Fox problem

eddiehobbs

Hey guys

Looking for advice. Housesitting at the moment and looking after some hens geese and ducks. Long story short fox came and took one of the ducks today, it would have taken more but it was disturbed by the dog when it came back for seconds. Im wondering if anyone has any advice for deterring foxes, apart from getting someone in to shoot it. Did a quick google but couldnt find much that is helpfull. An noise repellant device isnt much help to me as i have cats and dogs to look after and these devices affect them aswell. I cannot afford to be there with them all the time (have a job) and also dont want to keep them locked up all day.

Any advice appreciated

animalcrazy

Hard one, play a radio out the window of the house? That's what I did before.

eddiehobbs

animalcrazy wrote: »

Hard one, play a radio out the window of the house? That's what I did before.

Nice one, will do that. Did this work for you? He was a fairly ballsy fox to come today when we were here, im not sure if the noise off a radio would be enough to deter him.

rliston

The radio should work, we rare a few dozen broilers for the freezer every year that are left out during the day with the hens, a few years back a fox carried 10 in one day, left a radio playing day and night and havent lost a broiler to the fox since.
We got a bit of work done to a shed last month, where the power had to be turned off for a few days, and a fox carried 4 hens (saw it going across the field with the last one), so the radio does work to keep them away

animalcrazy

Ya it works. Foxes are sneaky little things our enclosure is right beside our house and he still came at 2 in the day!

bunny shooter

Mod edit-not allowed to condone killing any animal here.

Weidii

Right, you need to rally up a gaggle of snobs, dress 'em in red, mount them on only the best horses... and sure throw a pack of dogs in too, why not. Apparently this is the only way of controlling foxes.


More seriously; maybe you could get a dog or put some pepper around the area?

kerrysgold

the radio sounds like a great idea, you can also buy electric netting (same as electic fence but it's like electrified chain link or sheep fence instead of just one wire) which is supposed to be good for keeping the fox out of the run.

rliston

Weidii wrote: »

Right, you need to rally up a gaggle of snobs, dress 'em in red, mount them on only the best horses...

With the amount of noise they make they'd also keep the fox away

Our man in Havana

bunny shooter wrote: »

40 grains of lead travelling at approx 4,000 fps works

Becareful of where you are posting.

whitser

Weidii wrote: »

Right, you need to rally up a gaggle of snobs, dress 'em in red, mount them on only the best horses... and sure throw a pack of dogs in too, why not. Apparently this is the only way of controlling foxes.


More seriously; maybe you could get a dog or put some pepper around the area?

im not a snob, and i keep hounds and hunt,on foot. and its not the only way but it is an effective way.
this nonsense that only snobs hunt is exactly that,nonsense. im from a working class area of dublin and earn a living as a tradesman, hardly a snob by any stretch....
and if you think some pepper and broken mirrors is going to keep a fox away from easy chickens and ducks your delusional.

Morganna

I have free range hens /ducks and a fox earth on my land .I feed the foxes regularly and never had a problem .

whitser

maybe cos your feeding them, they have no need to take your stock. stop feeding them and see how long your birds last.
i regulary get call outs from farmers loosing stock. dont try and tell me foxes dont take lambs or ducks etc....

Morganna

Whitster i didnt tell you they dont take ducks or hens .All i said was i have no problem they come and take food out of my hand.If you dont like foxes that is your problem not mine.

whitser

actually i love foxes. i often watch them, especially cubs during the summer months, and i used to go up to howth to watch them in my car. i respect the fox but i know what he's capable of. and when they get an easy meal they'll be back for more thats all i was saying to the op.

eddiehobbs

Well lads the fox was back today and nearly took another of the ducks, slightly injuring the duck. Was lucky that the other half was there at the time and frightened him away. She was in the house and noticed the geese becoming agitated. We had the radio blaring at full volume but that didnt seem to put him off. Am thinking i may have to resolve to more deadly measures to protect them otherwise i fear i may lose alot more ducks over the next week or two

It wasn't me!

Likewise.

animalcrazy

you would have to have the radio on very near where the poultry are for it to work, not inside the house.

