Fox Attack

V

victorias poultry

New member
Joined
Sep 21, 2009
Messages
736
Reaction score
0
I maybe a vegetarian but I am seriously thinking of roasting the fox that came in on Saturday morning (when I can catch it). Caught on camera 4.30am took all Copper Black Marans, Copper Blue Marans, Vorwerks, many Warrens and a Silkie Cockerel. Bodies and feathers all over the place. The vixen then came back at 9.30pm!! checked permitter 3 times and could not see where coming in, fox back following night 1am. Local farmer has been over and lads with the guns, has seen the fox twice each time they have been unable to shoot it as either running alongside road or at back of houses! Fox trap set took a keen interest but would not go in.
Now found out where fox is coming in, neighbour had cut the tree to 2ft under fence, nice step ladder into paddock. Quad beams activate and lights come on which doesn;t bother fox. Alarm going off nightly in house is becoming a regular occurance. More barbed wire put up but fox still getting in, wire covered in fox fur. Have now ordered razor wire.
I know they have to feed their cubs but it is upsetting when they will kill all they can and leave the bodies.
 
Hi Sue,

I was shocked that a fox got into yours,but,neighbour cutting tree explains a lot.Most of us could understand if they grabbed 1 hen/cockerel,and took it away to eat.When they slaughter everything they can,just for the sheer thrill of their chase,and,don't eat any of what they killed,it is very sickening.
Hope you do manage to sort this one out.
 
Hello, unfortunately the foxes will keep coming back- you need to lock up your stock every night- i know you can't watch them all day but at least at night they would be safe- if i left mine out for one night only (electric fence and all) they would be gone- and now they know where the "snack bar" is they will keep coming back- hope you get it sorted soon,
regards, David :)
 
I'm very sorry to hear that Sue. :cry:

If you want some Copper Black Marans hatching eggs I can send some to you in a few weeks from now once I have fulfilled some other 'orders'. I also have a trio left from last year if you'd prefer.

Tim
 
Oh how horrid for you & so upsetting. I know the foxes have to eat but why do they needlessly kill everything :twisted: :cry: :cry:

Hope you manage to get the b*****!!
 
Oh Sue! that is terrible! What a nightmare for you - I really hope they are caught soon :cry:
 
So sorry Sue , hope you get it! BUT--- you will know better than any of us--- another will fill its niche-----better get neighbour to fix the tree remains!!. Happy shooting. Ros
 
I can but echo what has been already said.. I am so sorry to hear what has happened Sue :cry:


Kym
 
Birds were all locked up asleep in hen house, they had been placed together whilst moving birds around into new compounds. Fox came over 8ft fence and barbed wire. Keeps coming back every night catch him on the security cameras each night, has his own route! The fox actually bit a hole in the hen house door !

Thankyou all for your kind words.

Luckily I had hatched from the birds before they were taken, so will keep their spirits going, it just seems so very quiet
 
Hi Sue,

Any way you can 'record' the footage of the fox from your camera? and if you haven't repared the door yet could you get a photo of the damage?

It would make interesting viewing and would be useful to show people what foxes can do - most of the time people think foxes won't tear at wire, houses etc..

Don't worry if it's too difficult.

Tim
 
Davidd said:
Hello, unfortunately the foxes will keep coming back
regards, David :)
Click to expand...


It is true the same fox is coming back,which does make life very stressfull for Sue and her remaining birds.
Hopefully,it will soon be killed,although another fox may take over this fox's territory,hopefully everything will be sorted before it a)takes over the territory or b)manages to get in and slaughter birds with no intention of eating-just enjoy the hunt.

I realise that a lot of people found/find fox hunting abhorrant-spelt that wrong :? ,but,after the goverment commisioned the Burn's report(it is the report to look into the most humane way to keep fox populations down)it is a total waste that they then didn't follow it's guidelines.
Which was fox hunting.
As gassing,trapping,shooting and 'I can't remember the 5th' were more in-humane.
Personally,I would prefer hunts not to send hunt terriers underground after a fox has gone to ground,nor to fill up earth's.Fox's have no natural predators,no bigger predators to keep them in check.

