We live in a remote area and in the last five years haven't seen any signs of foxes anywhere close to us. There are no rabbits in the area but a lot of smaller wildlife.

Tonight we've heard a fox within a few hundred yards of us (confirmed by comparing the noises with those from website nature sounds).

We have four cats and some hens....... so you know where I'm going with this.

Are there any measures I can take to keep the fox away - someone once told 'me' to pee around the grounds as the fox will steer away from conflicting scents....

If I had the ability and means I'd despatch the fox - assuming I could get even close enough to see, let alone shoot it. Some might not agree with this approach and, apart from the fact I don't have a weapon capable of killing a fox, the thought doesn't exactly please me either but my primary concern is for family pets and our source of eggs!

So, any tips on how to discourage a fox that 'might' want to try it on with out chicken coop and/or cats.

_________________
This post may contain nuts

i did have couple of chickens until about 6 weeks ago when a fox had them. A couple of weeks before thats a neighbour phoned to say she had spotted a fox prowling around. I did ask around other chicken keepers and the only adive was to pen them in fully with the chicken wire going a foot into the ground - mine had the entire garden to roam about it. The other solution was to shoot it (but no gun). Apart from that nobody gave any different advice.

_________________
Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

A fox will do what a fox does. The sad thing is that they will kill all the hens if they get in the coop. They will normally avoid cats as they know they can get hurt and this can be fatal to a fox. It is hunting for food and if it has established that there is a potential food source he will not give up.

You may be able to find a wildlife organisation who might trap it an relocate it but this might be difficult to achieve. A C02 air rifle with telescopic sights, good enough for the job, will cost about £100 and this will be powerful enough to kill it. It is not nice to do as foxes are not repulsive like a rat which is easier to dispatch. Plenty of shooters around who would do it I reckon.

Beef up the coop.

DWD

Our chickens are in a locked coop at night - we used to leave the coop door open but the cold weather means we now keep it closed and will continue to do so whilst there is a threat of a fox prowling around. The chicken RUN is wired but not to any depth but since this would mean a daytime attack by the fox I reckon burying the mesh wouldn't serve much of a purpose for the effort involved. We'd have to reconsider this if we ever went away for some days and had to leave the hens in their run though.....

Mrs k_e thinks a fox is unlikely to come around with our cats roaming (and ruling) the roost but I've heard of cats being attacked so am a little wary of the fact.

I've always thought of getting a 'decent' 0.22 (I've never heard of a CO2 rifle....) as we are so far from assistance that if any of the cats ever got seriously injured I could 'do the right thing' by them (as difficult as that would be) and maybe the fox issue will bring that need about sooner than I'd have liked.

There's little/no chance of getting the fox moved but I might be able to convince the nearest farmer to have a look around as lambing season will soon be upon us. If I can think of a reason that foxes could be affected by Global Warming I might even get a grant to shift them.....

_________________
This post may contain nuts

I presumed that foxes attacked during the night. Fair play to my chickens around dusk they would be sitting in their coop waiting for me to lock them up and I would let them out as soon as I woke up in the morning but it was during the day when I was out that the fox attacked. If you get yourself a decent .22 then Mrs k_e may have a new set of slippers soon (fox fur is meant to be warm )

_________________
Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

An air rifle IS NOT suitable for shooting foxes with.
Indeed it would be illegal to even try to shoot a fox with ANY air rifle. The law is very specific on what is and is not considered suitable quarry for air rifle hunting. You would be liable to prosecution for animal cruelty for trying.
SOME police forces allow hunting of foxes with .177 centre fire rifles (not rimfires) other police forces insist on minimum .22 rifles to shoot foxes. BTW Shot guns are also NOT suitable for shooting foxes.
There will be plenty of people in your area who have fire arms certificates and the appropiate rifles who are more than willing to come and shoot the fox for you. They will not normally charge for this. If you do not know of someone in your area ask a few local farmers for the phone number of the people who come and shoot foxes for them on their land. Every farmer has 3 or 4 people, some with air rifles who come and shoot rabbits, magpies, pidgeons, rats etc., some with shot guns who shoot these and pheasant and some with rifles (fire arms) who shoot these and foxes. Ensure that whoever you get has public liability insurance for using guns. They will be more than happy for you to ask to see an insurance certificate and their fire arms certicicate which will individually list every rifle and silencer they own (air weapons under 12 ft/lb will not be listed) and may ask you to sign a 'permission slip' so that thay have in writing that you have given them permission to shoot on your land. Depending on where the foxes will be, how much land you have and what surrounds your land - foot paths, roads etc. they may want to shoot from a bedroom window so that any shot that misses or passes through the target and out the other side will hit the ground and not pass beyond the boundaries of your property. They may also ask you to feed the foxes for a couple of nights prior to their visit by leaving for example a dish of dog food out for the fox at a certain time.

