[clydesdaleclopper]

Well we had a visit from Mr Fox last night  he's taken a lovely breeding pair of blue Runner ducks and my best Blue Swedish duck  OH left the electric switched off on the netting - I think I want to kill him as much as I want to kill the blasted fox.

[Sylvia]

It's sickening, isn't it   I'm sure most of us have been there and learned a bitter  but valuable lesson. Foxy is always waiting for a slip up and he's in. You can't really blame him, he's an animal with no sense of malice or spite, the prey is there and it's food. Not that I wouldn't shoot him if he was on my land and after my chickens
It behoves us all to keep our poultry safe or put up with the consequences.

[doganjo]

Not sure that's a correct assessment of foxes, Sylvia.  I have known them get into a pheasant pen and kill every poult, and only eat a few.

[clydesdaleclopper]

Apparently my neighbour lost 24 hens a few days ago. OH is picking up a trap to try and catch it tonight.

[manian]

we had a fox kill our table birds ( I MISSED THE LATCH ON THE DOOR)
we were in the killing stage ourselves, we had done 3 and were doing 2 a night!!!!!
they were good sizes too, dressed weight between 9.5 and 8.5lb
she only took 2 and left 6 - we gave them to a friends dog (the skinned breasts)
Mx

[jaykay]

I'm so sorry . . It's my permanent worry (that and stoats) since ours free-range far too far for electric netting to protect them 

I have known them get into a pheasant pen and kill every poult, and only eat a few

Apparently it's a response to plentiful prey. They would remove them and stash them for later if left undisturbed.

[Rosemary]

Not sure that's a correct assessment of foxes, Sylvia.  I have known them get into a pheasant pen and kill every poult, and only eat a few.

I agree with jaykay. I don't believe foxes are malicious. Faced with a huge banquet, he'll kill all, eat as much as he can then carry the rest away for later. It's jsut that he doesn't get time to take them away. We lost a number of hens in one attack years ago and that's what we found happened. We found bodies stashed on the waste ground by our house. Faced with captive prey, he's hardly going to take one, and hope the rest will still be there tomorrow.

I'm afraid the onus is on us to protect our birds - no point railing against nature.

Sorry about your birds, though, clydesdaleclopper.

[fifixx]

All I can say is don't take it out too much on OH - so when you do the same thing in a few years, he will be as magnamanous (sp?) as you!!!

[Roxy]

Sorry about your loss.  Its horrible when it happens.  We have a large free range flock, and  dread the fox getting among all those hens.  Never had any bother since the llama was with the hens - always shut them in at night of course, but  I doubt the fox comes in the field .....the llama would have him.