Hi all:

A friend of mine has a big problem - a young fox is killing her chickens and ducks. Last night she caught the fox hauling away the carcass of a duck and retrieved the carcass.

Now she would like to know what she can do with the carcass to use it as bait. She had 3 small dogs that a loose on the property so a leg trap would not be advisable. Has anyone any suggestions to deal with this problem.

-- Kari (wildcatt@telusplanet.net), August 10, 2001

Answers

Yes. Pen the chickens and ducks up at night. It's really the ONLY way they'll be safe from predators. Foxes, owls, coyotes, weasels and minks, you name it, they all know the poultry are there and it's just a matter of time before the next predator moves in on the birds if you did get rid of the fox. There's no stopping them unless the birds are protected. Besides, the fox is only minding its own business doing what comes naturally to being a fox. That's a nasty reason to destroy it.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), August 10, 2001.

If it weren't for the presence of the dogs, a wire snare might work. Most small predators sneak up next to the perimeter of the building they are attempting to sneak in; setting up a wire snare would probably catch it. This might work though:

Lean a 1x12 board leaned up against a wall and attach the snare well inside it. You will catch many predators that are able to 'sneak' inside the formed tunnel.

I understand that geese are pretty tough critters, especially in groups. Would it be feasible to get three or four of them; they are LOUD, very watchful, and in groups are damn near fearless of everything.

The other responses are probably true; it is going to be a constant job preventing predation. But that is what predators do.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), August 10, 2001.

I had nineteen chickens in a portable coop; had a fox break in and take almost all of them(all but five) in one night!!! I had thought if he broke in, he'd take one or two and I'd know it wasn't secure enough and start bringing the others in. Boy, did he surprise me! My dad says we should shoot the fox, but he really is gorgeous(I know); we are thinking what we need is a more secure coop.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), August 10, 2001.

sounds like you should shoot the dogs and train the fox. If you have 3 loose dogs runnning around and they dont keep one young fox away,,, your in trouble. Set out a LOT of traps and hope you get the dogs also along with the fox. If you dont want to set traps,, then the only thing left is to shoot it. or pen the dogs up for a few days,,

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), August 10, 2001.

I like the idea of training the fox and shooting the dogs but I don't think Patty would go for it!! lol

Interesting about the geese - she also has a number of geese but they took refuge in the goat house (ordinarily they won't have anything to do with her billy goat) but when she went out to check, they were all hiding in the goat barn and the goat was outside. Maybe he is the better watch - goat (dog).

At any rate, I will pass these along to her and see if anything helps. If anyone else has a humane idea, please pass it along

Thanks, Kari If

-- Kari (wildcatt@telusplanet.net), August 10, 2001.

Hello Kari You do have a problem. I have had this trouble for years . I hav a neighbor who had geese and ducks . the foxes got nearly all of them. she called the parish (county ) trapper . he put out traps and caught 2 couotes and a young bobcat but no foxes . I lost all but 3 chickens . The fox would get bait (dead squirrels ) but when yoou put traps near the bait he wouldnt touch it ., Pick up the traps and he would take the bait . I locked up my chickens at night, and let them out in the morning, . he learned my schedule and started getting them after daylight. We staeted seeing the fox at the back of the pasture , then, there were two .. the other day my neighbor swore he saw seven foxes in the pasture . We cant shoot because we are in the city, and houses all around. I now keep my chickens in cages 24-7 . Good luck Big George

-- George Wilson (cwwhtw@aol.com), August 12, 2001.