Its game time.......Me vs. Fox

[Tig]

I hear ya, DW, but the weak feed the healthy. A shot critter is taken out of the food chain so something else is going to go hungry. Other than an occasional photo op, I watch the food chain from a distance. By the same token, I keep to myself when people are feeding or killin as long as it doesn't concern my property.
To me, the fox got sick because it got too comfy and overstayed in it's den which then got infested with mites. Food or coyote pressure would have made him move and stay healthy.

Edit; I really should fess up now about how last spring the new neighbours from the city recruited me to rescue a wounded swan that was hanging around my yard. I put it in a cardboard box and they took it to a rescue shelter an hour east of here. The shelter people sent me a thank you, promising to return the swan along with a duck they had rescued earlier.

 

[Car Doc]

I am an animal lover also and I appreciate their struggle but I dont fret over protecting my pets and at the same time I feel for all the animals and birds they have a tough go of it I help when I can.

A .22 in the head is pretty humane compared to how some are forced to live they dont know the difference its just survival to them but we are the "smart" ones. my 2c

 

[DeeDubya]

I am an animal lover also and I appreciate their struggle but I dont fret over protecting my pets and at the same time I feel for all the animals and birds they have a tough go of it I help when I can.

A .22 in the head is pretty humane compared to how some are forced to live they dont know the difference its just survival to them but we are the "smart" ones. my 2c

If the fox was causing any problems with our pets then it would be different story here too. The fox respects the cats and their food. But of course she will help herself when they're not around.

My buddies and I used to do a lot of game calling. We killed foxes, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, just about anything that would come to the call. We got really good at it. We would have made the Burnham Bros proud. It was very exciting to go out in the darkness, squeal like a rabbit and be the "hunted". I once shot an incoming fox at 8 paces and it rolled to within several feet of where I was sitting. Kinda scary. Now that was a hungry fox.

I don't have a single reason to kill this fox or her kits. That's my story.

 

[Car Doc]

Oh absolutely not yes you have a unique opportunity going on right before you eyes lucky you thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

Speaking of little ones and a little off topic I apologize but there is an article in our local paper of a vet and his friend found a momma bobcat lair and her 3 kittens. They are scarce as hens teeth around here and people shoot them on sight or at them and the carnage and suffering that causes.

Anyway they are watching this batch of wild cats every day for several hours and she is comfortable with them watching her. My wife and I are cat fanatics and we are sick with worry some fool will find out where these cats are and shoot them.

 

[General Lee]

Game Over........... This fox and I'm assuming it is one in the same, is absolutely TERRIBLE looking. Only 2 small patches of hair, skin and bones and scabs all over it. Looks like a case of Mange and who knows what else is wrong.

 

[General Lee]

We have foxes. The mangy one a couple years back was quite unconcerned about our presence. He would hunt or nap within 40 feet of us, basically ignoring us. I do like the way they control the other critters, so I let him be.
Biggest problem I've seen with foxes is the same as every other wild animal around here. Someone feeds it, then it becomes outright bold looking for handouts. This freaks someone else out and the fox gets shot. Go figure.

I am not freaked out. This about the safety of my family and pets. I am not in a neighborhood, there is plenty of area and wildlife for this to fox hunt. It is not normal for a fox to come up to the house in my area. I respect wildlife just as much as I'm sure most members on this site do. I am not having a member of my family attacked or traumatized because it killed one of our family pets. They leave me alone, I leave them alone.

 

[k0ua]

I am not freaked out. This about the safety of my family and pets. I am not in a neighborhood, there is plenty of area and wildlife for this to fox hunt. It is not normal for a fox to come up to the house in my area. I respect wildlife just as much as I'm sure most members on this site do. I am not having a member of my family attacked or traumatized because it killed one of our family pets. They leave me alone, I leave them alone.

You did the right thing IMHO.

I saw a beautiful fox 2 days ago when I came home at about 6:30. it saw me and ran, It was a normal wild fox. I enjoyed seeing it. It was probably eyeing up my outdoor cat.

James K0UA

 

[Mace Canute]

Game Over........... This fox and I'm assuming it is one in the same, is absolutely TERRIBLE looking. Only 2 small patches of hair, skin and bones and scabs all over it. Looks like a case of Mange and who knows what else is wrong.

You did the humane thing. That fox was unhealthy and in all likelihood suffering and had nothing in it's future except a miserable existence until it died a painful death.

