Devildog

Sorry, but how can you not know which one of you "offed next doors cat"?

Torquemada

makes no sense, either you killed the cat or not

Back to the OP, I had ducks when I was about 8 and the foxes came along and munched them when we didn't have the defenses set up right, seeing dead ducks didn't damage/shock us at all though, part of life etc. Eventually had everything properly sealed off with chicken wire and dug in defenses and never had a problem after that.

Poor old Oscar and Rambo, they were awesome ducks

dpb

Well i certainly didnt feel ,hear, see anything ; its one cars width entrance to the rear of these places down a slope ,dogleg at the bottom - it wasnt splatted it on the road , must have crawled to its final resting place behind some bins

Torquemada

I've always been well aware of anything I've killed in the car, bumps under wheel etc. So you probably didn't do it then, unless you were driving a small tank

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

I will 'off' you in a minute

Tam the bam

cossie-nutter

iTrader: (45)

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I have been doing a bit of detective work today, just to make sure it was a fox. I have been on my hands and knees all day in the undergrowth cut to ****. Anyway i found my chook.



One shed was full of pigeon feathers with a big hole in the ground, i assume this is where they are living and next to that under a fence i found the final resting place for Isa

The gardens belong to older people they prolly cant manage the garden anymore so have let it go. Its like a mini woods. The neighbours told me that they howl in the street all night and climb onto shed roofs.

I think the problem is bigger than i first thought it was.

I have also spoken to someone that owns a gun.....

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

Dunk offed a cat but he is not sure

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Read Clarkson's book about him trying to do a stakeout at his house to catch the fox that had been killing his hens, whilst drunk

Devildog

Looks like it - if you were not aware of that you are potentially deaf and blind


Sara,

Shooting them won't make a difference, as others will fill their territory.

Just concentrate your efforts in making the coop safe

al4x1

also shooting them in gardens is generally a bad idea, get the person with the gun to trap them, move them somewhere sensible and send them to foxy heaven. At this time of year the cubs will be fairly well grown so you could have up to 7 or 8 foxes down that hole.
Of course you could block it up and with an old pre cat car stick a hose from the exhaust down the hole and odds are the problem would go away but that would be naughty and not legal.

Dedrater

I am surprised no one has mentioned the easiest way to deter a fox, putting human hair into tights/stockings etc and strapping them to the fence, the smell of a human deters them.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

I think i might buy one of these. This has to be the answer.

Fox trap, The Trap Man live capture fox trap, catches foxes alive and unharmed. catches the fox humanely,Available now for quick UK delivery

There are at least 5 cubs that have been seen out in the road with the parents so next year they will be having young and adding to the problem.

This shows just how persistent they can be, looks cute

Fox cub survives two weeks in a trap after mother brings him scraps of food every day | Mail Online

dpb

Well its a large estate car Mondeo 3 , and ,was, a small cat ( although apparently 10 years old ! ) , i just dont know

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

Whatever you do to rid the fox from your garden, another will fill the void immediately.
Concentrating on making sure you dont allow the next batch to be killed is more sensible.
good luck, I'm sure it's been a terrible experience and one you don't want to suffer again.

scoobyvirgin

Well after two years of rabbit ownership, we've just had a visit ourselves, I could here banging around and wondered what was going on, opened the blinds and saw mr fox, cheeky git looked at me when I turned the light on, didn't seemed too fussed until I got out the doors into the conservatory.
Hutch is in a bit of a mess inside, no damage outside tho as I built it very secure. Daft rabbits wanted to come out when I opened the door, prob to beat the fox up as they see everything else off.

All covered over now with half cut railway sleepers holding the cover in place, doubt the bugger will move them

Leslie

The only really effective way is to make the chicken house impregnable Sara.

Les

Dave T-S

I keep chickens and ducks, and I shoot foxes (with a .243 centrefire rifle) so do have some experience of the situation. I note there is mention of air rifles on here. Shooting is all about a safe and humane kill. An air rifle will NOT kill a fox, it will only wound, and anyone that attempts to use one on a fox deserves to be prosecuted by the RSPCA for cruelty

markr1963

Actually, no. Many moons ago I lived on a smalll farm with ducks, geese, hens and so on. Foxy would raid and leave what it killed, nicely jointed, all over the place. If the fox just killed to eat, fair enough. They don't.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

The fox took one chicken and left the other one dead but the fence is so high it may have been unable to take both and get away

Dave T-S

Trust me - if it wanted to, it would. They kill for fun.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

It has a litter of cubs, well it did so it must have needed the food. It was middle of the afternoon too so i doubt it would have done it unless it needed to.

I have a meeting with Peter Lilley (MP)coming up. I will be talking about the foxes as they are taking over the streets at night and people are scared to walk down the road. I have invited someone from the local council to the meeting as they think it is not down to them to control the problem.

My chickens did not die in vain

Simon C

Why be scarred of a fox?? Its not going to do a human any harm unless cornered and thinks it needs to fight its way out.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

The kids are scared, to them its a wild dog. Foxes should not be roaming the streets and their numbers need controlling.

salsa-king

you want to get a better chicken coop... one of these..
Omlet UK | Our fantastic chicken house and rabbit hutch the eglu! | Keeping chickens and keeping rabbits



i wouldn't have thought a fox would be around at 3pm in the daytime in a built up area. r u sure its not someone with a dog who's got into your garden to do it on purpose?

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

Sorry Sara, but why do you need chickens at home?

They could also be a health problem at the end of the day...........

Foxes are just doing their stuff.

sarasquares

iTrader: (1)

Salsa, i don't think a dog could have scaled an 8ft fence, anyway i found my chickens feathers in a shed at the end of my road along with lots of grey feathers.



Janspeed, i have chickens so i can have fresh eggs. You need to worn chickens and treat them for mites etc, nothing to nasty

Foxes are not meant to live in Urban areas, especially when their is countryside everywhere you look. They seem to be living here because the are too many of them to live in the surrounding countryside, and its easy pickings for them here.

This is an established area so no one has encroached on their territory forcing them out of their own environment.

Pigeons get culled when their numbers get too high so i think the same needs to be done here with the foxes. They not only kill small pets like rabbits but will also kill a cat, and my chickens.

This is my opinion and i am aware that it will differ from some of yours.

CLSII

But Foxes are lovely fluffy creatures and they wouldn't do nasty bad things like this. The Labour party believes that Mr Fox is not Mr Nawty Wawty, several years of parliamentary business has been spent protecting them from the bad people who lie about them. They are just misunderstood. Usually it would be a passing Conservative who killed your animals

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Where?

The UK outside of towns and cities is all houses and ploughed farmland.