Chickens who turned the tables on fox in their henhouse

THE tale of the fox in the chicken coop never ends well.

But for one unlucky fox, it took a rather unexpected twist – when it was pecked to death by a gang of chickens.

Students at an agricultural school in France were shocked to discover the body of the fox as they made rounds to check on the farm’s flock.

They believe the victim entered the henhouse at dusk and became trapped inside by light-controlled hatch doors that close when the sun goes down.

Pascal Daniel, head of farming at Le Gros Chene school in Brittany, said the hens are now the prime suspects.

‘There, in the corner, we found this dead fox,’ he said. ‘There was a herd instinct and they attacked him with their beaks.’

The free-range organic farm has a coop that is open all day and the hens spend most of the time outside unless they are laying eggs.

Believe it or not, this is not the first incident of its kind. In 2010, three hens called Izzy, Pongo and Pecky – with the help of a large cockerel – killed a fox that invaded their coop in Basildon, Essex.