Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Cebarmlds]

HI I have posted here before but it has been awhile. I am sorry if this is long but I thought I would get some Wisconsinites opinions on this.

I posted in the predators section as well, but I am having a fox problem. It killed 6 roosters and one hen in 2 days. I free range all day but they are locked up tight at night. And now locked up during the day as well unfortunately.

I understand the risks of free ranging so thats not really my problem as heart broken as I am for my dear chickens. I know my roosters did their jobs and kept the rest of the flock safe.

My issue is the fox. It is acting strange. It is killing 2-3 birds at a time eating part of only one then leaving. It doesnt take any with.

It is attacking in broad daylight think noon to 1-pm I caught site of it today middle of the day on my driveway. My dad was by the barn only about 100 ft away and I was only about 20 feet away from it.

I was outside with 2 dogs!!!! I picked up the smallest dog the other dog (shepard mix) was oblivious...

The fox didnt move it just stood there and stared at me. I shouted to my dad that I saw the fox and still it didnt run. I started walking towards it diagonally to get closer to my dad trying to get my dads attention and it merely turned and sauntered away stopped about 40 feet away behind some tall weeds and just stared at me.

My dad shouted for me to grab the BB gun out of the closet for him. The fox still didnt moved just sat and watched what we were doing. My dad shot at it several times hes not sure if he hit it or not but it would merely move about 10 feet farther back and wait to get shot at again. He eventually got on his 4 wheeler and followed it till it disappeared in teh corn field.

I went inside to text some neighbors who also have chickens about the fox roaming, came out less then 10 min later with my dad talking to a friend outside the barn about the fox, I went into the barn and THERE IT WAS. Not even 10 min later and it was inside the barn! With people outside and the radio playing loudly inside.

It merely walked out the other side of the barn stopped about 20 feet away and just stared at me.

It eventually turned to walk away when it heard my dad and his friend coming. But still a slow walk with it constantly turning around to look at us.

I went to check on the ducks cause their pen is not as secure as the chicken pen. and they said they watched it walk all the way up the road. it stayed right on the side of the road only moved a couple feet off the road when a car went past then went back on the road.

It was thin and looked to be missing half of its tail which looked mangy and I think its legs looked a bit mangy but he was standing in mud so it was hard to tell for certain on the legs.

For me this was not typical fox behavior. But i have never had to deal with a fox before. Do you think it is sick? or do you think that its just struggling to survive since this is the time of year they usually leave their den to learn to hunt on their own.

We have spent most of the day outside making as much noise as possible. But I am worried that it is so bold and unafraid. Is it legal to kill them in Wisconsin? or do we just keep trying to scare it away? Do I report it to someone due to its strange behavior?

A fox that is so unafraid of people could have been someone's pet and was set free. It doesn't really know how to hunt for it's own food. Just a possibility and a very cruel thing to do to a wild animal.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[jvls1942]

good evening,

shoot the fox with a real gun.

I got much accomplished outside today.

Annie has been digging a few potatoes each day. right now there are 5 milk crates and a 5 gal pail waiting for me to haul into the garage. she has about half of the patch dug.

there is a renegade chicken roaming the yard. when Annie decides to chase it into the coop, it disappears . prolly hiding in the black berry patch.

tiny chickens are good to eat , too.. I hear they taste like chicken..
I am thinking of butchering a dozen two pound baby cockerels .

........jiminwisc.........

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I thought "pet" also.. and I agree.
However, it could be sick or have rabies.
It could be lots of things..
A fox like that hanging around here would have me spooked. I would shoot it.. IMHO
If it were starving, it would not kill a chicken and NOT eat it. (again IMHO ).

...........jiminwisc.........

