Fox Question....

[Calebs Acre]

I've been reading as much about the Fox as I can, but I want to clarify a few things. I saw a fox tonight in my back yard and I am in a panic now. Since I am in Long Island, I don't expect to see lots of wildlife. I know we have possums and coon, but I think dogs would be my biggest nightmares.

OK...is there a size limit on what a fox would eat? I thought they only stole eggs until I started doing research. I have my yards fenced and fenced and fenced, but I know anything can get in and does. I have horses and goats. I have built my goose area in a round area surrounded by the goats and horses so that most predators would have to go through those animals to get to my birds. I have one area for geese and a different area for the chickens, muscovies & turkeys. Within a smaller area with stockade fence, near the house, I keep covered pens with the call ducks and smaller growing chicks, geese, ducks.

I guess that I thought my geese were OK because the majority of them are large dewlaps and adult sebastopols in together and they really make a lot of noise when disturbed by anything, so I haven't housed them at night.

I noticed that I am missing one chicken tonight and I bet that darn fox got it. Now I have to try to get the chickens housed at night, which is hard to do because they do NOT want to be caught.

I have some 6' tall dog kennels and lots of Little Tykes houses I can shut up very well. I guess I'll start putting all of this together to house EVERYONE up at night. I just wanted to know if there are ANY geese/chickens safe from fox?

Thanks
Nancy

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Fox are opportunistic animals, they take a meal wherever they can get one. There is not many domestic poultry or kept fowl that are safe from a fox. Your geese and chickens will not be safe unless their pens are fox-proof. Fox are clever creatures and can dig quite well.

Your missing bird will most likely have been invited over to Reynard's den for dinner. I'm sorry. Consider yourself lucky, our flock's first encounter with Reynard and his family resulted in 4 dead and missing hens within the first night.

I suggest you take action towards capture, removal, or eradication of your new furry friend. Like I said before, fox are opportunistic and once they realize where they can get a good easy meal, they will be back.

-Kim

 

[Calebs Acre]

Yes, this is my fear. I will spend tomorrow making sure everyone has a place to go at dusk. I would go out and do it now, but I can't lift most of the things I need by myself. Poor hubby. He'll be really upset that he'll work 18 hours and then have to put up pens.

Thank you so much. I am going to pray we're safe for the next few hours tonight.

I could go out every hours on the hour, I guess.

 

[cjeanean]

We had a fox show up one night, and it scared the living crud out of me. I freaked out and called everyone I could think of, as well as posting on here, to see how to take care of it. It was after my ducks, who, although they are inside a covered welded wire pen with anti-dig stuff around it, drew its attention. I scared it to death when I saw it, I started yelling and it froze and ran. Then I spent the next 3 hours outside staking the wire down even better and being paranoid. I don't know if it came back, but apparently it figured out that it couldn't make a meal out of my ducks, at least not in the fortress I built them (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!) The conservation agent told me that usually, once they figure out that they can't get into your pens, they give up and move on. CLOSE YOUR STUFF UP TIGHT!!!

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I would go out every now and then and make a bunch of racket. Fox prefer to hunt at night. Our visitor came for the last one about 9 in the morning, but by then we were missing most of our 6 hen flock. Which makes me believe he and his mate had come during the night. They just made trips, taking the birds one by one.

We caught him with his last hen, Adam dropped him with a .22 from the other side of the pond. We never did catch the Mrs. Reynard, but I guess she took the hint as we have not seen her back.

Good luck with the pens!

-Kim

 

[Calebs Acre]

I have lights out there for riding at night. I turned them ALL on. I have been down there twice so far. The chickens and ducks are ALL in their normal places, wondering what is the matter with me. I called a friend and he said the following:
(1) It is against the law in Suffok County, NY to kill a red fox.
(2) It is agains the law in my town to transport wildlife without a license
(3) It is against the law in Suffolk County, NY to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a residence and my next door neighbors are both less than 500 feet from me.
(4) Cannot own a hand gun without a permit. Would have to own a rifle...never held a rifle in my life.

So, I can't shoot it, I can't move it and I can't kill it in any other way either. Sounds like I am screwed. Guess I am pen building. I have two Saint Bernards, so I put them out once an hour to bark and every time I walk on the back porch, I flash the lights, yell at the dog and then the geese all make noise because they want me to feed them. It wakes up the goats, too, and you can hear their bells. So.....that's the best I can do for the next 3 hours until the sun starts to come up.

Yuck,
Nancy

 

[cjeanean]

Someone suggested having a boy pee around the perimeter of your property. That whole this is my territory bow down to the pee thing. Other than that, you could call your conservation dept and talk to them about what to do. That's what I did!!! YOU may not be able to rehome it, but THEY might, and they also may do it for free....It's worth a shot!!!

 

[Calebs Acre]

I'll try. When I had a coon problem, they referred me to a commercial pest removal service and its was $1800 for the first three traps.

My husband is good at peeing.

 

[jenjen]

I am getting ready to walk out and check on my hens right now too. I was hammering in the chicken coop today and walk outside the coop door to get some more nails and almost ran into a fox. He was about 3 feet away. Middle of the afternoon. Like I said, I was being super noisy. Scared the crap out of me. Now I'm worried too death. I can't sleep in the coop (too scary) I know it will back for my chicks. Good luck

 

[cjeanean]

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