How does a rabid Fox act??

[centrarchid]

I do not think you will be able to assess if a fox is rabid based on behavior alone. Too much emphasis has been put on that. Exceptionally crazy individuals should be avoided, regardless of rabies status. Getting bit simply hurts whether you get sick afterwards or not.


This the time of year I have seen more brazen fox activity. Young foxes are off on their own looking for territories to settle down on. The moving about frequently makes so they do not have honey holes they can hunt with high probability of success, so they will appear more desperate at times hunting locations that may involve increased risk, especially when they are hungry. If my dogs are going to catch and kill a fox, then it will most likely be about now. The foxes that are without proper territories will be moving through a lot of areas they do not own. They will be harassed by foxes that do have ownership and as a result likely be in poorer shape. Most recent encounter we had involved a fox come in after a chicken where it tried to catch chicken (hen) in the garden. Fox briefly had chicken pulling her tail out. The fox chose a terrible location for that effort because at least one on my dogs almost got the fox. The garden is no more than 20 feet from front of house. That fox came in during the day time. Our local foxes, based on cameras, are coming in at night and not so close. Generally the local foxes not chasing chickens around causing them to give alarm calls, because when they do the dogs come running.

 

[cmom]

Maybe you have a wildlife rescue in your area. I had an owl that had killed some birds. I caught the owl and some wildlife rescue came and got it. They told me they had a release area for it so it shouldn't come back. Not sure if they would deal with a fox but they might be worth contacting. If has been hanging around it is probably lurking looking for an opportunity. Good luck...

 

[lovesfarms]

Animal control or wildlife should jump on this like white on rice. This is a possible safety issue for your entire area especially since Rabies was found earlier. Any wild animal that is not skittish around people is suspect. If you can't get either of them, contact your local law enforcement - sheriff or police. I presume you are aware that a fox or dog can get through chicken wire so you might think Hardware cloth when you beef up your security.

So we have not seen the Fox since last weekend. I was wondering if the farm caught him. But my chickens acted really scared,strange for several days, if I left them out for exercise they just hid under bushes and stood in one position. There were no Hawks, dogs or any other predators in sight. They were ready to go back in their pen right away. Because there was no running, jumping, flying and flapping of wings, they started fighting in the pen. I think lack of exercise and no eating grass.One started jumping on backs and pulling feathers. On Tuesday evening when I came home, one was wheezing as if something is caught in her throat, I dipped her break in water which didn't help. I held her for awhile, it went away. Every time I put her down she wheezed again. I finally decided it's a panic attack because of the chicken that pulls feathers! I kept them outside with me to watch till it was dark.Wednesday I was at home and worked in the yard all day, they stayed at my side, jumped in my lap at any chance while I enlarged their run. They finally got exercise! The last mornings when I leave them out of the pen, they run but stay close to me. I don't see feather picking any more. My husband says he doesn't think a Fox can get in there. Butt if we see the Fox again I will call the township and find for a number to call the right place to report it. Thank you for every one's response