Has anyone ever trapped a fox?

[varidgerunner]

The key to trapping foxes in cages is to have a roomy cage, so they don't feel hemmed in. But you will still get many refusals, especially from adult reds.

 

[Skeeter10]

umm how are u taking those pics

 

[Tumbling K]

umm how are u taking those pics

looks like to me, centered up between the wires of the mesh.

 

[jaxchic]

Taking the pictures is easy, i just put the camera up the cage. They are very large dog sized cages. I do not think you could catch one with a smaller cat/raccoon sized trap.

 

[Skeeter10]

arent they like coon to where they go nuts when u go near the trap

 

[JackE]

I'm not saying that your fence will deteriorate, I'm saying that eventually you will have a fox that actually wants to eat your chickens. Electric netting is better than nothing, but it is doubtful that a fox or coyote would ever allow themselves to be shocked by it, they can sense electric current from feet away, if they are somewhere that electric fence is common, they know to jump instead of crawl. Unless your fence is 6 or 8 feet tall, all you are doing is keeping out the ones with full bellies.

I was directing the durability comment to Catnip. But, you say, that I will eventually have a fox that wants to eat my chickens. I've already been through that, that is why I bought the fence. I lost 16 birds to them, in two separate day attacks. So yeah, I know the fox really likes chicken dinner (Or lunch). Where do you get the info, that the fox can "sense" electrical current? They "sense" the fence, when they get in excess of 8000Vs to the face. That's when they sense it. You video shows the animal jumping over a standard type of fence. They see a clear top rail, they have to clear. So an animal sees the birds in the yard while he is running up, then he sees the fence, sees the solid top rail, then just jumps it, on his way to a free lunch. The netting does not have that. He'll see the chickens/lunch, and as he runs in for his attack, he sees this netting in his way, with no clear top rail to jump. So he'll stop, and check out what's in his way. As they always check out things with their noses, he gets a painful shock to the face. After that, all he is thinking about, is getting out of there.

As I posted, I have fox that love chicken dinner. If they are so clever, why haven't they figured out a way to defeat the fence? I mean, the easy meal is right in front of them. Why don't they just jump the fence? How come none of the other animals around here, just jumped over, and had a plump, easy meal? Because animals don't have critical, problem solving thought. They approach what they see is a easy meal, see some flimsy looking harmless netting in their way, check it out, and all of the sudden suffer probably the most painful thing in their lives. Now they will just stay clear. Have you ever had an electrified poultry net fence? I do, with years of success. If the fence is properly maintained, and kept properly charged, you won't have a loss to a ground based predator. I've read on this forum, where somebody has not had a loss in something like 15yrs, because of their electrified poultry netting/fence.

 

[varidgerunner]

I have used electrified poultry netting for many years. Fox can jump it. I have also hunted, trapped and lived in farm country for many years. I have spent countless hours tracking predators in the snow. Animals that live in areas that have electric fences don't simply avoid electric fences. If they did, they would starve. They learn and adapt. They will walk right up to it and jump. if they need to. Obviously, your foxes haven't needed to eat your chickens. It is possible that after their first experience with what may be the only electric fence in their area. It may be easier for them to simply avoid the area. I'm not detracting from the effectiveness of electric netting. Simply pointing out that it isn't an absolute cure in all applications. I prefer Kencove to premier. It is better fence at a lower price.

 

[varidgerunner]

As for my statement about foxes being able to sense an energized fence, understand that it has nothing to do with cognitive prowess or capacity for abstract thought. A wide array of vertebrates and even some organisms as simple as bacteria are scientifically accepted to possess magnetoreception. If they can pick up the magnetic field from the earth's magnetic poles, what makes you think that some animals can't pick up on the fact that a wire is hot? (Besides the fact that most fences are shorting out on a blade of grass somewhere at any given time. I had a sow that you had about a 2 minute window of having the fence off before she kool-aide manned through the fence. Canines have a little more brain to body ratio than pigs, so it shouldn't be too hard to imagine that they could learn not to touch a hot electric fence as well. I have seen cows that could do it, too.

I haven't read any studies on it, but I always figured they used their whiskers somehow