Fox Pictures (next to the coop)

[Wolf-Kim]

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I think the ears look larger than normal because of the mange. Without all that poofy fur, many times proportions seem "off" without all the fluffy fox fur to hide them. I think that's why many hairless animals seem very different from their furry counterparts. Cats don't have large ears, but if you've ever seen a hairless sphinx cat, they're ears look HUGE. LOL So I think a mangy fox has the same effect, due to the loss or thinning of hair.

I bet a German Shepherd shaved completely hairless would look ridiculously hilarious. LMAO

((This is not my picture, I simply googled "sphinx cats" and am using it for an example.))

 

[Biddieacres]

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Haha yes he is funny! The fox was just back (my rooster alarmed me again) and I am still trying to get a better picture for you all. I just get curious as to what is lurking around my woods, but he's right. It is a predator!

 

[Hoosiermomma]

I still don't agree by the picture shown that the fox has mange. I am not dimissing the danger to the chickens, children etc but I still think you ought to contact animal control or the game commission. You could also put an electric wire around the pen. Once they get zapped (even one time) they won't return. If there is one there will be more so why not take precautions now? The fur is more than likely short b/c most foxes shed in the spring and keep a short coat for the duration of the summer. It could also be a momma looking for food for her babies. Of course if she had babies she would lose some fur too which would make her look a little mangy as well.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do. In the meantime I sure hope you don't lose anymore chickens.

PS What about putting down some railroad ties around the perimeter? You could try putting a battery operated radio out so there are constant voices. The chickens might like them too.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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Yes, it's true that fox keep a shorter coat in summer, but it is not dramatically short. From the picture, the tail is the dead giveaway. It is long and whiplike, very uncharacteristic of a healthy fox, but if you google "red fox mange" you'll note that many of the pictures have fox with thin hairless whip like tails.

Yes, from the picture, it may not be an obvious case of the mange, but the OP stated that the fox was hairless is some areas. The most common cause for a fox to be hairless is mange, sadly it is quite common around red fox.

If the OP takes care of the problem we will see a better picture of the fox(hopefully dead or in a trap

).

I can understand you wanted to deter the fox through use of radio, but that soon gets old and animals get used to it. This fox is obviously very comfortable in this neighborhood, even during the day around playing children(what could be louder and a better deterant than a "pack" of children at play? LOL).

I do agree that an electric fence is in order, electric fence is really worth it's weight in gold at deterence. This particular animal has killed 3 geese and at least one chicken, it knows where food is and it will continue at any opportunity to get one. We have an electric fence around our coop, but we let the girls forage during the day, thinking many predators are nocturnal. We had a red fox make off with 4 hens within minutes of each other one morning. With this one being spotted in broad daylight, these birds are never safe from it unless locked up tight. Even with deterence the fox won't just go "away", they are territorial animals and your chicken coop is in this animal's territory, it will constantly come by and see if any birds are loose or within grasp.

I had a friend who lost a chicken once a day for a week straight. All the birds would be out there when she fed the chickens, but there would be one missing within minutes of returning to the area to feed the goats. So she had a friend come over and set out waiting, she went through her daily routine of feeding the animals. The gunner was blown away at what was happening! This fox would wait in the tree lines every morning watching this lady feed her birds, then when she would leave to get the goat feed, it would run up grab a chicken and haul butt with it. There was just those few minutes between feeding the chickens and feeding the goats that this fox would take advantage to grab a bird and run. They are smart and intelligent animals, their cunning is not to be underestimated.

-Kim

 

[Biddieacres]

yes, I saw him again. Bald in spots. It's not a short coat. Half the tail has no hair. Even in June when he came up to my Dad, he came in the house and said..."I just saw the sickest looking fox I ever saw." Don't worry, going to take care of it for sure!

 

[Wolf-Kim]

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Closeups would be appreciated!

 

[Doormantnt]

Mangy fox, stray dog, or bigfoot....it is a predator. You have seen it multiple times WAY to close to a chicken dinner. The pictures are alot easier to take when it is laying on its side.

 

[peeplessinNC]

If you look up Samson fox on Google Images, you can see that the fox in your photos does look quite a lot like a Samson Fox. It has a skinnier tail and not the same coat of a red fox. Kind of a strange looking critter actually.

 

[anngili]

Good luck on getting the fox. He/she is in bad enough shape that sooner or later it will get a serious infection through the scratching, if nothing else. I've seen coyotes around here that have it and they look a lot like that fox (but yours is definitely a mangy fox). The next door neighbor's dogs apparently got mange from one of them, too.
I don't normally like shooting animals unless there's no other good option but I think this is one of those times. It will put him out of his misery and remove the danger to both your chickens and the neighborhood.
I don't know if it's got rabies or not but it's obviously lost its fear of humans and is quite hungry. Not a good combination.

 

[emvickrey]

It looks either that it had gotten stuck in the mud or it has mange. You had best grab the gun next time. Put it out of it's misery and prevent it from spreading to other animals.