sarkymite Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 We are currently looking after SD's rabbits while she's away. Hutch is directly below our bedroom window. No incidents for the first 5 nights. Last night I was woken at 1.40am by rabbit thumping. Repeated thumping. As the previous night something had dug up all my newly sown seedlings in the veg plot and left a suspiciously fox sized paw print behind, I jumped up and dashed out with a torch, scared to death as I did so. The torch picked up a small pair of eyes fairly near the house which then turned into a shadow melting up the garden, at the same time there was a rather ungraceful crash landing over a fence higher up the garden where the hedge ends, I shone the torch up where it came from and found another pair of eyes, this clearly a much bigger beast. I swung the torch across to the chickens run and to my horror found 2 pairs of eyes staring at me from over there. The big animal then gave a short call and in unison they all disappeared. I heard them all go over the back fence. I was shaking with adrenaline and fear, think I've said before I'm a bit (ok a lot) scared of them. Needless to say I haven't slept a wink, spent the rest of the night in a state if high alert with my heart racing, but the chickens slept right through the whole thing and the rabbits were quiet for the rest of the night. Lying awake in the small hours I heard more fox calls further away through the night. I'm guessing it must be the female we saw earlier in the year with cubs in tow, and that must be why my veggies are getting dug up, as the cubs will be playing, practising and also eating insects. Soooo tired this morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Glad the bunnies (and chickens) were ok. That definitely sounds like a fox and cubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millie-Annie Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 It might be worth getting some Scoot and spraying that around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarkymite Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Definitely getting some scoot. Have been trying to persuade OH to pee up the fence while I wait for it to arrive but he's not convinced We've brought the entire rabbit hutch indoors tonight, i've shut the chickens properly in the Eglu and we've laid "soft" traps around, ie stuff that will get disturbed /moved / marked by fox activity so we can monitor if they visit again tonight. And I've netted/caged what few plants are left in my veggie plot!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Sounds like a vixen and cubs, and TBH you'll find it impossible to get rid of them, or keep them out.... sorry Your best bet is to secure everything and have the chooks in a walk-in run, and just embrace the fact that you have some entertaining wildlife in yer garden. OH had a fox problem at his place, but my lurchers seem to have sent him packing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarkymite Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 just embrace the fact that you have some entertaining wildlife in yer garden. Entertaining?! I've no carrots nor leeks left thanks to them!!! I know the chickens are reasonably safe in their WIR and I know there's not a lot can be done about it, but they could at least make themselves useful and dig up weeds instead of veggies I don't think they visited last night. I think probably they were disturbed by all the stuff we'd rearranged, but I've already seen them this evening in next doors garden so I think they'll be in trying to play football with my beetroots before long... I'm back to shutting the chooks in to the Eglu overnight as extra measure and am bidding on Cubes on eBay so hopefully they can have bigger housing. I know it's technically enough space for them but I still don't like shutting them into the tiny Classic at night. Ho hum... Apparently there used to be an elderly lady 2 doors down who used to feed them and they used to den in her garden. I guess this might help explain why there are quite so many locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millie-Annie Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Why are people so stupid????? The fox we had appeared to have been fed by humans as it had no fear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancing cloud Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 We're surrounded by them, big foxes and small . They sit on the next-door's garage roof and watch the dogs with interest but no fear at all - and they're not small dogs. If they run away from us in the field, they just jump over wall into the next field and sit there doing the foxy equivalent of sticking their tongues out at us because they know they're safe there. No chance of hens free-ranging - ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
