Foxes? advice, experiences... info etc

[carlf]

Contact the local Fish & Wildlife office, see if a trapper will come in and catch the fox.
Trapping season is coming up and Canadian red fox pelts usually bring a good price.

Trapping foxes is not easy, they normally wont go into a box trap so you have to use footholds or snares. If you aren't experienced using these, you need to take a class or bring in someone who does.

That or shoot the fox. you can try loading a distressed rabbit call onto your smart phone and try to call it into range.

 

[dekel18042]

Contact the local Fish & Wildlife office, see if a trapper will come in and catch the fox.
Trapping season is coming up and Canadian red fox pelts usually bring a good price.

Trapping foxes is not easy, they normally wont go into a box trap so you have to use footholds or snares. If you aren't experienced using these, you need to take a class or bring in someone who does.

That or shoot the fox. you can try loading a distressed rabbit call onto your smart phone and try to call it into range.

The distressed rabbit call works extremely well.. My husband got one, took it out to the deck to practice sans gun,(I told him to practice in the house.) and within a minute a fox was at the steps to the deck.

 

[Going Quackers]

I have to rate foxes as our worst predator. They're smart, sneaky and killers. We've tried all kinds of traps and caught everything but foxes. Nothing else is a problem. They're brazen. Sometimes we run into one when least expected but usually then we're not prepared to deal with it.
I swear, they must lie in wait. If a dog is lose all day with the chickens, nothing happens, but let the dog come in for ten minutes and I've had a chicken disappear.
Finally we're getting a little respite. First we've turned the chicken area into Fort Knox. We have coops, covered runs and then a much larger totally fenced in area. This has taken place over time. The only poultry in danger is some of the more agile birds will fly over the six foot outer fence, but since they are the more wary and smaller hens I figure they can just fly back in again.
Our last fox problem and it was a major one was in April when the foxes had their young ones, but lucky for us most people up and down our rural road keep poultry and they were having worse problems than we were so everyone was after foxes and I think some were more successful because I haven't seen or heard any foxes in the past five months. It would be nice if it stayed that way.
Unfortunately the chickens I hatched this spring were meant to increase my flock but basically they are replacing what was taken.

thanks for sharing. other than it caught a roo on me because it was out early, it seems to for now have moved on... i am getting birds in earlier too. so frustrating.

 

[Going Quackers]

Foxes have been my number one predator problem over the years. Only a handful of hawk attacks, but I've lost count of the number of fox attacks. Foxes have a nasty habit of sort of going kill crazy. What I mean is, if one gets in your run or coop, for instance, he may go nuts and kill way more than he needs and only make off with one bird. This happened to my nine ducks. A fox got into their pen, killed all of them and took only one with him for his meal. Another thing, they come back. They almost always seem to come back. If you get a frequent "visitor" fox, he'd clean you out if you gave him the chance. We've always set traps and stood guard outside when the number of attacks were up. I always did "flock inspections" about every hour or so, since I'm home most of the time. Something that has also worked well for me is putting a radio outside by the coop and letting it play throughout the day when the flock is out ranging. That was my latest trick, and I haven't had a problem...yet. I've also kept everyone locked up on random days, so he can't get an idea when they'll be outside. Believe me, they're crafty little buggers. We just have to be craftier. I hope this helped some. Best of luck!

Thanks. generally foxes have not been a big problem, it is grabbing my free ranged ... it did come back snatched one more chicken and hasn't been seen since, of coarse my birds are in earlier now. I changed up a few things, took down taller grasses and such. They are clever buggers that's for sure.

 

[Going Quackers]

Have you set up electrified poultry fencing? It should do a good job of keeping out ground predators. Mary

No. The birds caught were all free ranged, from ducks to chickens. I have cut down some taller grasses and am bringing in early at night.

So far he has not come back after the last attack... i am definitely being watchful but unfortunately my biggest concern right now is a mink, gosh it never ends.

 

[Going Quackers]

A lot of bushes, high weeds & grass, or other cover is a foxes' best friend. It not only provides foxes and other predators cover to spring an ambush from, but it will also impede your chickens from fleeing or flying to safety.

Then again, those chickens are your personal property and (hopefully) only you will be out if a fox kills the whole flock. So do what ever you do to or with your chickens that makes you the happiest is what your goal should be.

It is a good idea to persecute every groundhog or woodchuck that sets foot on your land because the abandoned dens of these rodents are the perfect location for foxes to raise a family. When the pups get up in age mama & papa fox will bring half dead prey back for their children to hone their killing skills and instincts. There is often so much decaying prey scattered about that you can smell a fox den before you can see it.

Yes, we cut down quite a bit, it's actually grabbed an equal amount of chickens and ducks, it had been catching my free ranged flock before it came up for the night way out the back. No groundhogs or the like here...

It probably was a passer by.... and discovered some quick meals.

 

[Going Quackers]

Contact the local Fish & Wildlife office, see if a trapper will come in and catch the fox.
Trapping season is coming up and Canadian red fox pelts usually bring a good price.

Trapping foxes is not easy, they normally wont go into a box trap so you have to use footholds or snares. If you aren't experienced using these, you need to take a class or bring in someone who does.

That or shoot the fox. you can try loading a distressed rabbit call onto your smart phone and try to call it into range.

Thanks, i'll have to do an inquiry on that, i didn't feel trapping would work, for one don't have one large enough and it's basically doing a grab and run to the very back, taking down free ranged birds in later evening and early am.

So as you said other means would be needed, kinds i am not familiar with. For the moment it seems to have moved on, i have reduced it's opportunities by changing up the birds schedules and reducing the taller grasses. Most definitely am keeping a close eye too...

 

[Going Quackers]

The distressed rabbit call works extremely well.. My husband got one, took it out to the deck to practice sans gun,(I told him to practice in the house.) and within a minute a fox was at the steps to the deck.

oh wow. Certainly worth a try. i will make sure we are out back i don't want to draw it in closer... we have enough larger preds around foxes will only bring them in too. Geez cannot win lol.