[daddymatty82]

came home from work to find 1 welsummer headless carcase  load of peking feathers and maybe one missing so has any body got a fox trap i could loan please id be sooo greatful so now im down to 3 hens so there staying in the coop untill i can get sorted im traveling all over country so if you have a loaner i could borrow il see if i can get a job that way to pick it up cheers matty

[Womble]

Hiya,

Can't help you out directly, as our trap is currently set (lost a couple of hens a month ago, and saw fresh tracks in the snow last week).

However, it was made for us by a friend, and was pretty straightforward to do. If you don't have time to make one, you can buy one here, though unfortunately it's going to set you back £100!

Our homemade trap basically consists of a large wooden frame covered in sheep netting (Big squares so the cat can get out if we trap it inadvertantly. This is also great, as you can get your arms right inside to set the mechanism). One end has a hinged door, held open by a trigger mechanism (1/4" copper pipe going right to the back of the trap, with the bait attached). When the fox moves the bait, this releases the door, which hinges down closed under its own weight. It is then held closed by a standard door latch, but just with no doorknob on the inside  .

So, whilst we haven't caught our man yet, it's a pretty good trap, and I'm sure we'll get him when he next comes back. Part of our problem has been that the bait has always been frozen so far, so hasn't been giving off much scent. However, when the big thaw comes......   

HTH!

[fizzgigg]

if your any good with your hands get this book its been worth its weight in gold to me and the guy who wrote it/ runs the site is really helpful and really knows his stuff

[dyedinthewool]

Hiya,

Can't help you out directly, as our trap is currently set (lost a couple of hens a month ago, and saw fresh tracks in the snow last week).

However, it was made for us by a friend, and was pretty straightforward to do. If you don't have time to make one, you can buy one here, though unfortunately it's going to set you back £100!

Our homemade trap basically consists of a large wooden frame covered in sheep netting (Big squares so the cat can get out if we trap it inadvertantly. This is also great, as you can get your arms right inside to set the mechanism). One end has a hinged door, held open by a trigger mechanism (1/4" copper pipe going right to the back of the trap, with the bait attached). When the fox moves the bait, this releases the door, which hinges down closed under its own weight. It is then held closed by a standard door latch, but just with no doorknob on the inside  .

So, whilst we haven't caught our man yet, it's a pretty good trap, and I'm sure we'll get him when he next comes back. Part of our problem has been that the bait has always been frozen so far, so hasn't been giving off much scent. However, when the big thaw comes......   

HTH!

Hi Womble,
Any photo's please OH does better if he has a pic to go by.

Thanks

[Anke]

Any chance of mink taking your hens? Bitten off head with carcass still there is often a sign of mink, as far as I know?

If it is mink, your local pest control man may want to set some traps , they are usually very keen to get rid of mink!

[daddymatty82]

am in a housing estate not seen mink but seen two foxes iv aimed my car at them a few times but if i hit a wall with my car i dont think i will be able to hide the fact i was aiming for it but hey ho im gunna find a way till the day i die i will catch it some how i may take my jrt for a walk tonight

[Womble]

Hi Womble,
Any photo's please OH does better if he has a pic to go by.

OK, took a few snaps this morning. They didn't come out very well, but they should at least give the general idea.

The trap is basically a wooden frame, covered in sheep netting. There is also chicken wire around the end where the bait is, to stop foxy from sticking his paws in and triggering the mechanism from the outside.



The fox enters through a hinged door, which when triggered, falls under its own weight, and is then held closed by a standard door latch. This is the door in a partially closed position, just to show how it works.



And here is the trigger mechanism. The copper pipe fits just underneath the door catch, to hold the door open. This pipe extends right to the back of the trap, where it curves down towards the floor, and has the bait attached (visible in pic 1). When the fox grabs (or even nuzzles) the bait, the door is released, and locks closed.

So, like I say, since we haven't actually caught our fox yet, this is not yet proven technology. However, to our knowledge, he's not actually been back for the past three weeks, and it's quite possible one of the local farmers has dealt with him already!

Hope that's helpful!

Womble.
 

[darkbrowneggs]

There is some info here about fox traps.  Apparently it is imperative that there is no human or constructional chemical type smells on it, so when setting it use gloves, and also a scent lure is supposed to help.

http://www.ehow.co.uk/way_5474845_homemade-fox-traps.html

All the best
Sue

[Castle Farm]

I have a home made trap that I set up with a culled bird IF a fox start giving me problems. It never fails to catch, it might take a night or 2 but I always get the one that causes any problems.

It doesn't matter in the least if the fox gets your smell off the trap, as your smell is all over the runs,coops and area that the birds are in.



The U lock lies on the bottom preventing the trap door opening.

Bait end. bolted when set.



Once the bait has been put behind the plate and tied in the trap is set.

The target steps on the plate and pulls down on the rod. The gate falls bringing behind it a steel U shaped bar that locks behind the gate preventing ot being pulled inwards.

The trigger bar holds up the gate.


You can make out the drop U lock in this last photo.

The target is humanly dispatched with rifle.

You could make one easily enough with some heavy duty weldmesh.

[Pony-n-trap]

We have one set up at our field at the moment as there were just too many fox tracks in the snow and our ewes will be lambing in there, nothing so far.

We did set it up near the chicken garden as I spotted a fox at too close a quarter when the snow first fell, all we caught was 1 Springer pup! My Henry! Then 1 JRT! my Monty!!  So we decided foxy might have been passing through, although, when I drove over one that had already been knocked down on the lane, maybe that did the trick!!

[Hardfeather]

That's a good effort Womble, but I'd lay money on the fox being able to exit the trap through that square mesh.