Hellrazer

It wasnt me-I think you need to heed bonds warning aswell.The killing of any animal is frowned on here.

animalcrazy

Well I wouldn't kill the fox. You have to think of it this way. The fox is obviously starving and took the duck to eat, at least he was going to eat it not like when a dog kills them for fun. I mean, if you killed one of them ducks and ate it I wouldn't kill you and you wouldn't even have been as hungry as the fox. It's up to poultry owners to provide a safe place for their poultry if they don't want them to be eaten. I keep poultry too and nearly had mine taken by a fox and I still wouldn't kill them.

Run_to_da_hills

Would you not consider a CD player and play a few tracks like that 70ies hit from Sweet, ie "Fox on the Run", perhaps he might get the message.

Don't harm these creatures, foxes can make adorable cuddly pets.

whitser

eddiehobbs wrote: »

Well lads the fox was back today and nearly took another of the ducks, slightly injuring the duck. Was lucky that the other half was there at the time and frightened him away. She was in the house and noticed the geese becoming agitated. We had the radio blaring at full volume but that didnt seem to put him off. Am thinking i may have to resolve to more deadly measures to protect them otherwise i fear i may lose alot more ducks over the next week or two

i hate saying it..but i told you so. no amount of cd's,pepper or mirrors will keep renard from an easy meal.

whitser

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Would you not consider a CD player and play a few tracks like that 70ies hit from Sweet, ie "Fox on the Run", perhaps he might get the message.

Don't harm these creatures, foxes can make adorable cuddly pets.

your back talking gobble de gook i see.

NoNameRanger

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Would you not consider a CD player and play a few tracks like that 70ies hit from Sweet, ie "Fox on the Run", perhaps he might get the message.

Don't harm these creatures, foxes can make adorable cuddly pets.

No they don't make good pets, they usually end up dead or being put down. They usually end up causing damage, they cannot be trained like a dog. They will either bite somebody or be killed because of their lack of fear for humans. It's not like you haven't been told this before.:rolleyes:

Run_to_da_hills

NoNameRanger wrote: »

No they don't make good pets, they usually end up dead or being put down. They usually end up causing damage, they cannot be trained like a dog. They will either bite somebody or be killed because of their lack of fear for humans. It's not like you haven't been told this before.:rolleyes:

Only a fox murderer or a farmer would suggest something like that.





Who would want to kill such a cute babe

NoNameRanger

whitser wrote: »

i hate saying it..but i told you so. no amount of cd's,pepper or mirrors will keep renard from an easy meal.

I have to agree, the only way is to either remove the poultry or remove the fox from the equation. There are no deterants that work!! An electric fence around a buried chain link fence pen is your best bet for keeping them safe. Forget free range poultry unless you are willing to control foxes. It's not fair to your poultry. A fox killing a duck is not nearly as humane or painless as a human killing a fox with a high powered rifle. Which is the worse of the two?

NoNameRanger

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Only a fox murderer or a farmer would suggest something like that.





Who would want to kill such a cute babe

I am a professional conservationist, i live in the real world. I don't want to kill it and its a cub not a babe or a baby. I don't hate foxes, i actually love watching them and spending time around them. But i know the reality of what they are. You are in for a whole lot of hassle and heart break if you own that one in another couple of months. In fairness it should be in the wild.

togster

Look the OP asked for advice.

The only advice i can give you OP is that any of these other methods suggested (mirrors, pepper etc) don't work. According to the charter i can not give you advice that will actually work. So remove the poultry from the equation. No poultry = no fox.

stevoman

Madame TogBog wrote: »

Look the OP asked for advice.