If my post offends or upset's anyone,I do apologise,and pm me and I'll delete it,if Tim or Snifter are not around to remove it....Tim will be painting his paper mache hen ;) .
 
Tim said:
Hi Sue,

Any way you can 'record' the footage of the fox from your camera? and if you haven't repared the door yet could you get a photo of the damage?

It would make interesting viewing and would be useful to show people what foxes can do - most of the time people think foxes won't tear at wire, houses etc..

Don't worry if it's too difficult.

Tim
Click to expand...

Was so upset I put the hen house on the bonfire. The lads are camping out in the paddock tonight with tent and guns, fox is recorded on the cctv each night, joiners are in on tuesday building an overhang all the way around the 2 acre paddock and again on the birds enclosures. The wire is already 2ft deep into the ground when I had the fence installed. Travis Perkins is also making me some new hen houses out of very thick wood. Hopefully no more attacks! I am getting used to the alarm going off each evening from the quad beams being broken. The fox does the same route each night but still won't go in the fox trap but never the same time.9.30pm last night upto 1.30am the other evening.
Will keep you updated as to when we get it/them.
 
So sorry to hear about your hens Sue, Hopefully the extra measures will prevent further problems for you.
I was woken up twice last night by my chickens making a racket- a fox was right outside their house trying to get in both times - He was obviously hungry as the sight of me in my PJ's didn't prevent him from having another try! It's a very difficult situation- these chickens are in my garden in a village so I don't think shooting is an option (Though if it was on the farm I wouldn't hesitate to get someone to shoot a persistant offender.)
 
This Fox business is such a dilema for us & our chooks. People who don't have pets & livestock can't/don't appreciate how difficult it is for us. I'm an animal lover, all creatures great & small but I'm realistic too. One fox causing all that damage & destruction - no contest imo. And now with urban foxes causing so much havoc something has to be done.

When my Mum still lived on her own (in a town) she had quite a big garden, she knew she had a foxes den at the bottom which she had tried to get RSPCA & various other animal organisations to do something about but they couldn't. When her cat died she buried her in the garden, very deep in quite a strong box. You've guessed it, Mr Foxy kept digging it up, everytime the neighbour re-buried it withing a week it had been dug up again. :twisted:

These Foxes are running amok now, just too many of them. Don't know what the answer is but something has to be done before it gets completely out of hand.
 
People living in towns are feeding the foxes - and I agree , if they knew the devastation foxes caused to poultry ( On farms of course they take lambs!) perhaps SOME of them would stop. The problem now is that back-garden poultry keeping is the fastest growing hobby - that and foxes does not mix. It's a very emotive subject and doubt if there is an easy answer.
 
An old poultry farmer once told me that the only way to keep a fox away is to leave a radio on in the hen house. Apparently, foxes tend to keep away from human voices! He said he left his on Radio 4 as there is a lot of talking on that station. Hope this helps. Mick.
 
I've also read that in a poultry book Mick,Sue would need a lot of radio's though ;) .I suspect it used to work very well,unfortunately,the urban foxes in the town,are now very used to humans.So not sure if this does work.Also,the good old R.S.P.C.A.(I am being sarcastic) actually dump the urban foxes in the country.They don't know how to hunt,only scavenge and kill.Are not afraid of people,and also placed not in their established territory where they were picked up from.So not ideal for the fox either.
 
@Sue - Don't worry Sue it was just a thought.
I doubt Mr Fox will go for the trap with so many other snacks about. Could you put a temporary electric wire on the entry point over your fence? They are very effective.

@Lydia - painting of the paper mache hen complete ;)
Just for the record - I have no problem with people giving their personal views and so far it seems there are alot of similar thoughts on the subject - but I have seen this topic get rather heated on other forums over the years, so I think we all need to be careful not to offend people with opposing views if anyone does give them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top