_________________
Mike

Really - since when? I suppose if you have a bad aim then an axe will finish the vermin off

_________________
Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

One of the neigbours I was discussing this with phoned me ealier and he Sky+ "Beyond River Cottage" it was on More 4 at 3.35pm. On that they mentioned peeing around the boundary. I suppose it depends on how many bladders you have at your disposal. If I tried it at mine it would take me ages plus I would probably be admitted to hospital with the amount of beer needed to produce it all!

_________________
Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

My C02 rifle (freshly charged) buries a .22 in ply and I would have thought it was strong enough to give a clean kill head shot to a fox. Foxes are vermin and somehow I do not think that Inspector Knacker will worry about forensically matching the pellet to a rifle. Shotguns have been used for years and years to kill animals in the country and I doubt that will change. Having said this I would only shoot an animal if I can kill it cleanly. I knocked out 5 rats last year all clean through the head.

DWD

I agree with DWD Foxes are vermin, like rats, rabbits etc and as long as you have the usual permission - the authority to shoot on the landowners land then you can shoot them all day long.

I'm pretty sure its some lurvies in the city who have dreamed up that law thinking foxes are cute and cuddly things - BOOM their gone!

_________________
Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

I had to read this twice as I couldn't believe what I was reading!

An air rifle won't kill a fox and it would be immoral and downright cruel to even try. I assume you meant a PCP air rifle when you mentioned CO2? CO2 rifles are mostly known as fun guns which you can use to shoot tin cans etc. A basic PCP (Pre-Charged Pneumatic) air rifle will cost you a minimum of £350 and that's without telescopic sights (mine cost £1000). If you can buy a PCP air rifle for £100 please show me where and I'll bring my cheque book .

Your best to buy a fox trap but they can be pricey or you can build your own but what would you do with it when trapped? I read recently in the Hunting Life forum that someone made one using the rails off an old filing cabinet and it was reasonably effective.

It is illegal to hunt them with dogs (try telling my lurcher that). You can trap them or shoot them with a Firearm or shotgun and that's it. Your best to clue yourself up with the hunting act.

If you PM me your address I can ask one of my mates who lives up your way (Dunollie) if he can sort you out.

There are conflicting reports of foxes taking cats but I don't believe it personally and I've been hunting for well over 35 years. My best advice is to leave it alone and it will move on. It will only return to a food source so make sure your neighbours aren't feeding them.

Not so I'm wondering why you would think this? It is perfectly acceptable to shoot a fox with a shotgun as long as it is brought in to range. This is usually done with a squealer. There are times when using a firearm is not practical such as restricted boundaries etc.

I've shot hundreds if not thousands foxes with my shotgun but generally use my 243.

Thanks for all the advice lads - legal and 'otherwise' . Like most, I don't have any particular qualms or fears over the 'authorities' attitude to this subject. I'm happy to leave Mr Fox alone providing he returns the favour BUT, and it's only a small but, one attempt at our chickens or even an attempt to chase the cats and Mr Fox is as good as a stole. Fcuk the law - he'd be dead meat by fair means or foul.

@ Argyll - your advice is particularly welcomed as it's obviously based on sound experience and I'm cheered by the fact that there are 'legal' processes if they need to be followed. I'll ask the local farmer(s) for their take on the issue as they might have their own hackles raised by knowledge of the fox in our area - it is, after all, a 'new' thing hereabouts.

We're not the only ones with hens locally - down in the village (a couple of hundred yards from us) I know of at least two other properties that have hens and had them since we moved here nearly 5 years ago. The only problems they've ever reported so far have been with pine martins and even then, the reports are sparse.

The presence of the fox wouldn't be such an issue if I knew there were rabbits or hares in the area but I'm told they were all mix'd out years ago and we've certainly not seen any anywhere on the 10 mile drive in/out of our location. The fox must live on something so I'm presuming mice and the like but with the weather closing in I'm sure he's after an easier meal.

In the meantime I'm laying in 1 billion cans of special brew........

_________________
This post may contain nuts

Is there going to be a special 'free taster evemt' for UHM members?

_________________
Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

Don't think Foxy will go after your cats, I'd back my cat in a stand up fight with anything up to and including a Rotty any day of the week!

As far as the chickens go, I think it's down to you to secure them, Foxy is only doing what comes naturally.

Could be worse, I hear there are plans to re-introduce wolves to parts of Scotland!