 

[Smallfarminwisc]

Quote:
My dad has a hunting rifle a .22? The rifle is locked up though cause we have kids ages 4 - 10 here very often. we grabbed what was closest and fastest cause we honestly didnt think it would stand its ground and stare us down. The other issue was we wanted to make sure it was legal to kill it I think in some places you need a permit or license to kill things other then a raccoon/possum. Chickendreams. wow I am so sorry you lost so many. I have had chickens here for about 10 years and this is the first year I have ever had a predator attack. We had a possum break in the pen/run in spring and took a few so we really went crazy trying to protect the run after that, so I am not TOO worried if they are locked up but I know if there is a will there is a way. I kept extra roosters this year and I am glad that I did, unfortunately some of my roos it took were the kids pets 8 years old or so. Kids carried them around like babies and loved them dearly. The rest we got this past May. It didnt come back after it ran up the road that I saw but I am worried that it will come back now that it is dark. I put the ducks in the barn in a horse stall that is completely closed off. We stayed outside after chores and waited and watched but no sign of it. We turned on extra lights as well but seeing as it wasn't afraid to attack in the middle of the day I don't think lights will deter it. My dad is planning on shooting it if he sees it around again and has the chance. I just really wanted to make sure it wasn't illegal with some ridiculous fine or something. The other worry is if it doesnt come back is reporting it. I know you can report stuff through the DNR but is there somewhere else or better to report a possibly sick fox. I would hate if it is sick to attack someone instead of someones animals. I heard back from my neighbors up the road they said they saw a fox in their yard the other day as well and it seemed tame and unafraid. I assume it was the same one cause that is the direction that it ran. thank you all for responding !

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I never heard of anybody getting in trouble for shooting a fox that was killing their chickens

If you are in doubt, S.S.S. Shoot, Shovel, Shut up. .

I would keep that BB gun out of reach of those small kids.

.........jiminwisc......

 

[Smallfarminwisc]

Quote:
erlibrd and Jim. That crossed my mind too, I wondered if someone had kept it as a pet. However a lot of things crossed my mind. And it does have me very worried none of the dogs go outside without me now. And I am concerned about the kids, last thing I want them to do is call it over to them like a lil dog or puppy. The killing and not eating them had me really confused. Before I saw the fox I never would of thought a fox was doing it, they usually run off leaving only feathers. The fact that it killed so many and left them I was thinking all sorts of crazy things but none of them made sense. I warned the neighbors that I have numbers for I guess thats the best I can do tonight. As its not behaving like a fox I cant really predict its next move.

 

[Smallfarminwisc]

Quote:
S.S.S that made me laugh thank you. I suppose I was worried that if one was sick with something there may be others that are sick as well and I should report it. Your plan is much more simple. The BB gun is on the top shelf in the closet my dad was teaching the 10 year old how to shoot targets with it last time he was here. But thank you for your concern about that. The rifle is locked up and hidden well which is why it is not an easy run in and grab in a situation like this. I really appreciate everyones input. Thank you guys so much.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
I was brought up in a house full of guns. all of us, boys and girls, learned early about handling them, and leaving them alone..

Now Annie and I have a group home . we have to have our guns under lock and key, and the ammunition kept locked up in a different room..
that was a rule that I found hard to follow.
after our kids were grown and gone, I always had at least a .22 on stand-by near the patio door.

.........jiminwisc.......

 

[Smallfarminwisc]

Quote:
That has to be a hard change. My dad grew up with a family of hunters so he knew everything from a young age as well. My mom was in the army and after she got married and had kids she didnt want guns in the house period. So big difference for him! Thats why my dad got the BB gun, teach the kids gun safety and respect. We have them every weekend holiday and day off school. Sometimes we dont know when they are coming till they are here. So his gun needs to be locked up and hidden, with 5 kids running around things need to be hidden quite well. They definitely don't have the respect down yet though. So deterring a fox that is acting this crazy is interesting, however since its not running away from us we might actually have time to get the .22 out. I've warned the other farmers/neighbors and they will warn the ones I didn't so hopefully it will be taken care of. If not by us someone else since it seems to not fear anyone.

 

[GranolaGirl72]

I would agree, pet or potentially a fur farm escapee.... You could let it run and just shut up your birds, but the s.s.s idea is not bad either. Think they are good for rodent control though so I would shut the birds up until it realized no free meal and moved on.