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[Blue-DiamondChick07]

Be careful as killing foxes is illegal. Horrible things though! Ive had a problem with them this year too

[Bramble]

Oh dear, reading all this gave me nightmares last night I dreamed that a fox chewed the wire of my classic run and twisted it all out of shape. I don't think he got to the girls, but I had to double check they were all ok this morning, even though it was only a dream, stupid or what!

[Egluntyne]

Be careful as killing foxes is illegal.

 

Not if they are trapped and then shot.

[Aunty e]

Exactly. Well done for dealing with a difficult situation, it can't have been easy. I like foxes in the abstract too, but in the particular they're horrid. Hope your next one is easier to get along with.

 

Now, can you tell me what to do about the idiots who are encouraging foxes to live in their garden the other side of the fence from my chicken run? Who then had the nerve to complain to me that they found a chicken head in their garden?

[beach chick]

Now, can you tell me what to do about the idiots who are encouraging foxes to live in their garden the other side of the fence from my chicken run? Who then had the nerve to complain to me that they found a chicken head in their garden?

 

oh aunty e!! what a thing. I do hope it wasnt a head from one of your girls?

perhaps you could lob a few more body parts over the fence and when questioned blame the foxes?? if enough rubbish appears they might go off them...

[migsy]

Now, can you tell me what to do about the idiots who are encouraging foxes to live in their garden the other side of the fence from my chicken run? Who then had the nerve to complain to me that they found a chicken head in their garden?

 

What

[Cinnamon]

I would tell them that they were lucky it wasn't a horses head.

That would give them something to think about - muppets!

 

Sorry for your Loss Aunty E,if it was indeed one of your hens

[Aunty e]

Several bits of my girls have appeared in their garden following fox attacks I did point out that was because the foxes LIVE THERE.

 

Anyway, touch wood, no successful attacks since we built the WIR, so not worth making a fuss over any more, but I was cross at the time. These are also the people who asked me to keep my cat out of their garden. Erm, he's a cat, I can't keep him locked up. But I did tell them to turn the hose on him, or chuck water at him if he was bothering them. Since we've had the woodburner going all day, he's moved in next to it anyway

[Egluntyne]

Now, can you tell me what to do about the idiots who are encouraging foxes to live in their garden the other side of the fence from my chicken run? Who then had the nerve to complain to me that they found a chicken head in their garden?

I have a barking mad neighbour (think mack tied with string, tea cosy hat, dentures that waggle about and filthy rich) who feeds the foxes with cheap chicken breasts that she gets from Asda.

 

At least the fox will go to hers to dine first I suppose.

[Nicola O]

Be careful as killing foxes is illegal.

 

Not if they are trapped and then shot.

Yes, this is whats happened to this fox.

 

Well done for dealing with a difficult situation, it can't have been easy.

I do still feel a bit guilty as I'm the once that sentenced him to death basically. It was a decision that I didn't take lightly, but he was such a terrible nuisance I think that it was the best solution. He was a beautiful chap as well, in fab condition, and I did apologise to him before he was collected (though I suppose that was just to ease my concience really).

 

Nicola

[Nicola O]

I think you are very brave - it's not an easy decision when you are faced with a live animal Who did you ring to get the traps ?

Sorry, I didn't see your question earlier.

 

I used these guys -http://www.londonpestcontrolservices.com - (not done a linky-thing before, hope it works). It hasn't cost as much as I thought it would either. £75 + vat for the hire of TWO cages for as long as it takes, and then another £75 + vat for the collection and 'dealing' with the fox. To be honest, I did think that it would be a lot more than this. And he turned up on time (8am on the dot) in a plain white van - I had visions of a van with VERMIN CONTROL enblazened on the side, so all the neighbours with think I'd got rats or something nasty .

 

Nicola

[Nicola O]

Just spotted fox number two in the trap at the end of the garden. Whilst watching that one I forget to set off the second trap to 'make it safe' and there was a loud clatter - I looked over a saw Freda (dog) in it looking a bit puzzled 'what happened there, mum?'

 

Nicola.

[Aunty e]

EEEP! Make sure you send the right one off with the man in the van

 

Good fox catching skills though. Very tempted to employ him myself

[Daphne]

I'm glad you've posted about your experiences - from what I've read you've done exceptionally well, normally foxes are a bit more wily about traps. Are you in an urban environment - I was just wondering if your foxes are bolder.

[Nicola O]

EEEP! Make sure you send the right one off with the man in the van

 

Good fox catching skills though. Very tempted to employ him myself

I think it's the very smelly smoked sausage I'm using. It must be irresistable.

 

I'm glad you've posted about your experiences - from what I've read you've done exceptionally well, normally foxes are a bit more wily about traps. Are you in an urban environment - I was just wondering if your foxes are bolder.

