4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[karlotta]

Last night about 730ish I'd just finished putting the batt girls back in their run and poped indoors to give the rest of the girls a bit longer eating the midges etc (so funny seeing them leaping in the air to catc them!)...

 

I then heard the loudest cackling and squawking (initiated by the pekin girls!) and popped outside to see what was going on.

 

Crouching terrified in the middle of the garden was a teeny weeny fox cub! It was quick dark so at a first glance I thought it was a kitten!

 

I ushered all the girls back in their runs, by which time it had scuttled off to hide in the bushes!!

 

Once everyone was settled my dogs were ready for a wee so I of course let them out - I hoped it might scare any other foxes lurking away too! I think they are a pretty good deterrent for foxes (they are Newfoundlands are pretty huge!!) they legged it straight to the bush where I'd last seen the cub and went a bit crazy bouncing about and scrabbling in the bushes....

 

All of a sudden the little cub emerged (I was sure it had gone!) and scuttled further up the garden - Martha (the youngest) spotted it and set off after it! She caught up with it and instead of grabbing it/chasing it etc she proceeded to follow it carefully giving it huge sniffs!! I think she thought it was a puppy!

 

The cub took great offence thought and wedged itself behind a tree trunk where Martha proceeded to try to pull it out with her big paw!! At this point I managed to catch her and bring both of the dogs indoors!

 

By this time it was getting dark and all the chooks had gone to bed so I closed all the doors and collected food etc... I thought I should go and check if the cub had gone so grabbed a torch and went to investigate...

 

Peering behind the tree I could see it was still insitue so I grabbed some hefty gardening gloves (don't want to be bitten or get fleas!) and grabbed it gently round the middle and pulled gently.... it was obvious it had got it's head jammed through the wire fence!!!

 

There was no way I could leave it... I didn't want the dogs going mad trying to get to it, I didn't want it screaming and attracting the rest of it's family and (even though it's a fox!) I didn't want it to die... So I dutifully eased it out of the wire and checked it over to see if it was hurt. It looked fine although rather scared looking (and really rather gorgeous!!) so I popped it back over the fence where it was likely to come from and it scuttled away!

 

I hope it doesn't repay my kindness by bringing it's mates back! I've never seen a fox in the garden (I think the dogs are good deterrant) so hope this one just wandered in by mistake!!

[Seagazer]

On the one hand you want to say aah and on the other OMG I had a fox in my garden!

 

I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed that he doesn't bring his family back. We have one that visits our garden so my girls stay in the run now.

[Guest]

At least u know it is around and perhaps an early warning to keep the chicks shut in a run etc etc

But can see ur dilema! Yep the dogs are great but it will come back...opportunist too..always think they are like a professional burglar!

[Barkisland]

Oh bless, the poor little thing must have been terrified. Thanks for rescuing it They are all God's creatures, after all. Hopefully (s)he will find somewhere else to hunt in future.

[karlotta]

That was how I felt too... I couldn't leave it to be stomped on or worse - and I don't really want my dogs to learn to kill things!

 

I think it's experience would certainly put it off coming back... I'll be keeping a closer eye but there is no way I could keep the girls confined to a run all the time... they'd be so miserable - they love galloping around. I might shut them in a bit earlier though!

 

We're a fairly rural area so they foxes aren't quite as ballsy as urban ones - and there are dogs on three sides plus my two so it's not an easy route to the girls. The cub was soooo tiny, i'm sure it must have just wandered - there was no noise of mum shouting for it so I wonder if it was orphaned?

[katieadams]

Ah bless it, it sounds so cute! Hope it's ok (from a distance of course!) and its mum is around somewhere