The only advice i can give you OP is that any of these other methods suggested (mirrors, pepper etc) don't work. According to the charter i can not give you advice that will actually work. So remove the poultry from the equation. No poultry = no fox.

either the fox or the poultry has to go. there's no other way about it.

just on the mods notes, you wont let any advice being given on the fox being killed, even though this fox is clearly causing the deaths of other animals. does the poultry deserve to lose one of its group everyday to a fox because the fox is "cuddly". the fox is a fantastic looking creature, but a killer none the less and once it has killed it will keep returning and returning. its in his nature. but if you indeed want to keep the poultry in this area then the fox that is returning daily to kill the poultry must be dealt with.

togster

stevoman wrote: »

either the fox or the poultry has to go. there's no other way about it.

just on the mods notes, you wont let any advice being given on the fox being killed, even though this fox is clearly causing the deaths of other animals. does the poultry deserve to lose one of its group everyday to a fox because the fox is "cuddly". the fox is a fantastic looking creature, but a killer none the less and once it has killed it will keep returning and returning. its in his nature. but if you indeed want to keep the poultry in this area then the fox that is returning daily to kill the poultry must be dealt with.




my point exactly. But we can not offer any advice that might harm the fox.

Vegeta

lads the mods have put a thread at the top of the forum to discuss this type of thing. No need to drag this one down. lets post our opinions there and not here.

The charter is the charter, its their turf, we cant agree with everyone so lets respect that.

Vegeta

stevoman wrote: »

here's some food for thought.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7458007.stm

stevo while I personally think that's a great video it might get you banned here.

stevoman

Vegeta wrote: »

stevo while I personally think that's a great video it might get you banned here.

true and respescted!

mods, my point is to point peoples awarness to how the fox will keep returning to the scene of the crime. im not trying to start a mass culling of foxes, but to make awarness of the suffering of the poultry aswell.

Whispered

Stevoman, that is totally inappropiate for this forum. I agree that sometimes it's necessary but thats taking it too far.

stevoman

helena.ryan wrote: »

Stevoman, that is totally inappropiate for this forum. I agree that sometimes it's necessary but thats taking it too far.

sorry helena i didnt think so. thats just real life but if the mods want to take it down thats fine. as i said im not trying to start a massive arguement here, its was just food for though IMO. i post here regularly and never cause any problems so i hope that the mods can see where i was coming from with the video and to highlight how much poulry can suffer from foxes, whic IMO is an issue that is very much overlooked in modern society. i took the link from the bbc news channel, its not as if i went to youtube to see some sort amatuer crueltly flicks. this is a piece of recent journalism on the topic.

Whispered

stevoman wrote: »

sorry helena i didnt think so. thats just real life but if the mods want to take it down thats fine. as i said im not trying to start a massive arguement here, its was just food for though IMO. i post here regularly and never cause any problems so i hope that the mods can see where i was coming from with the video and to highlight how much poulry can suffer from foxes, whic IMO is an issue that is very much overlooked in modern society.

for this forum though a video like that is not right. I see your point and the same people who shout about not killing the foxes are the ones who insist on free range eggs (like me tbh). I understand it needs to be done sometimes. I just think your point could have been made without the video. Anyway, this is not the right thread for this particular disagreement. I've already given out about you in the thread at the top of the page :P

LisaO

Eddie Hobbs - you said in OP that you are house sitting :

Housesitting at the moment and looking after some hens geese and ducks.

Am I right in presuming the poultry belong to the person who owns the house, rather than yourself?

If so, maybe you should contact them & ask them how they want the problem dealt with?

peasant

I can't hear the sound in the video, but from what I can see, the only "animal cruelty" featured in this video is what one animal inflicts onto another ...in other words: nature.

The killing of the fox certainly didn't look cruel to me, it was swift and effective ..I can't see any reason why the posting of this video should result in a ban.

whitser

i think op has all the advice he needs. up to him now what to do. lets leave it at that.

Whispered

peasant wrote: »

...in other words: nature.
.

Yes nature, one animal killing another. It wasn't nature which put those chickens there, nor was it nature who shot that fox.

peasant wrote: »

.I can't see any reason why the posting of this video should result in a ban.

I don't think he should, or will be banned but technically, the charter has not been changed, so if the mods were being sticklers for the rules, then he broke a rule.

The posting of this video should bring up a discussion on whether videos/images like this should be allowed in this forum. point could have been very easily made without the video.

