom included.  We didn't lose a bird after that, and there were many loud raucous nights of animals trying to get inside at first.  Then they finally gave up!  The hardest to deal with were the mink, because they can squeeze through quite small spaces.  

We made the pen out of a chainlink dog run and set big 2' square pavers inside it.  This made it so animals couldn't dig in.  Then the whole thing was covered with hardware cloth - needed for keeping out the mink.  Finally, safe birds!  The other benefit of the concrete pavers was they could be hosed clean.

Each day, we'd let the birds out and then put them back in their bird-bunker at night.  This worked well, though of course it's more maintenance.

Good luck!  I'm sure others will share their successes as well.

Kim is absolutely correct. Taking the time to predator proof need not be expensive, and is the responsible thing to do. You will save time, money and heartache, in the long run.

Foxes, raccoons, mink, rodents etc. can climb or dig under all sorts of fencing commonly used to house fowl (chicken wire is great at containing chickens, but pretty useless at repelling Predators). Predators cannot climb or dig thru metal roofing, concrete or appropriate sized mesh. Birds of prey will fly into unroofed pens, other predators will use nearby trees, buildings, vehicles or fencing to circumvent the most robust walls.  

Floor must be wired (metal mesh, like hardware cloth) or concrete. Alternatively, you can trench mesh or metal roofing, at least 2 feet deep OR buried a few inches down, but coming OUT 2-3 feet, and INSIDE another 2-3 feet from enclosure wall; peg down or cover with gravel, rocks and/or dirt. This is how wolf, coyote or wild cat enclosures are done to keep them contained while in rehab or on display in zoo's, so it will certainly keep all manner of predators OUT.

Walls must be minimum 1cm (1/2 inch) hardware cloth OR use metal roofing at base (run lengthwise) and the small mesh above. Alternatively, electric mesh can be applied to the exterior of chainlink or other large mesh.

Roof must also be wired and/or metal roofing. If walls are electrified, old fish netting, or closely spaced (min 2 inches) fishing line will exclude Birds of Prey.

Recycled metal roofing can be a cost free alternative. Contact local roofing companies and ask if they are doing any replacement metal roofs; post on a local "Used" site seeking someone taking down a barn or such structure - often this saves dump fees so folks are grateful for someone to take it away.

thanks for the tips, i guess it will have to come down to bunkering them down. Neighbours were already offering traps to get rid of the foxes, which i won't use because apex natural predators are worth more than a small dozen of domestic chicken. And new foxes will move in in the new available territory anyway.
Other things i came across were scent based repellents like your own pee and stockings with human hair in them. But i might try to raise a pig with the chickens since their smell will also help warding off the foxes and apparantly they can be aggressive towards predators as well. Time will tell, worst case scenario is just not keeping the chickens if nature decides they don't thrive in their environment...

Anyone with experience as to effectiveness of electric poultry netting at excluding predators?  Am about to get some chickens, and the plan is to use a mobile coop with electric netting to keep predators out.

Electric mesh works great - with a few caveats. Does not preclude digging under, jumping over (most are about 3ft high) or infiltration from above (trees, structures, vehicles, birds of prey). Assuming those are not an issue it is super effective.

Agreed on the previous posts. The only way we stopped fox and weasel pressure for our hens and ducks was to build them houses made entirely out of wood, elevated up off the ground, with wood floors, drawbridge doors, and hardware cloth in all the vent openings. It was...intense. I can't even tractor our chickens anymore, because the predators dig underneath the sides and cause mayhem.

I ended up building our pastured hens a house on wheels and they get shut in every night but we can wheel them around the pasture and they spend the days in a large paddock with bird netting over the top to keep the ravens, hawks and eagles away. It still lets us pasture them but I only move them to fresh grass once a week because it's such a hassle to take down the fencing, move it, pound the stakes in, set up the bird netting (If I commit terrible acts in this life and go to hell, my punishment will just be me putting bird netting over a chicken run for the rest of eternity) and move all their water troughs. So instead of sweet nicked pasture that bounces back, we have these big bald patches from their stay there. I usually spread clover and buckwheat behind them for future runs.

Anyhow, good luck. Securing our hens if a never ending process. I'm so sorry you already lost one.