Fox problems again

ryanwheelock · May 17, 2010

Last summer/ fall I posted on here about the fox that was getting my chickens. Some of you recommended trapping him, shooting him or using golden fly poisin. Well he left last year and I never had problems all winter until the last 2 weeks he got 2 chickens and a duck of mine. I kinda thought he moved out of the area which was good cause I really didnt want to have to kill him. I saw him twice this year, once in my car down the road and last week behind the barn. Looks like he dont have hair on his tail. So I figured I'm done being nice had had to get rid of him. I put out the coke and fly poisin friday night on the edge of the woods, go out sat morning and the poison is gone. I figured better go check that the barn cats are ok and didnt drink the stuff, was told they wont. I go into the barn and walk to the back room in the barn that the cats hang out in and theres the fox sleeping in a reclining chair I'm saving for a deer blind. Poison didnt kill him!!!! maybe I didnt give him enough????? Hes got poop all over, must be marking the barn as his area, never thought he would feel comfortable enough to live in my barn. He also bit my one cat on the rear leg, missing hair and 3 bite marks and cat cant walk on that leg.
So poisin him again with a stronger mix??? I been carring my 22 mag all the time with me now but cant shoot inside the barn. I thought I had a god mix of poisin, I thought after they eat it they only make it a few feet and die??? Sorry for the long rant but I'm done being nice to him.
Any ideas??
Thanks
Ryan

J.Wondergem · May 17, 2010

No hair on his tail? Sounds like he might have manage. The way he took over your barn, it sounds like it's time to get serious.

ryanwheelock · May 17, 2010

I thought mange too but neighbor saw him last fall and he didnt have the hair on tail. Wouldnt mange kill him after a few weeks or a month or 2??

Jim in Ma. · May 17, 2010

I would drop down to a long rifle/hollow point (same gun) and shoot him where he is - Don't try to scare him out to shoot as he runs away.

ddl · May 17, 2010

Mange is a skin condition treatable with shampoo i believe so it probably would not kill him.

GeneMO · May 17, 2010

I would not use poision. There is too much risk that a non target animal will get in it.

A snare is by far the best method. Find where it is going under a fence or going through a hole somewhere and put a snare in the trail. You can find snares at good outdoor supply places. It is not trapping season so you really need to contact your local Fish and Game folks, they can give you a destroy permit or whatever your state calls them. Plus they can train you in how to place the snare.

Good luck, Gene

MarkB_MI · May 17, 2010

Do you mean you got some bum advice here at the Oracle? That's never happened before!

Consider getting a dog. We never lost a chicken until after our Chesapeake died.

C.R. · May 17, 2010

get a dog!

Dblair · May 17, 2010

no hair on tail , later the hair on the body , start walking sideways, Rabies , be careful

dbernie · May 17, 2010

Okay, I'll apologize first--sorry for this post.
This rainy weather's got me hurtin' this mornin',
I'm bored, and spendin' my 10 minutes on the computer before I go rest my neck again.
Here I go...
You say you saw him in your car down the road, maybe call the sherriff and have him arrested for stealin' it.
Or instead, if he's livin' in your barn, too, maybe just invite him in for coffee and explain he needs to do some work around the place to earn his keep.
Okay, I'll go away now.

sotxbill · May 17, 2010

okay,, so you need to trap him first, shampoo him, get him all slicked up and and healthy,, so you can shoot him...

never say you didnt get good advise from this board..

trap him with a live trap,, haul him at least 50 miles away,, and release him..or just shoot him in the barn where he sits. your choice, your chickens.

RodinNS · May 17, 2010

Just shoot the damn thing already, wherever it is. Doesn't make that much mess. Certainly no more than you have already...

Rod

jimva · May 17, 2010

Just think if you had killed him last year,instead of screwing around trying to be Mr. Nature you would not be having all this trouble now and you would still have your chickens and duck and a barn cat wouldnt be on the verge of getting rabies from a rabid fox you"re letting run around.

If you know how use a gun then shooting the fox inside of the barn should not be a problem at all. I dont understand anyone who would want to fool around with poison? To many variables and clearly it didnt work for you. IF the fox is now living in the barn walk out there, find him pull the trigger, bury him and go on.

