Probable Red Fox Den Very Close to My Barn

[Willowspirit]

For those that may have missed the sticky.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/predators-and-pests-forum-please-read-here-first.5808/

Now I'm sincere here, if you want to trap a predator to save your flock, why not use a chicken in the trap? You would sacrifice one to save the others, right?

 

[roosterhavoc]

Now I'm sincere here, if you want to trap a predator to save your flock, why not use a chicken in the trap? You would sacrifice one to save the others, right?

No I’m not willing to sacrifice a chicken to catch a fox. You can buy special bait cages that will keep the chicken protected but that isn’t stopping them from having a heart attack. Foothold traps and snares are far more effective anyway.

 

[Willowspirit]

No I’m not willing to sacrifice a chicken to catch a fox. You can buy special bait cages that will keep the chicken protected but that isn’t stopping them from having a heart attack. Foothold traps and snares are far more effective anyway.

i wasn't necessarily thinking of a live chicken although my dogs have dine barn hunting with caged rats. I guess rats aren't as sensitive as chickens. The only things I've ever trapped are "feral" cats.

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Now I'm sincere here, if you want to trap a predator to save your flock, why not use a chicken in the trap? You would sacrifice one to save the others, right?

I believe @centrarchid was using a live bird in front of a leghold trap.

Current bait is a live chicken as shown in linked thread.

Have you lowered the pan so it sits flush or just below the level of the jaws when set? Also the pan tension needs to be set around 2-3 lbs so it won’t fire to easily and miss or not fire at all because the tension is too high.
Those two things are more important than anything else. I’m not sure if you know how or not but a screw driver stuck in the slot on the post where the dog is bent forward or back will adjust the pan height while the tension screws adjust the actual pan tension.

We might be talking above some heads here. Although it's really useful to know how to use a leghold trap and I highly recommend studying up and adding it to your repertoire. Speaking of those, be sure to check your state regulations on leg-hold/foot-hold/steel-jaw traps. They go by a few names. They are banned in a few states, even for pest control (like where I live). @centrarchid , you might want to go with a large box trap that has a 18" high opening. I have a couple Tru-catch traps that I like, but there are a lot of good brands.

 

[centrarchid]

This thread has gone down a bad path in my absence. I am dropping off this one.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I believe @centrarchid was using a live bird in front of a leghold trap.



We might be talking above some heads here. Although it's really useful to know how to use a leghold trap and I highly recommend studying up and adding it to your repertoire. Speaking of those, be sure to check your state regulations on leg-hold/foot-hold/steel-jaw traps. They go by a few names. They are banned in a few states, even for pest control (like where I live). @centrarchid , you might want to go with a large box trap that has a 18" high opening. I have a couple Tru-catch traps that I like, but there are a lot of good brands.

It’s up the the individual to figure out what’s legal and what’s not. There’s too many regulations to list everything. The OP is fine with snares and footholds.

 

[roosterhavoc]

This thread has gone down a bad path in my absence. I am dropping off this one.

I’m not sure you were actually looking for insight or just telling people you’re allowing a fox to take your chickens. Ridiculous

 

[sourland]

I’ve said this before but whatever I’ll say it again. The place I parked my Jeep when checking beaver traps was off a two track. I would take a leak on the ground before checking traps. The next morning checking again I could see in the snow where the coyotes were drawn to my urine smell and then urinated in the same spot. This happened a few times in the same spot. Using urine of any kind as a deterrent is a total gimmick. Stop wasting your money.

Prior to putting hotwire around a club that I belong to we used to snare fox on the outside of our 54 acre training area. When walking the fence to check snares there was one corner where I routinely urinated. Once it snowed I could see that a dog fox was urinating on the same corner. So much for that urban legend.

 

[Willowspirit]

This thread has gone down a bad path in my absence. I am dropping off this one.

I am sorry for my contribution to that path.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Prior to putting hotwire around a club that I belong to we used to snare fox on the outside of our 54 acre training area. When walking the fence to check snares there was one corner where I routinely urinated. Once it snowed I could see that a dog fox was urinating on the same corner. So much for that urban legend.

I spent a few weeks this winter trapping a beagle club close to my house. They had mink and weasels killing all their rabbits in the running pen. The owner caught 1 mink over the summer but I caught 2 more and a weasel. I removed a ton of raccoons and a few gray foxes and a red fox. I have never seen so many hawks and especially owls during the day. Unreal what those guys have to deal with.