mangy fox (kind of graphic)

[bunnibird55]

Just want to let everyone know that after a summer of losing 4 plump New Hampshire hens and 3 wonderful guineas, we finally caught and killed the critter that caused the problem! A nasty, scabby, very mangy fox stuck his head in our snare today and finished up being shot. We had seen it out here on four different occassions and as it got sicker it got more brazen, snatching the girls at noon and sometimes ripping them apart right outside the barn. I have never seen such a sick looking animal and hope to never see one again. It did not have one hair left on it and the trapper who finally got it said that the reason they get so brazen is that their eyesight deteriorates as the mange progresses so that my plump little hens were the only things it could catch any more. We had to take precautions while getting it out of the snare and burying it to the extent of burying the gloves we used and bleaching the shovel! The thing had tried to catch a hen on Monday at noon and since I was home on lunch I was able to chase it away. We kept the chickie kids all in the barn since then so they thought mommy was being really mean! All 40 of the remaining chickies played and ran in the yard tonight like kids let out of school!!! Hope there are no more mangy fox left around here! The trapper left several live-traps set around our barn just in case........
Anyone else ever have something like this?

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

So glad you got the sucker!

 

[Lbrad7]

Great job...you caught the culprit and put it out of its misery. Everyone wins!!!

 

[theFox]

I don't want to stick a pin in your balloon, if there is still a good food source around, there are likely more fox in your immediate area, if it were I, there would still be set traps.

What did the trapper say about such a possibility?

 

[bunnibird55]

Yep, the trapper/hunter still has traps set in the area he got the mangy fox. He also has live traps around our barn. The positive part is that this was a male fox, so at least we know there wasn't a den of little foxes! We are not going to let our guard down, that's for sure! We have mowed down our field around the barn to help make a clear area to deter critters too. I have reinforced the barn with one inch poultry fence and the kids are put in there every night. The problem is they are free-range during the day so a sick/desperate critter targets them during daylight. The traps are going to be around for a longgggggg time!

 

[TheChickenCameFirst]

Glad you got the main killer of your flock! We have MANY fox in our area, none of them mangy, they look quite healthy, probably due to the fact that they have caught my neighbors chickens on more than one occasion!

 

[StupidBird]

Rabies? Monroe, GA had a rabid fox break INTO a house and attack . ... If it's not too late, would the local authorities test it? Of course, these get distemper and such too? I would be so careful handling just in case.

 

[Debbi]

That 1" poultry fence won't keep out a hungry predator. Best to use 1/2"x 1/2" hardware cloth! The one inch stuff allows a coon to get his paws through and pull a chicken right through the fence, not to mention he can pull/chew that stuff apart! Chicken wire is used to keep chickens in, NOT predators out!

 

[bunnibird55]

Wow that's good to know about the poultry fence! Here I thought all this time that would be the best to use. I'll go this weekend and look for the hardware cloth? Is it just more strong? I don't know as I have ever seen it - if I did, I probably didn't know what it was! Thanks!

 

[StupidBird]

Just don't let some silly hardware store clerk tell you in a snotty tone, "hardware cloth? try the fabric store"