Gray foxes—what am I up against?

[OhZark Biddies]

@bajabirdbrain

Just as an FYI to avoid confusion for folks, the fox in you pics is not a gray fox.... it’s actually a color phase red fox.

 

[ThracianHorse]

We found that cat food with an egg on it, slices of hot dogs, and an occasional turkey neck are favorites of these Canadian foxes. These were BC, before chickens, tee, hee.

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I sure hope you have a rabies vaccination. All it takes is one lick in an open wound in your hand, and you are dead. Rabies is one disease that if you contract it, you WILL die from it. (That's also a red fox. Not a color phase red fox, just a poorly-colored red, unless it's in the process of shedding out.)

To the OP, I had a grey fox get into my coop and kill a couple of my birds. He couldn't figure out how to get back out, and died via rapid-onset lead-poisoning from a .22. Like others have said, they climb really well, but tend not to be as obnoxious as red fox about getting into a coop. That said, hot-wire. It's the end-all, be-all for controlling predators, right up to, and including bears.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

.... (That's also a red fox. Not a color phase red fox, just a poorly-colored red.)

You might be correct, I’m on my phone at the moment and didn’t look at the photos again... but it looked like a what I would know as a “cross phase red fox” in the midst of shedding when I looked earlier.

Cross phase being the result of a typical red colored individual crossing with a silver phase colored individual.... I forget the color genetics involved, but it can be kind of interesting.

In any case it is a red fox and not a gray fox.

 

[Ms Biddy]

I think a gray fox could easily climb the chain link and slip through under the tarp if it wanted to. They seem to stay out of trouble here though. I've heard them calling and seen them run through our yard at night. We had barn kittens that wandered all over cluelessly and I was worried the foxes might eat them, but I literally watched a fox run right by them without looking twice. I'm glad I haven't seen any of the red ones here.

 

[Akrnaf2]

If you could find excrements of bigger predetor, (woulf? Bear? Dog? ) You could disperse it on some parts of your yard, it will drive them sway. I made my M.Sc on a big zoological center here in Israel, and some farmers that had problems with wild boars, used Lion excrements to deter them.

 

[WthrLady]

There is a treatment for humans and rabies exposure, but it sucks. Series of shots in your diaphragm. Thank you Mr. LISTER!

 

[ThracianHorse]

There is a treatment for humans and rabies exposure, but it sucks. Series of shots in your diaphragm. Thank you Mr. LISTER!

Rabies treatment only works if and only if you get the treatment directly after being exposed or bitten. If you wait, the probability of it working drops, and if you wait until the disease begins to manifest, it's way, WAY too late. The only known human case I know of who survived rabies that began to manifest was a very young child - who had to be put into an induced coma during the course of the disease - and to my knowledge will suffer terribly with a variety of fairly serious developmental and physical issues for the rest of her life.

TL;DR : Don't mess with rabies.

 

[TwistedSteel]

I had to go thru the rabies shots 30 yrs ago. Got bit on the back of my hand while fishing. Sure wished I would have captured that bat for testing and avoided those shots.

 

[The Lazy L]

...my run is only mostly predator-proof. It’s chain-link fence with a chicken wire top...

Chicken wire is excellent for keeping chickens in. Worthless in keeping four legged predators out.

 

[cmom]

I used leg traps to catch mine because I mostly see them at night on one of my game cameras. One did kill some birds many years ago now. I put out leg traps and the next morning I had a fox. I see one most nights on one of my game cameras.