[jeffrey_barnfarm]

Evenin all'
Down to my last goose here - not all bad, I had planned to get rid of the final 2 this year to a neighbour of mine who has 70 or so of them, as the outbuilding they sleep in of an evening, has seen better days and is on its final summer before we pull it down.
Went out this evening - 1 left sitting in her bed, the other one had fell foul of the fox.
So... pest control...
Anyone here got any knowledge of shooting foxes? We have a 2.2 rifle on the farm, never fired a shot in anger in the 3 years of living here, now i think the time has come. The geese were to be replaced by hens end of the month so need to look after my ladies.
3 years of living the life here and so far, 6 hens to a fox, 1 male goose to a customers dog, then this evening, a goose is chalked up by the fox. Time to try saving whats left before the fox beats me to it.
I know the basics - patience, luck and squeak them out but never done it myself.
Any help would be of use.

J

[Rosemary]

Sorry, can't help. We only shoot rabbits and chickens - fxes way too big and fast for us. Lots of shooters on here though.

[doganjo]

Are your boundary fences good?  We used to let Hester our GWP out last thing at night to free roam round the hamlet.  Everyone knew she'd be around - we never saw any foxes although neighbouring farms outwith Hester's range did have.  A fox would have to be daft to tackle her.  I tried to load pictures of her but teh file is full I was told.

[jeffrey_barnfarm]

Boundary fences are like everyone elses im guessing here - part stone wall, part post and rail, part sheep netting - its certainly the norm for these parts. All the fields have some 'boundary' up but all can be jumped by fox or cat.

The shooting is more a preventative measure now - a few of the local farms have lost sheep this year and by all accounts its been an exceptional year with high numbers of fox around here.

BTW - GWP - german wirehaired pointer? Just looked them up - lovely looking dog.

[doganjo]

Would post pictures of her but it says the file is full, maybe Dan (admin) needs to do something.  She's nearly 12 now but still very sprightly - hope I'm as fit when I reach 84!