Red Fox in Barn at 0415

[centrarchid]

Lucy dispatched fox on her own?
Look like pretty skinny critter?
Photo shopped, hope you don't mind-will remove if you do:
View attachment 1486446

Fox in very good weight and condition over all good. He was in his prime. Coat is really thin this time of year, like with Coyotes. Most people compare the wild canids to domestic dogs that are to a large degree obese. Even Lucy is overweight which has a lot to do with neutering. Despite free-ranging and a modest worm load, Lucy can eat more than enough to keep weight above optimal.

 

[aart]

Coat is really thin this time of year,

Ahh.... I wondered if that was it.

 

[centrarchid]

No more fox intrusions after two nights. Fox caught already supporting a beetle experiment. We will collect it's skull like alien Predators do, for reference.

 

[centrarchid]

Another Red Fox spotted in poultry yard at about 1125. This one panicked and tried to run through a couple chicken pens and even ran into fence. My guess is fox is naive to my yard. It did not leave the strong smell the other one always did. Lucy was already out working situation before I was aware of issue. Fence totally shorted out and a connection is bad. Something big, deer possibly got hung up crossing fence leaving a 50 foot stretch down. That not resolved.

Will test the poultry yard Red Fox foot-hold set again starting tomorrow night. Need to get fence figured out before departing for work.

 

[3boydad]

.22 with a tactical flashlight and end the problem like i did with a big female grey fox about 5 nights ago. I will kill anything that wants to kill my babies they are mine!

 

[Trish1974]

It did not leave the strong smell the other one always did.

I've read other posts about fox leaving odors. Can you describe the smell? I have a lot of foxes on my property, and a lot of smells. Just wondering if I've smelled them and not known what is was.

 

[aart]

I've read other posts about fox leaving odors. Can you describe the smell? I have a lot of foxes on my property, and a lot of smells. Just wondering if I've smelled them and not known what is was.

Had a fox den on my prop...smelled like skunk, but that may have been because it dined on one and carcass was near den.

 

[centrarchid]

Fence again hot. A couple post pulled up from whatever got into fence where pushed into new holes. Later will double check for gaps. Tonight a game camera will be positioned on a bait bird with a little reward requiring sniffing. Will train fox to come to trap set if it can still get past fence. If fox resorts to tracking how dogs access poultry area across bridge, then that will allow easier funneling to set.

 

[centrarchid]

Bait and camera set. Will start listening for chicken alarms around 2300. I put a dead and slightly stinky rooster into the crayfish trap so its head and neck will be accessible to the fox. Trap is penned between two cinder blocks similar to how they will be setup with leg-hold traps. This will also be a test of my perimeter. If fox getting in, then it is either using same route used by dogs or I have to revisit wire spacing. There should be not outright gaps like it had last night. Also expecting some storms which are often followed by visits from Red Fox.

 

[centrarchid]

No sign of fox last night. Dogs particularly active and fence very much hot. Camera crapped out about an hour before fox should have come in. I still shined with flashlight but saw nothing, not even owl.