A fox trap

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A fox trap
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46187
Location: yes

Posted: Sun May 01, 16 4:23 pm Post subject:

at this time of year she is probably feeding pups so will be very active and determined.

keep the trap in good order and post your sniper is the best bet although tracking in daylight to find her preferred routes,lay ups and perhaps even find her home can help work out where is a good spot to lie in wait if she has rumbled the current sniper positions .

it is a bit of extra work but high seats that overlooks known haunts(the hen run for example) can add to the potential safe angles of fire.foxes are clever and will avoid danger zones in favour of unshootable places .
im assuming rifle and night site rather than shotgun for the high seats as with a shottie the extra work does not give anywhere near as much added advantage as with a longer range weapon.
even with a shotgun the high seat helps with reducing scent ,increasing the areas that can be seen and giving extra safe angles of fire

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed May 04, 16 9:53 am Post subject:
Bloody thing. We've had glimpses of her, but she's really skittish. Lamp shy, too. A trap canny - still no catch. I'll get some more chicken. I wish I'd tied the dead one to the trigger.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46187
Location: yes

Posted: Wed May 04, 16 10:04 am Post subject:
smearing cat food on the treadle might work (or tie the bait on or behind the treadle) high seats,night sight seems a good option. tracking is never wasted time whatever the target.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 16 3:42 pm Post subject:

I am beginning to regret keeping chickens! I have had no fox attacks since the beginning of May, and have had a (dead) chicken tied to the treadle of the trap for a good fortnight. No fox. No sign of fox.

On Wednesday I thought it was safe to buy new chickens. Trap triggered Wednesday evening, but no catch. Today, I have lost six. I have no idea how. None. I know for definite they were shut in last night, because we checked them after the door had shut. They don't get let out till about 8am. Which I would have thought was late enough. Both the laying birds (why does it always get the layers?!) had laid before being eaten.

The only possibilities I can think of is that the fox was about between 8 and midday. Or that it got in through the nest box, but I'd have expects the eggs to be broken in that case.

I can't really think of anything else to do. Obviously, I will secure the nest box with something. I could move the chicken house down closer to the house, so I can keep more of an eye on things, but I couldn't pen them down here. I can't keep replacing chickens indefinitely!

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 16 3:55 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

They don't get let out till about 8am. Which I would have thought was late enough

Why do you say that? Foxes will be about all the time, both urban and rural foxes are often about during the day and if they have cubs to feed they'll be very active.

A completely enclosed pen sounds like the way to go.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46187
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 16 9:05 pm Post subject:

sorry to hear this,tis horrid to lose birds that way.

enclosed pen with roof,wire mesh buried a foot deep and four feet out

simple pen (just walls and anti dig netting) with anti climb electric fence wires and a couple of electric wires to discourage jumping(they can do about 6' from a standing start)

keep on with trap and gun,

having them nearer the house might help a bit but a determined fox will have one off the kitchen table once it works out how.they are clever in reality as well as in stories.

Last edited by dpack on Sun Jul 03, 16 11:06 pm; edited 1 time in total

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 16 10:28 pm Post subject:

I don't mind loosing the odd bird. A fox is worthy opponent. I'm just fed up of loosing so many. They've had thirty birds since we moved here in October.

I don't think I want to keep chickens in a pen. I suppose I could just let them out when I'm around, but they'd be in all the time in the winter. I'm going to move the house down here, I think. I haven't seen a fox (except once, in the trap) I suppose I could get a dog.

Jenna's school friends have been discussing fox culling with their parents, as she is devising methods of protection and dispatch in the playground. I blame Wallace and Grommit! It all seems to involve alarms and lasers and traps!!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46187
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 16 11:05 pm Post subject:

i recon a narrow field pir and a 5kw scanning laser would do the job

a good pen is the best option and let em out when they are supervised ,a good dog will be vigilant but they do sleep,get taken for walks and a truly independent one will go walk about .

get a good dog anyway for many reasons.

re pens they do cost but long term they are cheaper than feeding radgel.

my chookmobile birds were fine for ages but as the weather got cooler and food got scarcer i lost a lot over a month or so .

rob and nat have had fox problems yards from where they were at the time .

keem em out and keep the chooks in pens worked for grannie (she also used a lee enfield .303 now and again for persistent ones that tried to get into the runs).

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 16 11:38 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

a good dog will be vigilant but they do sleep,get taken for walks and a truly independent one will go walk about .

get a good dog anyway for many reasons.

I've certainly needed to wake mine up when there are things that need barking at

Typically the hour of day when I'd like a dog keeping an eye out is the same time the dog is trying to sneak on to our bed!

(I do think a dog around does help though. Folks never saw a woodchuck in the garden until a year or two after the dog died)

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 16 10:45 pm Post subject:

We have just lost another two lots of birds, both during the day, and shot two more foxes. All the birds are confined to pens and are sulking by withholding eggs.

How will I know when it's safe (more or less) to let them out again?

Incidentally, we also have a probable-stoat to trap. And I have two less quail (well actually I have two less quail heads. It left the rest of them for me)

Really, I'm tempted to move to the Isle of Man. Do the Scilly Isles have foxes? I'd prefer a more southern climate.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46187
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Nov 23, 16 12:00 am Post subject:

sorry to hear this ,2 foxes down might help a bit but there are always more, keeping the chooks in a secure area is the most effective way to avoid losses

at this time of year foxes are starting to get hungry (less daft baby bunnies etc) and will be hunting far and wide looking for dinner .

penned unless supervised is easier in summer but it might be best to reduce their ranging if you are cannot be out with them as much in winter. even with them radgel might grab the odd one.

bigger pens is the best option but not often practical.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 23, 16 8:36 am Post subject:
Yep, keep them in a secure pen is the only way to keep them alive. It's more humane than letting them out to be fox food.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46187
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Nov 23, 16 1:40 pm Post subject:
"Incidentally, we also have a probable-stoat to trap. And I have two less quail (well actually I have two less quail heads. It left the rest of them for me) " fenn N 4

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 16 9:03 pm Post subject:
It's so handy when your best friends husband is a part time game keeper! I can see your point about keeping them in, but I don't like to. I think if it comes to keeping them in, I will probably not keep any. At the moment, I am considering guard animals.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 16 9:11 pm Post subject:

When we had a few hens we only let them out when we were around. Even then and even with a dog we still had the odd fox try their luck. To be brutal if you don't let hens out at all they will be happier than being let out some times and shut in the next. I don't mean 'enriched cage' shut in, but a large fenced movable run.

Having spent a fair bit of time outdoors in suburban gardens and the country side I see foxes at all times and often close by. I have met someone who didn't have any trouble with free-ranging hens but he did stalk the countryside with a shotgun many evenings and he did have a few Ridgebacks running about.

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