I live in the middle of a town on quite a busy road. The fox from Tuesday was a very large bold chap who had been weeing and 'the other' all round the garden, as well as destroying things and trying to get in to the chooks.

 

Nicola

[Sam]

Oh dear, reading all this gave me nightmares last night I dreamed that a fox chewed the wire of my classic run and twisted it all out of shape. I don't think he got to the girls, but I had to double check they were all ok this morning, even though it was only a dream, stupid or what!

 

I've had the same thing after reading the "Fox attacks" section! I dreamt it managed to take the big green dome section off the eglu (the bit you take off to remove the roosting bars) and ate all my chickens! Didn't leave anything, not even feathers. And it just sat next to the eglu like a dog would sit, and it wouldn't move! So weird how things we read on here can give us these scary dreams! Chickens were fine though!

[Mr Rhode Island Red]

Be careful as killing foxes is illegal.

 

It isn't ilegal in Ireland. My friend had 7 chickens taken in one go by a fox. When he came back again he didn't get a chance to run away

 

Source of information

 

http://www.thefoxwebsite.org/foxhunting/hunthistory.html

Edited December 20, 2010 by Guest

[Olly]

RhodeIslandRed, if you read back above you'll see that the statement 'it's illegal to kill foxes' was corrected - it's not illegal to shoot them but it is illegal to hunt them, snare or poison them. That's a very useful website, it has lots of information about fox behaviour and population.

[Nicola O]

Just to update.....

 

Set the traps again for the first time since Xmas (didn't think trap chap would want to be called out at 7am on Xmas day) went out 1/2 hour ago to check and the other vixen is in there. So I think thats them all gone now.

 

I know that it may not take long for another to move in, but at least these nuisance ones have gone. Now I can concentrate on working out how to keep them out of the garden in the first place.

 

It's not been cheep, the hire of traps plus 3 foxes removed, but I think it's been worth it to be rid of them and I had more Birthday & Xmas money than normal this year to that can be spent of the fox removal.

 

Nicola.

[Alis girls]

A woman i know feeds the foxes - this being despite the fact it dug through the cage roof of the guinea pigs and rabbits and ate the lot. These were her kids pets. The fox we saw in the summer in the garden surprisingly didnt reappear in the bad weather but we did see one dead on Barnet way so that could've been him. still very cautious thou and girls on FR when I am in kitchen. Glad you seem to be having luck with traps Nicola. I find the law confusing over what you can and can't do.

[Olly]

Glad to hear you've got rid of the current ones, but it's very likely that another one (or more) will move into the same space within a few months. It's also nearly impossible to stop them getting into your garden - you can block off obvious points of entry, but if a cat can get in, then so can a fox. I'd think about investing in a Foxwatch (a good deterrent, but not a preventative) or electric fencing or similar, if you really want to keep them out.

[Stevie]

but if you use any other means, such as snaring or poisoning, then you will.

 

 

Not quite true im afraid.Snares are perfectly legal to use on foxes and are an effective means of capture.They're not designed to kill the animal,but to simply entrap it then you dispatch it with a gun.I've snared dozens of foxes over the years on farms where they rear gamebirds and the only legal requirement is that they must be checked regulary.I've also used walk in traps baited with dog food which again are perfectly legal and like snares must be checked regulary.

 

Fox control is an ongoing excercise though.When you remove a vixen for example from an area-another will eventually move in to take the space and this is why i say its ongoing.

 

I myself am troubled by foxes (lost a number of hens) and have done everything humanly possible to prevent them getting into my garden,but earlier i noticed a piece of trellis has been dislodged from my tall fence again plus other tell tail signs which means they're still getting in despite me owning a large Bullmastiff which scent marks regulary.So now i am going to have to start trapping them in my own garden.

[Nicola O]

I'd think about investing in a Foxwatch (a good deterrent, but not a preventative) or electric fencing or similar, if you really want to keep them out.

Sorry to laugh Olly, but I had a foxwatch and the large dog fox spent his time trying to destroy it. He was learning it's location and moving about behind it, so I kept moving it around the garden. His answer to that was to chew the mains lead into several pieces to stop it working. I then put a battery in it and he would attack it and knock it over and managed to snap it's 'leg', but his best trick was to wee on it every time he went past. Now they have gone I will put it back outside (after a good scrub of course). I am also going to look at electric fencing as well.

 

Nicola

[Olly]

I know Foxwatch doesn't work for everyone, but I and others on here have found them successful. They are only a deterrent, not a preventative, as I said. There is no absolute answer to foxes, the only safe recourse is to keep your hens in a fox-proof run and only allow supervised free-ranging.

[Nicola O]

Hope I didn't offend Olly, I wasn't laughing at you just the idea of a foxwatch working on this fella (seeing the way he reacted to it). I have had the foxwatch for two or three years it it HAD worked well in the past, but this chap appeared about four months ago and it obviously did not have any affect on him.

 

Nicola