 

[lockhaven]

Game Over........... This fox and I'm assuming it is one in the same, is absolutely TERRIBLE looking. Only 2 small patches of hair, skin and bones and scabs all over it. Looks like a case of Mange and who knows what else is wrong.

distemper could cause this condition

 

[300UGUY]

I've lost about 20 chickens to a fox in the last year. And they are fenced in. The little bastxxx went right in my coop. I have seen it kill 3 chickens in under a minute, just going from one to another. They can get in some pretty small openings or dig underneath. I have shot at it a couple of times, but sadly haven't hit it. I have a rooster that has fought with him 4 times. I thought he wasn't going to survive the last wounds, but he did. We call him "lucky". Before I got chickens, I thought the foxes were neat. Not so much now. And we just had a rabid fox in our county. Bunch of people had to go for rabies treatment.

 

[lockhaven]

us a shotgun so your aim does not have to be so goog:laughing:

 

[NorTracNY]

I've lost 31 chickens this year to some foxes. They don't seem to like the rabbits that are all around our place.

 

[Western]

I've lost 31 chickens this year to some foxes. They don't seem to like the rabbits that are all around our place.

Chickens are allot easier to catch !!

 

[tungularafishcamp]

I've lost 31 chickens this year to some foxes. They don't seem to like the rabbits that are all around our place.

First year we tried chickens out here I lost all 20 the first night. I only buried the wire of their coop down 1.5' into the gravel and a fox dug under and chewed the head off everyone but only took one bird. I put wire on the bottom tied to the side wires the next year and then when they would dig under they would be trapped under the bottom wire and the rooster would have a heyday.

We switched to barred rocks who seemed a little more savvy and got a new lab who protected those chickens almost as much as she protected my kids. We would only close them up at night and let them free range during the day or lock them up if we were gonna be gone all day with the dog and hardly ever lost any after that and it was usually to eagles when we did lose one.

 

[atgreene]

Bought four goats and a llama, now I'm looking at chickens. "Supposedly" the llama will keep the fox at bay and protect the chickens...... we shall see.

 

[NorTracNY]

First year we tried chickens out here I lost all 20 the first night. I only buried the wire of their coop down 1.5' into the gravel and a fox dug under and chewed the head off everyone but only took one bird. I put wire on the bottom tied to the side wires the next year and then when they would dig under they would be trapped under the bottom wire and the rooster would have a heyday.

We switched to barred rocks who seemed a little more savvy and got a new lab who protected those chickens almost as much as she protected my kids. We would only close them up at night and let them free range during the day or lock them up if we were gonna be gone all day with the dog and hardly ever lost any after that and it was usually to eagles when we did lose one.

I have had chickens for several years and always would loose some (2-4)during the year since they were free range most of the time. I think most were lost to hawks. I closed them up at night and had never lost one at night until this year. 26 (1month olds) gone in one night. I had also never lost one in the enclosure they were in either. I think the biggest difference is that my dogs are getting old. They don't seem to have the energy to chase things like they use to.

 

[Western]

Bought four goats and a llama, now I'm looking at chickens. "Supposedly" the llama will keep the fox at bay and protect the chickens...... we shall see.

If the Llama doesn't work, wonder if they're good eating

They don't seem to have the energy to chase things like they use to.

Sounds like me and half the guys I know:laughing:

Ever try a game camera to find out exactly what/who is the culprit? If I get chickens again, that's what I'll do, just to "know" what I'm up against.

 

[Mace Canute]

If the Llama doesn't work, wonder if they're good eating

Apparently they taste a lot like sheep but even stronger, more gamy...or so they say.

 

[DeeDubya]

We have a friendly fox too, but not becaus she has rabies... she has kits. It's severely hot and dry here and she's having difficulty feeding the family. I'm helping out some with cheap weiners and chicken thighs. Every morning she's waiting at the back door. We enjoy having her around. Very intelligent little critters indeed.

The Kits are grown now. She still shows up every morning around 6:00. And, I still feed her (turkey weiners now) every morning. The kits lurk off in the darkness but sometime come close enough to see. She gathers up several weiners and delivers them to her offspring. While I used to hunt them, it's only now that I appreciate their stealth and cunning. Awesome little critters just trying to make a living.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

DW, Nice pics, are the coats there always so thin or is it the heat wave/drout? Even in summer ours look 2x the size but it is only fur.

I sure like your town, my sister has lived there since the late 70's, it was always fun to visit midwinter and be able to swim in the San Marcos river!

Rick