fox help

[walldanzig]

must admit i have no sympathy for the fox if it is caught it will be seen to. They are one of the few animals that kill for fun

[bluemoon]

When I was a lass any problems with marauding foxes were neatly dealt with by the local hunt (on foot, pack of hounds) you can but snare and shoot - I always felt the hunt was kinder - very quick - located and clean death no waiting in a snare for hours or possibly maimed by even the sharpest shooter(foxes are canny things - unless there are hounds around, but what would I know - i'm nowt but a cumbrian lass!

I always believed that the local hunt had absolutely no effect upon fox numbers and that it was, as Oscar Wilde said; the unspeakable chasing the uneatable. I love my sister in law dearly, but she has always hunted and it was amazing that we ever managed a civil word to each other, let alone became the great friends that we did. She claims to have noticed a huge increase in fox numbers since the ban and having disagreed with her for some time I'm now starting to think she might be right. She lives in a village that is considered a bit 'touristy' and a lot of 'eggs at the gate' and farm shop type places have sprung up recently and I had initially thought that this was the reason for the larger numbers of foxes in her area, but to be fair an increase in the local chicken population simply can't account for it. In years gone by it was unusual to see a fox when visiting her, now there is evidence (splattered corpses) all over the place and I'm starting to think that low level fox control, where the hunt kept numbers down, has to be better than the sort of population explosion they've seen in that area since the ban. These sort of numbers simply can't be sustained in a natural way and foxes are increasingly coming into contact with humans. I do think it depends where you live though, my mum lives in a fairly bleak upland village, they've never had a hunt, never had a fox problem and things there haven't changed. I do now find myself in the strange position of feeling that the hunting ban was probably, at best, misguided, the implications of which were not thought out, after all I can't see a government banning, say, rat poison without first making sure that there were effective other means of rat control in place first and it's exactly the same thing.

[RichmondHens]

The urban fox has been made who he is by people. The attraction of overflowing dustbins, plus the fact that some people deliberately put out food for them, has made him a) very bold and unafraid of humans, and b) breed like crazy. You cannot relocate foxes. They have distinct territories and to chuck them into the countryside is unacceptable. They should be put down humanely.

The country fox is someone completely different. Much more shy, and rarely seen in the daytime. Most of them feed on rabbits and smaller mammals, with the occasional game bird thrown in. However, once he discovers your chickens, he will return again and again.

I have always found electric fencing to work very well. Our neighbours in Suffolk lost several lots of chickens to the fox, although he never targeted us. I'm sure it was because of the fences, and also the fact that I have always been very careful about shutting up every night as soon as possible after dark. As long as you keep the grass cut round and under the fence there is no reason why it should not work extremely well. We don't use it electrified here in Norfolk as we don't have a fox problem, but it still works well as a normal barrier to keep chickens in.

[walldanzig]

well trap went down last night this morning fox in the trap. I called my friend who is a rat trapper for the council he is asked to deal with foxes by them as well. I asked what they did with them he said they relocate them....Guess where the free land behind where our allotments are brilliant well done council.

[Suechooks]

well trap went down last night this morning fox in the trap. I called my friend who is a rat trapper for the council he is asked to deal with foxes by them as well. I asked what they did with them he said they relocate them....Guess where the free land behind where our allotments are brilliant well done council.

That is just UNBELIEVABLE! How short sighted can they be? Mind you I shouldn't be surprised as there were foxes on our town's football team ground and according to the local paper they were trapped and taken to a "rural location and set free" !
What has happened to it now?

[its hilly]

I asked what they did with them he said they relocate them....Guess where the free land behind where our allotments are brilliant well done council.

Hmm why not threaten to sue the council for your chickens replacement/new security as its their ill thought out release idea thats causing your problems?
Sometimes in an effort to avoid killing wildlife councils just end up adding to the problem. Dont get me wrong, I'm all for live and let live, not one of the "Its only a squirrel, fox, animal, it dont count just run it over, kill it etc" brigade. But sadly although we made the problem ourselves, URBAN foxes are becoming as big a problem as rats. As are seagulls. I acnt see it being that long before foxes start attacking kids for the food they are carrying as seagulls have done. Then what?

[walldanzig]

if i give the fox to the council i will just end up with it back so I have given it to my friend to dispatch. He has a fire arm I hate doing it but if I dont I am going to have the same problem dead chickens which I dont want. Fox or chickens fox loses every time

[petal]

The only answer seems to be - make your pen so a fox cannot get in.

[walldanzig]

Sorry Petal but the pen was as fox proof as It could have been the floor had mesh there was slabs all around it. The fox dug all around and under the slabs and tore a hole in the mesh. When I removed the house where it had been was like an island surrounded by a moat. I think you can do as much as you can and fox will keep testing it is a learning experience. Just like to say thanks to all for proper suggestions.

[Bramble-Poultry]

unfortunately, much as i hate to admit it, there comes a time when the wildlife, despite the attempts you have given to live harmoniusly, need to be reminded exactly who is top predator in these isles we call home.

I am not a huge hunt fan, nor am i a member of some "tally ho" gun weilding club, but, on a level that nature can understand, our territories need to be protected by showing nature in a way nature can understand. The natural way is kill or be killed, sometimes, regretfully our civilsed existence must lower ourselves to this state.

Keep the trap down Walldanzig, the chances are that where there was one there will be another to fill the void. There might even have been a den of them, especially if the council keep topping up their numbers by dumping the unwanteds next door to you. Sounds like a long term solution for you is to keep the trap down.

[walldanzig]

Thanks Bramble. When you see them in the trap they look harmless and you feel bad for catching them but when you see what they have done to the chucks then there's the choice. You couldn't believe they where capable. On a positive note I have some Amber links and Black rocks who the fella at Storrs Poultry(chicken place near where I live) told me where at point of lay he went in a shed of about 50 and picked 4 out and said here these if they are not already will be in a few days. I have had 4 eggs a day for the last 2 days the man must be a chicken whisperer. I love hatching from eggs but I think the cost involved to get them to pol compared to £9 per bird at pol can't always be justified

[Eco-Chic]

It's a shame that the foxes look so aesthetically pleasing and downright cute and beautiful sometimes. If they were ugly, or looked threatening, I don't think we'd have the urban fox being fed in people's gardens and there may not have been the objection to hunting them in the countryside.

A woman I was talking to lives in Ealing, West London and has lost a cat to a fox, as have several of her neighbours. Fox leaves the cat's heads

[walldanzig]

Yeah they do that with the chickens. Apperently Foxs are obsessed with cats

[bluemoon]

Oh deary, deary me. If I wasn't someone who suffered under the same council I'd have found it difficult to believe, sadly it sounds typical behaviour for them. I agree about the chap at Storrs Poultry, and he's so laid back too.....shame you have to put your suspension at risk every time you go there.

[walldanzig]

ha ha know what you mean bluemoon. I said to him as I pulled up thats the last time I do that in a Ford Focus