Whats happened to my foxes ?

[squeek]

for many years we have fed our foxes, we've seen families come and go, and on occassions it has been quiet, but this is something else and are quite worried now, it must be at least 3 months since we saw our last fox and even that wasnt right as he had a mate and young family, who had dissappeared too.

the most foxes we counted at one time was 9, this was an amazing sight , they were running all over the place
now we dont even have one

we seem to have sheep around here now and wonder if its anything to do with that. is someone poisening them, is there more snares or is there a disease going around ?

we dont hear them anymore and they dont eat the food, we have had to stop putting it out as we'll get rats again, we had a hell of a job getting rid of them, we bought a humane rat trap which didnt work very well and one got out lucky it dint ran up my hubbys arm.

[squeek]

but please dont be put off by our faulty rat trap, we got it replaced for a better one.

but do be very very careful, always wear gloves, remember rats carry a deadly diesease which can kill us humans, last week a local died of it, freeing a rat from her bird feeder.

[stripee]

They could have just moved somewhere else, thinking positively. I haven't heard or seen any foxes for a couple of months and was wondering a bit like you and haven't seen their droppings about either. But maybe it's the time of year that they are low profile.

[squeek]

thanks for your reply, but i think its more sinister than that.

we've lived here for over 9 yrs and been very watchful of our foxes, and this is definately something different.

[Tracey.A]

It does sound strange! I hope they are okay?!

Tracey

[squeek]

yes me too.
we really miss them, every night we get their food ready just incase one comes into the garden.

[Dan Salter]

I should think the farmer is shooting them...we feed the local foxes here but they also shoot round here for rabbit and foxes so we try not to get too attached to them...this is the countryside though and this is country life.
We have just spent over 1000 pound getting a large fox proof enclosure built as we are getting chickens....but....foxes will find a way in im sure (but i hope not as we have taken every single measure)...but although my mum will be mad its not the foxes fault! if the icecream man left his van open overnight i would be in there after the cider apple lollies like a rat up a drainpipe...

talking of Rats too...although technically brown rats are non native so i shouldnt like them ...and granted rats can carry weils disease etc i think your exaggerating a little with deadly bites etc...it all feels a bit medieval or plague like, and i dont think the pied piper is in the yellow pages anymore!

[stripee]

I found an enormous fox dropping on an ant hill yesterday, black with eating berries, but as Dan says your ones could have been shot. All the foxes here live their lives on the off chance they will be dispatched in the autumn if they wander off. But, I expect sooner or later some clever fox will find your garden again.

[nye24]

This years litter of cubs will have dispersed from the den by now,if not then most certainly the vixen will have driven them away in order for her to have her patch of territory,the cubs will have moved a long way from the den by now,were the vixen is,is anyone's guess she might have been dispatched by lampers using a high velocity rifle,or worse snared,i very much doubt that they have been poisoned,however it won't be long before a dog fox or vixen moves in to your area again,its just a matter of time

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

I should think the farmer is shooting them...we feed the local foxes here but they also shoot round here for rabbit and foxes so we try not to get too attached to them...this is the countryside though and this is country life.
We have just spent over 1000 pound getting a large fox proof enclosure built as we are getting chickens....but....foxes will find a way in im sure (but i hope not as we have taken every single measure)...but although my mum will be mad its not the foxes fault! if the icecream man left his van open overnight i would be in there after the cider apple lollies like a rat up a drainpipe...

talking of Rats too...although technically brown rats are non native so i shouldnt like them ...and granted rats can carry weils disease etc i think your exaggerating a little with deadly bites etc...it all feels a bit medieval or plague like, and i dont think the pied piper is in the yellow pages anymore!

hi Dan. its good your doing what you can to prevent the foxes getting in without harming them, i would do that too if i were to keep chickens. just like to point out that i didnt say anything about deadly bites. i did say it was lucky it didnt run up hubby's arm. contact with a rat can be dangerous, as i mentioned earlier one local lady found out, she died .
i have heard that if you come in contact with rat fur or droppings you can catch the deadly weils disease.