Yea its that easy!

ryanwheelock · May 17, 2010

I've got dogs, 5 of them. 2 are beagles in a pen and 3 are inside half the time and outside running free. They know hes there and try their damnest to find him.
I'd love to shoot him but last 2 times didnt have gun right with me, was in the shed and hes quick to take off after he sees me. I'm carring the gun all the time now.

ryanwheelock · May 17, 2010

You think its that easy!!!! I tried for 2 months last year to trap him with 2 different size traps and/or shoot him. Only saw him once in 2 months and that was in the very begining. If i saw him everyday I would have dropped his a$$ a long time ago.

ryanwheelock · May 17, 2010

last time we shot a possum in the same barn with a 22 long the bullet bounced off something, rock maybe, and took out the one rear tire on one of my farmall H's and the windshield on a snowmachine.

ryanwheelock · May 17, 2010

I think snares are illegal in michigan, I think. The poisin was the last thing I wanted to do, Id perfer the 22 mag or the trap. Cant get him to go in 2 diff size traps with diff types of bait, even dead chickens.

Ken Macfarlane · May 17, 2010

I'll disagree a bit. We have foxes, lots of them now. My sisters chickens have been fine so far. The big benefit? they have killed the rats. There used to be piles of damn rats and pigeons.

The cats and poison barely dented the rats, but 4 foxes have them under control.

MurrayE · May 17, 2010

This has really been an interesting story to read. Many good answers. Quite a lot of humor, soooo I hope the discussion goes on for a few more day's. Cheers, Murray

rlp in Co. · May 17, 2010

This reminds me of that movie, I think it was called Mouse House.

Michael Soldan · May 17, 2010

Well I'll add my two cents..the poison made from fly bait and Pepsi works on animals that like sweet tasting bait..generally raccoons and skunks..I'm doubting that the fox had any of the bait at all. I don't think they have a yen for sweet stuff. I have used this formula in the barn with the fifteen or so cats I had around, cats do not like sweet and I never had any problems or never lost a cat, I did pick up raccoons and carry them out of the barn for the last time..27 of them one year..I never carried a cat out, so the poison bait will not hurt cats because they won't touch it, the Fox may not have touched it either, I have never heard of it being used to kill foxes. Traditionally its for raccoons which like the sweet taste and will consume a deadly portion. The last fox I had coming around the farm quit coming after I shot at him a couple of times, I had an old .22 that wasn't very accurate, should have had my shotgun because he would come in shotgun range.

GordoSD · May 17, 2010

If you don't have one borrow a .410 shotgun and a couple 2 1/2 inch number 6's. Safe but deadly out to 50 feet.

Gordo

Anonymous-0 · May 17, 2010

Female fox pull their hair to line their nests. They have a range of two to five miles and live along the edges of forests, in tilled fields and near marshes. They prefer habitats with a diversity of vegetation types. They mate in January through March with a gestation period of 52 days. The average litter size is 5, weaned in 56–70 days. They will have several dens to protect the pups. Fox would rather eat rodents and rabbits than chickens But t they will eat chickens in the spring when there is a need to provide food for growing pups.

JR.Frye · May 17, 2010

RYAN:MY GOOD FRIEND:

My grandad would say a fox the barn is one thing but a fox in the chicken house means dead chickens.the very best POISEN to use is call"d
LEAD POISEN. It will work every time with out fail. It will not hurt the cats, the dogs,or even
the chickens. GOOD LUCK MYY GOOD FRIEND
JR.FRYE

Anonymous-0 · May 17, 2010

Or just leave him in the trap, tie a rope to the trap, throw it in the pond, if he swims to the other side, pull on the rope, and drag him back in! Never seen one get out alive, yet.

Jeff Oliver · May 17, 2010

If your worried about the bullet hitting something then try 22 mag rat shot. Not sure how close your getting to him but if your fairly close that will at least get him out of there. Might put a few of them in first them regular bullets. If you can get him out to where it is safer them you can use the bullets.

chrisinsoky · May 18, 2010

put a radio out in the barn, leave it on an am talk station. the sound of a human voice usally keeps them out. i aint lost a chicken since, another thing an old man up the road used to do
(he has passed away) was to pee around his barn, apparntly he thought the smell of human pee would keep the predators at bay. i also cant remember him ever losin a chicken either

NEBeef · May 18, 2010

My wife called me one morning to tell me the weirdest story... The chickens were making a racket, she opened the door and there was a fox trying to get into the pen. Before she could stop him, our whacky big black cat took off out the door towards the pen. He's one tough mother... He whacked the fox up side the head, ran that fox twice around the chicken pen on his hind legs swatting at him, then chased him off through the woods. That fox probably still has no idea what was after him, and he hasn't been back since...

ryanwheelock · May 18, 2010

Wish my cats were like that. Send yours over my way anytime.

Paul from MI · May 18, 2010

Had somewhat the same problem with groundhogs. Buddy at work made me a real good deal on an old 12ga. single shot. No more problem, and it's a lot better gun than it looks like.

Fox problems again

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