Attempting to Bag a Red Fox

[centrarchid]

We are back at this again. A fox is spending a great deal of time between house and barn. Fencing keeps it out of barnyard area, as do pups. It makes very brief incursions into yard proper. Based on camera in video clip mode, fox has a route that is repeated several times during he night at what appears to be regular intervals. Periodically the dogs go after it, but last night the fox was downwind of dogs, except for the pups. When the pups start barking the dogs go investigate. Fox was out even though I slept on deck barely 100 feet away. I do not know if one or more foxes. Most of property looks like an area managed for rabbits by a typical beagle club so rabbit abundance similarly high.

 

[Folly's place]

Enjoying this thread! So far your foxes are winning...
We've only had one fox attack here, during the day, years ago. Couldn't trap him either, but a neighbor was able to get a clear shot and took him out a week later.
He was nearly bald from mange, in spring, and hunting during the day when it was not as cold. We say him coming back, but had poor field of fire and couldn't shoot in his direction.
Otherwise, only night time visitors, and all the birds are inside.
Back when some roosted or brooded outside of the coop, it was raccoons and opossums who got most of them.
Good luck with this.
Mary

 

[cmom]

I haven't dealt with fox families but have with coyotes in the past. Here is a female with her pretty well grown young. Some of the coops in the background.

 

[centrarchid]

You both have more foxes than you realize. In all likelihood I have more foxes owing to quality of habitat. Short cut grass presents little in the form of forage for chickens or prey base for the fox.

At this point the fox is not winning. It is able to operate with a degree of impunity and taken a total of 4 birds in as many months. I cull more than that in a month.

What we will try to achieve albeit temporarily is the ability to free-range juvenile chickens with acceptable losses. When losses step up, changes will be made to again make free-range foraging a good option.

For me, I am getting to know these critters better like the hawks and owls which cause less trouble each time they try. We may resort to more depopulation efforts against the foxes, but I want to understand them better first.

 

[Folly's place]

Of course we have foxes! As long as they aren't getting my birds during the day, all is well here.
Many years ago we watched a family of fox kits, and mama, from our front window in the south pasture. Very cute, and no chickens lost.
Our chicken set-up is easier to manage than yours; fewer birds, fewer outside 24/7. Our dogs are a presence, although not with the birds, and the next door neighbor has a big dog presence too, which does help.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I've only seen red foxes, although I guess we also have the grays.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Of course we have foxes! As long as they aren't getting my birds during the day, all is well here.
Many years ago we watched a family of fox kits, and mama, from our front window in the south pasture. Very cute, and no chickens lost.
Our chicken set-up is easier to manage than yours; fewer birds, fewer outside 24/7. Our dogs are a presence, although not with the birds, and the next door neighbor has a big dog presence too, which does help.
Mary

Fox activity here is impacted by dogs. My dogs exclude them from yard proper and displace them when encountered further from house. The yard proper does not provide needed forage for the chickens. My chickens (the games) mature into more solid adults if allowed the free-range conditions during growth and early parts of maturation. The pen / run reared birds have a different (softer) feel and lack in the smarts and physical ability. Some of the feel differences may due to bone development.

 

[centrarchid]

I've only seen red foxes, although I guess we also have the grays.
Mary

I see grays crossing road about 2 miles away on a regular basis. I have not seen them here nor tangled with them myself. In past, my younger brother was the fox guy and he considered the grays easier to deal with.

 

[centrarchid]

Today cameras will be deployed differently. Thus far cameras recorded movement along game trail, made mostly by adult rabbits. Fox using same trail to get around, although it appears to be focusing attention on high grass patches representing 90% of area the fox is using. The fox pops in and out of view from the high grass patches. All three cameras will be set to monitor mostly the high weed patches from either latter’s or a fully extended proper camera tripod. The little tripods used for ground sets too low and trees they can be mounted to are too far away.

I think the fox is focusing efforts on young rabbits. What appear to be doe rabbits get more obvious in game trails when fox present, and they may be attempting to distract fox like the doe rabbit do with cats and my kids. The rabbits get real ballsy with my daughter when she is after their babies.

The crayfish / minnow traps will be setup with a dollop of peanut butter applied to side. Fox already familiar those traps so should only note new location and new enticing smell. Once fox acclimated to new trap locations, the spring loaded foot traps will be set. I wish foxes could be labelled in the event more than one.

It is easy even for me to smell when a fox has been through recently. Maybe the scent is used to indicate time since last time a resident fox took a particular path. That would help disperse efforts, especially where foxes not in direct communication. We have enough rabbits to support more than one fox hunting area at a time.

 

[centrarchid]

Absulutely nuthing. Just dugs stealing lure. Rabbits alsu visible.