Getting rid of foxes

7 posts
Tue, 12/04/2012 - 21:39 #1

Member for

12 years 2 months
sandy
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 08/22/2012 - 08:18

Getting rid of foxes

Hi all, what is the most effective and fastest way to get a fox. l have a cleared property with ajoining property of covered trees and scrub. this fox spots me long before l spot her. l have lost my chickens to her and l want to get some more, so some good smart advice would be welcomed. oh also we live to close to town to use a rifle.

Regards, Sandy

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Thu, 12/06/2012 - 14:39 #2
rmcpb
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 10/22/2012 - 11:13

Pity about the inability for a rifle, very quick and efficient and humane.

The next best would be a trap but without chooks to bait the fox up this could be a problem so I would opt for strengthening the chookyard and restocking then setting some traps around it. When caught the fox can be quickly disposed of.

While baits are an option I would not use them. They are cruel and it sounds like you are too close to town and may end up having to explain dead dogs on your place.

So trapping seems to the best option in my books.

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Thu, 12/06/2012 - 14:40 #3
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi Sandy,

I'm sorry about your chooks. I have had the same experience. The fact that you live too close to town to use a rifle limits the options because you are probably too close to town to use 1080 baits also. However there are two other options that are both legal and effective. The first is to obtain some soft jaw traps. In Qld where I live you can borrow some from the local council. these traps catch the animal by the leg without the cruelty of the old traps which cause fractures. The traps need to be checked at least once per day to avoid letting it starve or die of thirst. As it is only trying to hunt to survive.They council pest controller will tell you how to set them.

The second option is to obtain a dog trap cage, probably from your local council also,  which is baited to lure the fox into it. Sometimes you can spray the cage with Feralmone which is a pheromone lure that helps the fox locate the cage. Handle the cage with your bare hands as little as possible, because they can smell human scent and it can scare them off. I wear disposable gloves.

When he enters the cage and either steps on the lever to get at the bait or pulls the bait, depending on what type it is, the one way door closes trapping him in the cage.  As they are a declared pest, the local pest control officer will tell you where you can legally dispose of it, usually without cost to yourself. If you do catch it, careful when lifting the cage as they can bite or scratch you through the mesh near the handle and they have filthy mouths and claws.

I assume that you want to let your chooks free range, but until you get the fox of course that would be impossible. You could still have chooks until you do by fox proofing their pen. this means burying the mesh for the cage at least 50cm under the ground and flaring the end you are burying out at least another 50cm. This will stop it digging under, which they are very good at. The next thing is to make the mesh walls of the cage high enough for you to walk into the pen to change their water etc. because you need to cover the top of the pen with mesh to stop the fox climbing up the wall and gaining entry that way. They are excellent climbers and decimated a friends chooks one night by climbing the walls to get at them. while the chooks are confined you can cut fresh green grass for them to keep them happy. Make the grass long so they can have fun scratching around in it.

I hope that this helps. It is awful to lose them to predators as if you are like me, you get very attached to them and of course, there is nothing to compare with fresh eggs.

cheers,

Barb

 

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Thu, 12/06/2012 - 22:48 #4
sandy
Last seen: 03/08/2018 - 21:05
Joined: 08/22/2012 - 08:18
Thankyou to both answers, much apprieciated. l think l will have to use a cage and catch foxy loxy.. l have an old lab and the neighbouring properties also have dogs. l will ask my local coucil Barb, hopefully this program is nationwide. l don't know what is worst sometimes.....foxes or blackberries! lol... Merry Christmas everyone. and remember stay farm SAFE. cheers, Sandy.
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Fri, 12/07/2012 - 10:05 #5
barb
Last seen: 09/17/2019 - 18:07
Joined: 11/23/2011 - 09:38

Hi  Sandy,

glad to have helped. Depending on where you live, sometimes you need to get the traps from the Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Regarding your blackberries. If you have the right type of fencing, goats can be a natural solution to the problem as they love them. To force them to eat the blackberries you can confine them in a badly infested area so they are forced to eat them. You need to make sure they have access to water at the same time though and that the blackberry canes haven't been sprayed with herbicides. If confined to a small area keep an eye on them so that don't run out of feed.

Cheers,

Barb

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Fri, 01/04/2013 - 13:50 #6
nicephotog
Last seen: 12/16/2013 - 09:45
Joined: 12/31/2012 - 02:56

If you are prepared to wait in that type of situation and location, you can reasonably much use a 45Lb compound bow and spotlight with a broadhead arrow type and pin sights if you really need to , the other is if your neighbours get bothered by foxes commonly and you don't want to bump it, you can get humane dog traps with a spring door and some left over KFC for the joke.

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Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:02 #7
AJS
Last seen: 07/08/2019 - 07:51
Joined: 01/12/2013 - 11:35

Hi sandy,

Sorry about your chooks. 

I'm not sure how definite this information is but a large free range chook farm near us puts an alpaca in with their chooks. Apparently they hiss at the foxes which scares them off. 

Aside from that, foxes tend to come out early in the morning or late afternoon so we make sure to keep our chooks in a little later in the morning before letting them out for the day.

AJS

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