Morganna

That was just blatant animal cruelty .Why werent the chicken fenced in properly with wire,The poor fox.

eddiehobbs

Thanks for all the replies

Just to make things clear killing the fox would be a last resort for me, my main hope in posting here was to get ideas on how to deter the fox from taking the poultry

animalcrazy wrote: »

you would have to have the radio on very near where the poultry are for it to work, not inside the house.

I did have the radio on in the shed, turned up to the last!!

LisaO Am I right in presuming the poultry belong to the person who owns the house, rather than yourself?

If so, maybe you should contact them & ask them how they want the problem dealt with?

I dont want to disturb them as they are on holidays and dont want them to worry too much about it either

stevoman

Morganna wrote: »

That was just blatant animal cruelty .Why werent the chicken fenced in properly with wire.

because they are free range......

BlackCat2008

Even free range chickens only need so much land my anuts nieghbour has free range every bird under the sun and divided up the land and penned them of with fennching that is deep in the ground as well as an over hang to stop foxes climbing them.He hasn,t had any problems with foxes and did it to save himself money in the long run.

The farmers just won't put the money into it. They bring it on themselfs.

LisaO

I dont want to disturb them as they are on holidays and dont want them to worry too much about it either

Can understand that but speaking as someone who keeps hens & ducks AND who has a house-sitter when we are on hols, I know I would prefer the phone call than to come back & find all my birds gone! This is a potential problem for anyone who keeps poultry & something you need to have addressed (at least in your mind) in case the situation ever arises. Could be that the owners have a very clear idea of how they would deal with it?

Impreza82

Not a lot you can do, unless they are VERY well fenced in you are pretty much at the mercy of the fox. It doesnt matter what time of day or even if you have dogs around the house they will still come , especially when they are feeding cubs.Good Luck

doctor evil

BlackCat2008 wrote: »

The farmers just won't put the money into it. They bring it on themselfs.

Oh my, so farmers in the hills of Kerry should fence in all their land? Keep Ireland open would love that.

Fencing is expensive and can be time consuming, more than one fox will repeatedly and aggrevate any weakness in the fence, even if its been fixed.

luckat

If a fox sees hens roaming around with no dog to protect them, of course all he sees is free dinner.

Culling foxes can be a problem, because it results in *new* foxes moving in, which don't know the regular food sources.

A reasonable population of local, old-gentry, we've-been-here-for-generations type foxes is a good thing to have - they keep the country clean of rodents. It's when people try to wipe foxes out that you run into problems.

Since you're minding the hens, my suggestion is that either you contact the owners and ask them what to do, or you keep the hens in. Better slightly stir-crazy than slightly dead.

whitser

i know of two farmers who've lost fowl during the day despite having dogs around the yard.

Morganna

luckat wrote: »

If a fox sees hens roaming around with no dog to protect them, of course all he sees is free dinner.

Culling foxes can be a problem, because it results in *new* foxes moving in, which don't know the regular food sources.

A reasonable population of local, old-gentry, we've-been-here-for-generations type foxes is a good thing to have - they keep the country clean of rodents. It's when people try to wipe foxes out that you run into problems.

Since you're minding the hens, my suggestion is that either you contact the owners and ask them what to do, or you keep the hens in. Better slightly stir-crazy than slightly dead.

That is so true luckat

whitser

luckat wrote: »

If a fox sees hens roaming around with no dog to protect them, of course all he sees is free dinner.

Culling foxes can be a problem, because it results in *new* foxes moving in, which don't know the regular food sources.

A reasonable population of local, old-gentry, we've-been-here-for-generations type foxes is a good thing to have - they keep the country clean of rodents. It's when people try to wipe foxes out that you run into problems.

Since you're minding the hens, my suggestion is that either you contact the owners and ask them what to do, or you keep the hens in. Better slightly stir-crazy than slightly dead.

your humanising foxes again. old gentry, been here for generations... the fox that takes is place will be from the area too.foxes populations are constantly changing due to hunting, road kill, being forced off by stronger dog foxes all different reasons. and a fox in any area will know all the regular food sources. this notion that old fox is better then a new one is nonsense. all foxes are killers and all will take stock when the chance arises.