There's a fox in my back garden -- should I feed him?

andrewire

I have seen him in my garden a few times: huge animal, looks more like a wolf. Should I feed him? I don't think he will survive the cold snap. What to do?

Tallon

He will survive just fine.

I used to feed my cousins fox down the country, but they were feeding him for years since he was young.

They're generally quite dosile, but be careful, they can be semi-aggressive too

Discodog

All the expert opinion & many here will tell you not to feed it but.............I would !

four18

Yeah, They are lovely creatures and become quite tame over time and get brave towards people the hungrier ? they get ! I used to have a fox a few years ago and when I did'nt have much household scraps I used to buy tesco own brand dog or cat food about 35c and a bag of dry mixer about 4e for a 5kg bag. 2 mugs of mixer with half a can of food sets them up.
Remember they will become dependant on your kindness until weather improves, so enjoy your Fox !!:)

Discodog

When I lived in the middle of nowhere I fed a Vixen. She repaid me by bringing the cubs every evening. I spent hours sitting on my back lawn with the cubs climbing all over me. The Vixen was so trusting. I would of been more wary if I had neighbours or roads nearby.

copper04

Yes you can feed the poor animal. They are very shy but if you keep feeding it will get used to you. Do not mind anyone who tells you they are dangerous as they are not, except if injured oor trapped. They like all wildlife are having a tough time with this weather.
Good luck with your fox. Enjoy the experience. !

woofie87

Feed the poor fella! Fair play to u for caring, not many people do these days. If it was me, i would defo feed him. M nany had one in her garden for a while and fed him leftovers and catfood, he couldnt b happier and got very tame.

byhookorbycrook

Wet food like cat or dogfood will do for a bit, but just be aware that a fox may attack a cat or small dog, so if you have either leave the food well away from where they are.

Zapperzy

andrewire wrote: »

I have seen him in my garden a few times: huge animal, looks more like a wolf. Should I feed him? I don't think he will survive the cold snap. What to do?

What kind of an area do you live in? If it's a housing estate tbh I wouldn't, with all the fuss over foxes lately after what happened in england you may have very angry neighbours who unfortunately may take matters into their own hands and hire someone to deal with it.

If you live in the country with no neighbours then yes I would leave food out somewhere away from the house.

How do you mean he looks like a wolf? If you can find a similar picture of him somewhere could you post it? Could you be mistaking a dog for a fox?

Cherry Blossom

My nan hand-reared 2 fox cubs when I was a kid after mother was shot, we wern't allowed to tell anyone, it was a secret (my da would have killed her ). Am currently feeding something that's taken refuge in her old house, no idea what it is though as I've only seen footprints in the snow and it's hard to make out what they belong to :rolleyes:. It's getting Burns lamb & rice mixed with a bit of water whatever it is!

jap gt

andrewire wrote: »

I have seen him in my garden a few times: huge animal, looks more like a wolf. Should I feed him? I don't think he will survive the cold snap. What to do?

what makes you think he wont survive this weather, from what you say he seems to be doing very well, whart kind of area are you in

andrewire

I fed him yesterday. I saw him for the first time about two or three months ago and I noticed he started to look weak lately. He's happy now. Quite a nice animal, acts a lot like a big dog.

andrewire

Zapperzy wrote: »

What kind of an area do you live in? If it's a housing estate tbh I wouldn't, with all the fuss over foxes lately after what happened in england you may have very angry neighbours who unfortunately may take matters into their own hands and hire someone to deal with it.

If you live in the country with no neighbours then yes I would leave food out somewhere away from the house.

How do you mean he looks like a wolf? If you can find a similar picture of him somewhere could you post it? Could you be mistaking a dog for a fox?

I live in South Dublin and it's definitely a fox. There were two but I have only seen one in the last few weeks. He's big and can climb the fence quite easily. He looks like the one in this pic: http://www.1adventure.com/archives/images/frank-red-fox-colorado-lowrescrop.jpg

They make some sreeching sound at night. Never seen them during the day which is normal. I'll try to take a picture next time I see him but it's quite hard because he usually sneaks in when the lights are out.