Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Grey Foxes - 9, Humans - 1

We have been heavily hit this year by grey foxes. They have taken everything from fledgling pullets to full size roosters. Everyone has stories to tell - the old timers are saying this is a record year and they don't remember when they ever saw so many. In fact, a rabid fox bit it little boy in Bennington (9 miles away) just last week.

But tonight, DH got a yearling female.

Part of the cycle of life; but I am going to enjoy tipping one back for the ladies tonight.

6 comments:

Miss Effie said...

Yea for DH!! After seeing the destruction a fox does .. and cleaning everything up... I hate those fuzzy creatures.

Marc Osten said...

So what are your options for revenge...or at least prevention.

melanie said...

Foxes are hard to deal with - they don't usually fall for Have-a-Heart traps (which means we could catch and release) and they will often break the "rules" (grey foxes are traditionally nocturnal and they seem to make their worst hits around 5 in the afternoon) so unfortunately this seems to be the only response that works.

We are dedicated to free-range and pastured poultry, so we have taken to learning their habits. We have an area where they like to lay (we have found scat and had several sightings) so Bill staked it out and found an angle that would allow him to safely shoot...and viola! it worked.

Susan said...

It's a jungle out there. I have been hearing what I believe is a good-sized Barred owl later and later in the morning. There's talk of fisher cat sightings, and that fills my heart with dread more than anything else. Time for your DH to give me some shooting tips...

Susan said...

Shouldn't that be Grey Foxes 9, Humans - 2???

melanie said...

Well, I was waiting to find the body or something before I updated...and all I have found is more recent scat in my garden!!! Grrr....