Live traps, poison, or flashlight on a rifle?
Nobody around here gives a berkeley about "official" seasons, no one around here will care about a few gun shots after dark. If possible, I want to keep the pelt(s) though.
Without sacrificing anymore chickens, what makes good fox bait?
I heard chickens made good fox bait.
This thread has a disappointing lack of Mustang content.
In reply to Tom_Spangler :
I agree, I was expecting a gaggle of Fox bodies.
hahaha, you guys are funny. Can I borrow your dogs or cats for the weekend?
You have a solution to a chicken problem as far as I can tell.
What you need is a hunt club. A number of folks with horses and dogs who will pursue the fox until he tires and then dispatch him. Jolly good sport, really.
Leave the fox alone?
If it's trying to get your chickens, just secure the birds well?
Brett_Murphy said:Leave the fox alone?
If it's trying to get your chickens, just secure the birds well?
Kinda this, yeah. He's also keeping other vermin in check - rats, mice, etc.
Brett_Murphy said:Leave the fox alone?
If it's trying to get your chickens, just secure the birds well?
Normally I just shoot pest animals but in this case I'd have to agree. They're also good at keeping rabbits, groundhogs, and mice in the area down without the horrible damage feral cats inflict on the environment. Plus they're generally shy animals.
I'd see about securing the chickens a bit better. If you dig down 6 or so inches and put chicken wire down it dissuades most animals from digging under fences. I suspect you could also put in some motion lights.
Yea, no. Live and let live went out the window when I woke up to 5 dead and one wounded chicken this morning. Now it's time to eliminate the foxes entire family.
Maybe it's a joke to some of you, if so, I hope you don't lose those furry football's your wives have convinced you are dogs to predators, but if and when you do, you'll understand.
In reply to RevRico :
Are you sure it isn't raccoons? They're berkeleying shiny happy people that will kill and maim chickens like a cat does song birds.
My parents had the same issue until we trapped whatever was causing it. Turned out to be a pair of raccoons.
Those you can trap with stale donuts pretty easily.
I only ask because a fox doesn't generally kill things for E36 M3s and giggles. They'll carry off nearly anything that they do get.
In reply to RevRico :
I'm going to say this, and then I'm going to leave this thread.
Don't do a better job killing foxes, do a better job protecting your chickens.
The foxes are just doing what foxes do. You are the one creating the issue. With that said, carry on as you will.
We had foxes until we got coyotes.
In reply to RevRico :
No, it's not a joke to me. Foxes are a beneficial predator to have around.
And if one would have snatched the ex's furry footballs, I wouldn't have lost any sleep.
RevRico said:Yea, no. Live and let live went out the window when I woke up to 5 dead and one wounded chicken this morning.
Were they secured?
BoxheadTim said:In reply to Tom_Spangler :
I agree, I was expecting a gaggle of Fox bodies.
I expect a gaggle of fox bodies after hearing about what happened to the chickens 
PM foxtrapper?
I am certainly not going to try to convince you not to take out every fox in the general area in a fusillade of lead. I fully support your right to do so. But as a fellow chicken keeper, I would agree that it may very well be more effective to try to prevent predator access than to be so vigilant as to prevent a future attack.
I have a fairly secure large fenced pen containing a coop that can be sealed up at night. Even so, on a couple different occasions, I had an unidentified predator gain access to the pen through an inconceivably small crevice and kill several birds on nights I had neglected to close the coop door. I know the feeling of seeing a couple of birds you've raised from chicks laying on the ground, torn apart, dead. Not a good feeling.
For me, the solution was to beef up the perimeter by sealing up a couple weak spots, and most importantly NEVER failing to secure the coop after dark.
In order to catch the villain in the act, you would need an all-night stake-out. The fox will likely detect your presence and dine on a different night. It's just not practical. If you furnish food (i.e. leave chickens unprotected), a predator will seek you out.
1988RedT2 said:I am certainly not going to try to convince you not to take out every fox in the general area in a fusillade of lead. I fully support your right to do so. But as a fellow chicken keeper, I would agree that it may very well be more effective to try to prevent predator access than to be so vigilant as to prevent a future attack.
I have a fairly secure large fenced pen containing a coop that can be sealed up at night. Even so, on a couple different occasions, I had an unidentified predator gain access to the pen through an inconceivably small crevice and kill several birds on nights I had neglected to close the coop door. I know the feeling of seeing a couple of birds you've raised from chicks laying on the ground, torn apart, dead. Not a good feeling.
For me, the solution was to beef up the perimeter by sealing up a couple weak spots, and most importantly NEVER failing to secure the coop after dark.
In order to catch the villain in the act, you would need an all-night stake-out. The fox will likely detect your presence and dine on a different night. It's just not practical. If you furnish food (i.e. leave chickens unprotected), a predator will seek you out.
This is what I have understood from my brother who keeps chickens. You're not going to remove all the predators, it simply won't happen, so you'd be much better off securing the chickens at night.
Rev, didn't you say that they hadn't been sleeping in the chicken coop? Maybe its time to start putting them to bed at night.
Wally said:We had foxes until we got coyotes.
You’ll need a wolf or cougar to take care of the coyotes.
I’ll second that it may be raccoons. Either way, good luck to you.
Could use more foxes around my area. The coyotes have done in most of the feral cats, so the squirrel and rabbit population has exploded. I’m sure the coyotes get some of them, too, but not as many as the cats did.
eastsideTim said:I’ll second that it may be raccoons. Either way, good luck to you.
Could use more foxes around my area. The coyotes have done in most of the feral cats, so the squirrel and rabbit population has exploded. I’m sure the coyotes get some of them, too, but not as many as the cats did.
One of my favorite memories of the house I grew up in was when I was about 8 years old and looked out the window while eating breakfast. Coyote was there, devoured a squirrel, tail and all. Ran off, came back about 5 minutes later to look for scraps. He threw up the tail while looking for scraps. Really cool for an 8 year old to watch.
RealMiniNoMore said:In reply to RevRico :
No, it's not a joke to me. Foxes are a beneficial predator to have around.
This is kind of my position. Can you borrow a game camera to put up near the coop to make certain you've got the right critter?
If you do want to eliminate them, it's probably a good idea to consult the game laws regarding foxes attacking livestock. You may be able to borrow some trapping equipment.
I'll also say this doesn't sound like fox behavior. You would find one bird missing not several killed and maimed. You are free to go on any rampage you like, but you're probably barking up the wrong tree going after foxes. Your energy is better spent on preventing the predators from gaining access to the chickens.
You'll need to log in to post.
