Fox problems

[BlueMouse]

I keep seeing the biggest dog fox I have ever seen slinking around. Now I'm missing a chicken. Whatever took her took her in broad daylight, and left no signs. My bet is mr. Fox. So. How do I get rid of a fox who is NOT breaking into my coop at night (So I can't just hang out with my best friend the shotgun and wait for him.)

Suggestions anyone?

 

[centrarchid]

Pen birds up for a few days but fox will check periodically to find when they are free ranged again.

Trap using a live bird as bait. Takes little effort to setup but can be done if fox regular visitor.

Get a dog willing and able to deal with fox and make so dogs range overlaps with chickens. Confined dog will not work is fox sees limits to dogs mobility.

 

[Charm1704]

Those fox are very tricky...and smart.....I had one come out from under my house.....where it must have been hiding ....and snag a full grown hen and take off running in the woods.......where it ate her.....now I have 3 large dogs...they don't bother my birds.....fox don't come around anymore...~Charm1704

 

[BlueMouse]

Unfortunately at this time a livestock gaurdian dog, or other fulltime outside dog is just not a possibility for us. We do have a dog, but he's only out when I'm out, and then a lot of times tied up, since he likes to sneak off to visit the neighbors if I'm not looking. I can keep them cooped up, but, I think he'll just check back. We seem to be on his route down to the water. I've seen him, and my husband has seen him a lot. Always traversing pretty much the same path to or from the creek. I think our best bet right now is to try and sit on his path to the creek and shoot him.

How do you do the live trap with a live bird without getting your bird killed?

 

[JackE]

To use a live bird as bait and not put it at risk, you have to put it in a separate cage. Then you put the cage at the end of the live trap. Then you cover the whole thing except the trap's entrance. Fox are very hard to get in a live trap. But the live bait is sometimes irresistable to them.
I say shoot it if you can, I have fox problems around here. They are very slick. I ended up getting 600' of electrified poultry netting. That was the fix for me.
Jack

 

[centrarchid]

Unfortunately at this time a livestock gaurdian dog, or other fulltime outside dog is just not a possibility for us. We do have a dog, but he's only out when I'm out, and then a lot of times tied up, since he likes to sneak off to visit the neighbors if I'm not looking. I can keep them cooped up, but, I think he'll just check back. We seem to be on his route down to the water. I've seen him, and my husband has seen him a lot. Always traversing pretty much the same path to or from the creek. I think our best bet right now is to try and sit on his path to the creek and shoot him.

How do you do the live trap with a live bird without getting your bird killed?

Image below crude. Have whole setup where fox likely to be looking for a chicken. Keep other birds penned. Cage bait bird and place live trap so it allows fox to enter from direction of arrow. Place straw or hay bales as shown by golden rectangles so fox can see bait bird only from direction of trap entrance. Cover top with either more bales or large sheet of plywood (latter easier to move about.. Make certain bird has adequate ventilation, especially if hot. Provide bird some food and water as well. Replace birds so they can recover from stress. My foxes not repelled by human scent but they are sometimes reluctant to go into trap. Have it armed 24/7. May be more than one fox so even when on caught, keep it out for a few more days to see if anyone else is about.

 

[midget_farms]

First call the state & get a nuisance wildlife permit - in Illinois they are free & it’s a simple 5 minute call to get - this way you are legal to remove the fox.
I had a fox issue a couple years ago & am dealing with it again now.
Foxes are crazy smart & come out in the middle of the day when it’s hardest to defend against.
How I caught my fox last time - I went to Wal-Mart & bought the biggest package of raw chicken wings I could find. I set the trap & left 3 or 4 wings outside the trap at the opening. The wings were gone by the next morning. I put 3 or 4 more in the same spot. After 4 days I moved the wings into the opening of the trap. Just a couple inches inside the opening. The fox has to get used to the idea of going inside & won’t go in after bait unless you train him. After 3 or 4 more days I put the wings about a foot into the trap etc. after 3 or 4 more days I put them half way into the trap - all the time the fox was coming around daily & enjoying his snacks.
It took 2 weeks - but when I finally put the wings in the back of the trap I caught him the first night. Problem solved.
I'm getting ready to do the same for this fox.
By the way - if a fox has been caught & released previously - this won’t work - he will never again go into a trap.

 

[BlueMouse]

Thanks so much everyone for putting out this information for me! DH says he's going to go look for the den tomorrow. This time of year it's likely that he's hunting for a mate and kits. I dislike the idea of getting rid of them all, but it's either that or have him feed my chickens to his babies. If he doesn't find anything I'm definitely trying one of these trapping options.

 

[centrarchid]

Long-term look into the electrified poultry netting suggested by JackE and / or use dog. You will likely get this fox and possibly it whole family but their will be more. You will note them when loss of birds resumes forcing you back into a reactionary mode.

 

[BlueMouse]

I'm a bit worried aobut the electrified poultry netting with my crawling infant and toddlers, since the layers are pretty well yard birds. Once we get the child fence up in the yard I might be able to put up an outside perimeter fence of electrified poultry netting, but I don't like to have it where the baby can crawl over to it. I'm also not sure how I would effectively fence the creek side of our property... or even run an electric wire around the outside of the yard fencing sort of at low critter height. It would certainly bear some thought.