Fox attack

[Paulottie]

Don't know, but now might be time to buy an electric fence.
Undisturbed they will come back and collect the rest of their kill...Still, nature or not, horrid smelly creatures... good shot
My son found his guinea pigs head in the sandpit last year and I found the bunnies on my veg patch. No fun at all couldn't bear my chooks going

[Trignorton]

turkey killed

Hi, A fox killed my tom turkey back in december, he ate the head and neck and left the rest, it was a huge bird and I never would of thought a fox would or could kill him. I am extra carefull now, always locking the birds up before it gets dark and now keep them in an enclosed run.
If I killed the fox another would only take it's place. But if he gets any more of my birds I will have to do the same.

[sunflower]

I was once told that the reason foxes do'nt eat the hens straight away is because, they like the meat to be rancid. So I guess, if hens who were completely free ranging and killed and were not found, the fox would return in a couple of days to eat them.

[fiveravens]

He'll return to eat them all right; trouble is, when he returns he'll also kill any live ones he finds!

[SandM]

We’re quite concerned about foxes coming into our yard from the field across the road… so based on some advice on River Cottage we undertook some “old-school territory marking” (to put it euphemistically…lol).
But yesterday a friend stopped by with her dog and it wasn’t at all concerned by the urinary efforts… she would have happily gone for them.

So does anyone know if this technique actually works at deterring predators? Because if not, I’d much rather leave all bodily fluids in the bathroom! Lol.

Thanks,
M

[TPeers]

It does seem to work - or at least it does seem to here

Although having a mad woman hurtling down the garden dressing gown flying and hissing like an enraged goose might also have something to do with it!

[janeyo]

I read it was a territory thing to kill all the chickens and only take or eat one. The theory being that if there is no food source left then other foxes can't muscle in. Sounds a bit odd really as surely this means they are cutting off their own food source too?

janeyo

[ladylaird]

Yes I reckon "marking your boundary" does work. I persuaded my sceptical husband to pee in a bucket and I then trickled it around the hen's fence. So far so good but my nearest neighbour across the fields has been raided three times so far this year. She reckons she would have to enlist the whole male population of the village to cover her boundary as its a half acre orchard!!!

[Eyren]

From what I understand of foxes, like many predators they are "programmed" to attack when a prey animal is within pouncing range. In the wild, the rest of the flock/herd would run away whilst he was despatching his first victim, but in the confines of a hen run or small garden they can't, so the fox's killing instinct is triggered again and again until he runs out of victims. Then he grabs the nearest one - all he really wanted in the first place - and takes it away. Not the fox's fault, just us humans upsetting the natural order of things as per...