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Post by Jim on May 1, 2017 8:37:32 GMT
I think we have a fox with a den close by, I'd let my hens out to graze and scrat about, turned my back for a while and one went missing. Had a good look around, no hen. Next day my better half saw a fox in the garden (I'd left the gate open to let her in if she turned up) It's the blue hen fox down right of centre Ban Foxes! I hate Foxes. On a happy note, another hen has gone broody, the lad next door works at a local hen farm, fertile eggs on the way to hatch our own for the first time.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 8:49:19 GMT
We had some ducks and chickens and geese, and ponies on the estate when I was a kid Fox used to visit regularly and decapitate them. Once my dad caught the fox while it was trying to climb a fence. Badly injured he took it to the vet who refused to put it down because one of his big customers was the local hunt leader and if she heard of him killing a fox it would be bad news.
So he released it and it came back. Obviously.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 8:52:32 GMT
It was such a regular visitor that I was petrified of foxes from the age of 6 as I usually saw at close hand what they had done, on one occasion to my "pet" indian runners - one decapitated and the other attacked and scared so badly he died
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 9:24:35 GMT
I had never ever seen a fox in the wild before until the other day, this despite living in a semi rural area.
Out walking Simon our JRT and he spotted it first on the path through the woods and froze staring at it whilst emitting a very low growl. It clocked us and scarpered very quickly with Simon straining at his lead to go after it.
Sure enough further along there was a dead chicken laid in the grass. It had carried it a fair way as there are allotments close by on which some of the holders keep chickens but they must be at least half a mile away.
Each day for a few days after that Simon showed a keen interest in the spot where the Fox was last seen.
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Post by naughtyfox on May 1, 2017 9:44:12 GMT
So much tastier than badgers!
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 9:46:31 GMT
Foxes don't like swimming. They will swim if they have to as all mammals will. Once when we chased the fox away it had no option but to swim across the hammer pond. Seemed to be ok but I don't think it would swim to grab a bird from the water.
Thats my impression anyway might be wrong.
Goose is delicious. Never tried badger personally. Squirrel isn't bad.
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Post by patty on May 1, 2017 10:21:07 GMT
We had 2 pet ducks from tiny ducklings..the tall ones..anyway youngest so had made pets out of them and they would run to him and sorta snuggle up. I built a run in the garden without any assistance from... you know..the man of the house or my lads(3 boys living at home)..so I guess my finished construction although undoubtedly unique one of a kind was not proof against ne'er do well foxes and I went out one am to find 2 headless ducks. I duly dug a large hole and buried them and prepared myself to impart the sad news to youngest son. He arrived home and I dunno what reaction I expected cos they'd been his much loved companions but it wasn't.......
"What u bury them for?..should have left them for the fox".....
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Post by Jim on May 1, 2017 10:25:36 GMT
We had 2 pet ducks from tiny ducklings..the tall ones..anyway youngest so had made pets out of them and they would run to him and sorta snuggle up. I built a run in the garden without any assistance from... you know..the man of the house or my lads(3 boys living at home)..so I guess my finished construction although undoubtedly unique one of a kind was not proof against ne'er do well foxes and I went out one am to find 2 headless ducks. I duly dug a large hole and buried them and prepared myself to impart the sad news to youngest son. He arrived home and I dunno what reaction I expected cos they'd been his much loved companions but it wasn't....... "What u bury them for?..should have left them for the fox"..... or get a couple of oranges......
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 10:37:47 GMT
"The tall ones" sounds like indian runners. Thats what I had.
Fair point about leaving the corpses for the fox ! Not sure about eating them as they are very skinny ducks if its the ones I am thinking of.
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Post by naughtyfox on May 1, 2017 11:22:07 GMT
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Post by patty on May 1, 2017 12:17:04 GMT
I would think badger as a meat probably not the nicest....they eat all sorts and Im sure it'd affect the meat... as to eating Ants ducks..I couldn't though sure he would have done though they were quite skinny.
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Post by thebfg on May 1, 2017 12:31:12 GMT
Is this an Indian runner. Saw a few on the Macclesfield at Easter.
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Post by Saltysplash on May 1, 2017 17:55:09 GMT
being on line moorings our biggest threat was neighbours cats so I had to build a fully enclosed run for our Hens and also threw the Rabbits in there as well.
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Post by patty on May 1, 2017 18:24:15 GMT
being on line moorings our biggest threat was neighbours cats so I had to build a fully enclosed run for our Hens and also threw the Rabbits in there as well. hmmm thats very good..my effort did not look like that
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Post by patty on May 1, 2017 18:25:31 GMT
Is this an Indian runner. Saw a few on the Macclesfield at Easter. ours didn't have the fluffy hats but they were very tall
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