Red Fox in Barn at 0415

[centrarchid]

I wish I could record sounds being produced. Will have to sleep with shoes on cuddled with flashlight.

 

[centrarchid]

About 0230 a single chicken complained and I heard a metallic sound. Nothing shined back in spotlight so I investigated. Small live-trap in rabbit cage appears to have been nudged. Coyotes calling in not too distance. Fox will not invest much effort with Coyotes around as they are a bigger threat than dogs.

 

[centrarchid]

Fox did not come in at all last night. Camera coverage was pretty good. Owl tried to drag live-trap with its beak which I could hear. As long as Coyotes are close we can relax with respect to fox. If hear Coyotes howling tonight then I am going to go from deck to bed. Hammock is hard to sleep when mosquitoes are eating you.

 

[centrarchid]

Select images of owl being a nuisance. A cartoon could be made of this although America no longer rural enough to appreciate.

 

[Trish1974]

Geez that owl is persistent! I would think he would have given up on your chickens by now. Hasn't it been several weeks since he killed the cockerel? Unless there were posts I missed - my alerts haven't been working accurately the past week.

 

[centrarchid]

It is getting rodents, songbirds and large insects based on pellets I collected. Chickens appear to be more for entertainment.

 

[centrarchid]

We are good to go. Rained most of day wetting all ground except where I had traps covered to keep dogs and free-range chickens off. Hopefully fox will not have issue with that.

 

[centrarchid]

Lucy and I got one adult male Red Fox. Must not forget the role of the two bait birds. I will admonish the game camera for crapping out just a couple hours after being activated. Did not even last long enough to record owl visit. Batteries should have been good.

Ben out with Bella after Coyotes and would not come in even with Lucy barking. Fox dispatched quickly. Pup (Hun) growled at Lucy when she first caught scent of fox on Lucy.

Will keep game cameras going to see if any of this guys family starts coming in. Vixen and kits are almost certainly hunting area but I have no evidence they are encroaching dog's turf or beating the fence perimeter like this guy. If this fox who I think he is then he took a couple game line founders (Sallie and Red) last year. His carcass will be used as part of beetle experiment so not much will be wasted.

 

[aart]

Lucy dispatched fox on her own?
Look like pretty skinny critter?
Photo shopped, hope you don't mind-will remove if you do:

 

[Trish1974]

Congratulations! I know first-hand how tough it can be to get rid of foxes. Good job!