I think I have a fox that is trap savvy!!!

[Tala]

I put out cat food outside the trap that disappeared, but haven't been able to catch said predator inside the trap using several baits including the same catfood that it seems to like. The last bird I lost disappeared leaving only a pile of feathers.
Conclusions are either the pred is trap savvy or possibly too large for the raccoon trap. I thought I saw a fox run across the road in the dark last night though, so my gut says this was a fox that is too smart to get trapped.
Ideas please??

 

[aprophet]

grey fox are the smaller of the fox the raccoon trap might catch a small one the ideal cage trap for a fox is at least 15-18" wide 18-24" tall 36-48 "deep the best way to bait a cage trap is dig a hole under the trap and put the bait in the hole center the trigger of the trap over the bait either stake your trap down with re rod or put a coupla of cinder blocks on top of it to keep the animal from flipping said trap.

 

[Tala]

I caught this one, it was a male, so I know he fit in there. Maybe he had a mate in the area??

 

[ga_goat]

Cover the wire bottom of the trap so he won't feel like he's walking on wire also cover the trap make it look like it's not a trap .
old feed sacks will do to cover it with , foxes are hard to catch in a walk in trap .

 

[Tala]

I caught this guy sometime after yesterday afternoon, but before midnight. Big sucker!!!
I suspect it is the one that dragged a BCM roo out and only ate the head.

I STILL think there is a fox out there who took my Leghorn roo and only left a pile of feathers behind.

ETA: Tonight I set up the trap in a slightly different location, covered in a Startena sack and put a piece of rubber mat in the front part of the trap so it wouldn't feel like wire.
I got bitten on the foot by an ant that had probably been feeding on the other night's dead raccoon......so if I go crazy in the next couple of weeks somebody just shoot me and get it over with.
And in other news, I have recently discovered Off Clip-On mosqueto repellent and it WORKS! I absolutely hate the feeling of bug spray on my skin, and RARELY use it, but this clip on thing I will actually use!

And lastly, I noticed that something has definitely been "testing" my pen. The welded wire and chicken wire that coveres the cattle panel on one side has been pushed and pulled in several places. Could have been one of the coons that I have trapped.....or could be another one that's still out there! Good to know that so far my pen is holding up to the tests!

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
the reason most folks have a hard time catching fox in cage traps is the trap is too small, grey fox and bobcat are easy to catch you just need a large enough trap it is not so much if they can fit in a trap, it is a lot quicker to catch them if they can walk in and not have to crawl in when they are crawling they are vulnerable to attack from others. this being said I can catch red fox/coyote the next day most times with a coil spring trap.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I shot a grey fox 90 feet up in a huge red oak tree, where he was eating the head of a chicken, he had killed that morning, just 10 to 15 minutes before I got out there. His tail caught my attention while he sat on a large branch near the top of a 20 plus foot circumference tree near the chicken yard! That was many decades ago as a young guy ! I skinned him out and made a Fur hat with tail. It did not last long because I did not cure the hide properly , oh well, I learned something! Grey fox climb like squirrels!

 

[Anne02]

I shot a grey fox 90 feet up in a huge red oak tree, where he was eating the head of a chicken, he had killed that morning, just 10 to 15 minutes before I got out there. His tail caught my attention while he sat on a large branch near the top of a 20 plus foot circumference tree near the chicken yard! That was many decades ago as a young guy ! I skinned him out and made a Fur hat with tail. It did not last long because I did not cure the hide properly , oh well, I learned something! Grey fox climb like squirrels!

This thread is over ten years old. . .

 

[Birdsonghill]

This thread is over ten years old. . .

You read it

 

[Birdsonghill]

BTW, my story is over 50 years old. All of these post are still here and people still read them. It must be a generational thing to be embarrassed to comment on an old subject line. Every time a new reader comes to a thread it is new to them , regardless of when it originated! They should grow like trees and allow anyone who desires, to read as far as they choose to follow it. Anyway, thanks for pointing out the age of the thread for anyone who did not notice the dates! I do not comment only to gab, I try to add interest, incites and my personal take on subjects. If no one reads it for ten years,(or ever) Ok , no problem! If I learned something 50 years ago that is not represented on a related thread that I am reading, it is new information for that thread. I may collaborate with some older post and help consolidate a readers viewpoint pro or con on the subject. My post are not meant to be all knowing, may not always be the best advice or the most popular, it is just my thoughts or history on a topic, like most of the others I read. Happy Chicken Ranching!