!@#*^%#$ Foxes

[2Old2Crow]

Haven't visited here in several years. Everything was fine. Getting our eggs, the girls were happy, and the ticks were nonexistent. I assume it's the drought and the predators have come down looking for food. Yesterday morning they were let out of the coop, as usual, went out on the property, as usual, and 2 minutes later they were dead. 2 foxes. Wife is beside herself. One survivor which we named Lucky. We might try and introduce some chicks, but not if I can't deal with the foxes. I know some wont want to contribute to this conversation, and that's fine, but for those that do, what's the best method to deal with these critters. If I don't do it now, they will settle in and we will have many. And I guarantee, I will rid the area of this family. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

PS. If I seem overly aggressive or inhumane, too bad. I am real pi$$ed. These girls were sweet!

 

[youngchooklover]

Sorry for your loss. Foxes are hard to rid of but you could set a trap for the fox then shot it.

 

[2Old2Crow]

Thanx. That's the plan, but what kind of trap? A skunk cage? What about bait? The hornets would swarm anything I put out. I guarantee these bas***** will be shot, prior to this I had several opportunities. Shame on me. We don't have much in the way of foxes around here until recently. It's pretty bad out here with no water. I don't blame the critter I just hate them. Besides, as liberal as it is out here, it's completely legal to dispatch any animal threatening domestic animals.

 

[aart]

The best offense is usually a good defense.
Sounds like you need a predator proof run to keep your birds safe during the day, for during times when predation is on the uptick.

Free ranging is great, until it's not.
You can kill all the animals you want, but others will take their place, especially considering the situation in your location.

Fox are difficult to trap, from what I've read a certain leg hold trap set is needed.
I'd suggest some serious research, here's a start on it for you.
Advanced search>titles only>trapping fox

 

[Folly's place]

I agree with aart; in a drought situation, normal behavior and territories will change. Firstly, a secure coop and run for your birds; check Premier1supplies.com for electric poultry netting and great advice. Check out the trapping information, because foxes are difficult to trap. The sick mangy fox who killed ten of my birds one afternoon was shot by a neighbor a few days later, because I visited all my neighbors who had birds to warn them. We weren't able to get a clean shot at him, and the live traps failed too. Mary

 

[steve102]

# 2 victor double coil with a storm door spring attached to the chain where it's anchored to the ground is a proven method. It will ensure he stays traped.

Fox are courious, use this against him. Hole type baited sets work great.

This fox likes chickens? Use this against him. Feathers blowing in the breeze tied to a branch above a trap also work.

As to more moving in... Again use this against him. Spray a tree with fox urine set traps around it and when he tries to remark his area you got him.

Also all set area need to be free of threating smells (you). Urine acts like a cover sent.

Sorry for your losses, do what you feel necessary.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

# 2 victor double coil with a storm door spring attached to the chain where it's anchored to the ground is a proven method. It will ensure he stays traped.

Fox are courious, use this against him. Hole type baited sets work great.

This fox likes chickens? Use this against him. Feathers blowing in the breeze tied to a branch above a trap also work.

As to more moving in... Again use this against him. Spray a tree with fox urine set traps around it and when he tries to remark his area you got him.

Also all set area need to be free of threating smells (you). Urine acts like a cover sent.

Sorry for your losses, do what you feel necessary.

This is fairly good advise....

I will say all you need is the trap staked properly, no need for the spring. One a fox is in a #2 he's not getting out, only thing he can do at that point would be take the trap with him if it came unstaked. They are just not powerful enough to pull out of that trap.

A baited dirt hole works great, as does a ruin post, I would use the dead chickens as bait if you have them. Make a cubby so the fox can only approach from one direction and set the trap in front of it. If you have a big live trap, put it next to your coop and stack some boards or anything up around it and make it look like a way into the coop, again dead chickens work great. Make sure you stake it fast and put weight on top so it doesn't move when the fox steps in it. A 5 gallon bucket of water works great of that also.

Good luck, you'll catch it

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I don't see the point of trapping as other predators come along every week. If you enjoy free ranging the closest you get to total free is a portable electric fence. I've got a 164' electric poultry net, hot gate and .5 joule charger. 4,000 volts separate my flock from ground predators. With over 1600 sqft inside the fence area to range the birds only need to be moved about every two weeks. With a person helping you can move and reset the fencing in well under two hours.

To give you an idea of the predators I have here, it's an old farmstead with a bowl effect of mountain funneling everything down. There's thousands of acres of woods as this property ends at ridge line and adjoining properties don't have roads or buildings on the steep hillside. Any given day you'll see coyote, fox, fisher, bear, racoon and the list goes on. The 4ft high fencing stops all of them excepting bear to which I remove the feed each night to not attract them anymore.

 

[shortgrass]

The best offense is usually a good defense.
Sounds like you need a predator proof run to keep your birds safe during the day, for during times when predation is on the uptick.

Free ranging is great, until it's not.
You can kill all the animals you want, but others will take their place, especially considering the situation in your location.

Fox are difficult to trap, from what I've read a certain leg hold trap set is needed.
I'd suggest some serious research, here's a start on it for you.
Advanced search>titles only>trapping fox

Absolutely agree.

I am so sorry for your loss... It's devastating, and you have every right to want to hunt down and trap every fox you see from now on... But they fill a niche in the ecosystem, and they honestly just found a free meal... But still painful nonetheless. My condolences

They are super hard to trap, aart is correct, leg traps are about the only way to catch a fox.. Setting decoy visible traps and burying real traps behind the lure traps can "trick" them into thinking they're stepping over a trap, when they are actually stepping INTO one...

But I have to add as well... You now have a big red flag in your yard for more predators. Take out 2 foxes, and 2 more will come. I've experienced this firsthand... You may get WORSE predators in exchange... Protection, coop design, no more free ranging if they can't be safe... You may get rid of them and not see another predator for 3 years, you might get a family of coons by tomorrow instead...

It really just comes down to being on the alert, and knowing you have foxes now, I doubt your wife is EVER going to let them free range again without securing the perimeter like a war zone

 

[2Old2Crow]

Much good advice and I thank you all. This year is especially bad as the food up higher apparently isn't! I'm not worried abut my coup. It's safe from foxes and raccoons. That was my whole thought process when I built it. Even a black bear would have to make some rukkus B4 he got in. Right now the coyotes are dancin' and whoopin it up just across the road. If I'm lucky they killed a fox! Don't know what my plans are for the future. I really don't want to watch my wife go thru this again. But I do say thanx to the input on this thread.