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Camile · Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 10:34 pm Post subject: One down .. more to go ?

Hello,

after spending hours stalking, baiting and lamping .. I finally got the culprit that took 8 of my birds....

a big old dog fox (won't post pictures as it might offend someone).

I caught last night by the hen houses (emptied but baited) ...

It was around 12h30 at night, went out just to check the legal snare in place, and there was the fox in the run (he had avoided the snare to get in).

He saw me, so we both started running towards the door, and he got caught in the snare towards the bag legs ! hurray !

I rushed in to grab the gun and within a minute, he had a fox pellet in the head and dropped ...

he was still breathing so I finished him off with the spade to make it quick ... as I still don't like things suffering, although the b"£^%$£^d as tormented me for weeks and took my best broodies.

But it is satisfying to have caught him myself, as it was a real personnal affair between him and I ...

Now the trouble is, would the vixen come up my way as she will have to work harder to feed the young ones ?

or would a dog fox be solitary and have his own private hunting ground ?

Please give me your thoughts on that ..

Thanks,
Camile

lofty · Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 65 Location: north mayo

i think the only answer is to keep going i would doubted there is just the one. During last winter we had a very similar problem, two foxes came one evening and took a good few hens and came back two weeks later to take the rest. All that they left was the poor rooster half dead at the door of the hen house he must have put up a brave fight. We mounted a huge effort with lamping and snares and realised that our area was alive with foxes. We ended up shooting ten with in 500 metres of the house over the space of a few months. It turned out some neightbours had been feeding the foxes which had created a draw to the area.

lofty · Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 65 Location: north mayo

as has just been proved to me the control on foxes has to be constant just had four hens killed at half eleven in the morning, only this spring we had replaced all after the last time they cleaned us out. Very frustrating

Camile · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:54 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear that Lofty,

I am lucky in the fact that this was the only fox causing us trouble so far as I haven't lost any other birds since that one went down.

Fingers crossed,
Camile

EGirl · Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Posts: 37 Location: Dublin, Ireland

Well done, Camile. Sorry to hear of your losses Lofty.

I too have been plagued over recent weeks. Foxes have killed two adult hens and four of my LS chicks. I have no access to an airgun or the like so I've invested in a big dog run to keep them secure.

lofty · Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 65 Location: north mayo

i think it will be all out attack this weekend

Camile · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject:

Baiting seems to be the way to go ...

That's what I've been recommended to do by people in the know .. and it does work ...

place bait in the same spot as often as needed, and after a few days, wait for the fox with a gun or install a snare ..

good luck
Camile

lofty · Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 65 Location: north mayo

i have that alright from a few people that baiting seems to be the way to go. I will have to give it a try thanks