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Post by binnylou on Jun 9, 2019 22:15:39 GMT -5
We've been hearing a fox for at least a year. Then i started seeing one last fall. Tonight, the cat was all agitated and acting strange but watching out the patio door. I assumed there was another cat on the yard. When I came upstairs, I turned the outside lights on just to have a look see out the front door. And there she was...just a few feet from our front door. I say "she" because this one was smaller than what we have been seeing. She wasn't bothered by the light being turned on and she was just looking around, but very much on the alert. Probably figuring that there is a cat that lives here. I assume a fox will harm a cat?
She's a beauty. I hope she stays. I think she could give the local chipmunks something to think about.
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Post by Mumsey on Jun 10, 2019 5:10:32 GMT -5
binnylou, I would think the size of the cat would depend on the fox's willingness to pursue it. Young kittens would probably be most at risk. A facebook friend is a photographer, she has been following the same fox pair for a couple years. This year the mom was killed by a car. My friend and her friends brought food for the kits, then discovered the dad fox was caring for the kits. They are getting along great and thriving. The wonders of Nature!
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Post by binnylou on Jun 11, 2019 20:08:58 GMT -5
I found critter poo in the flower garden. I think it is probably the fox, as it wasn't covered. I also found that a couple of the plastic markers for my dahlias had been removed and relocated. Are fox playful? Would they do this?
Hubby went to town this morning and shortly after he left the yard, he called to say that he had seen the fox on the yard. He had only been gone but a few minutes, and I heard gun fire. I hope a neighbor isn't shooting at the fox.
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Post by Mumsey on Jun 12, 2019 7:21:12 GMT -5
binnylou, If your neighbor has chickens maybe he is going for the fox. Sad.
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Post by reuben on Jun 12, 2019 8:55:42 GMT -5
I found critter poo in the flower garden. Foxes prefer stone for some reason. Strange, but true.
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Post by James on Jun 12, 2019 9:33:17 GMT -5
Fox? Sorry, I know nothing about foxes. Here we have mountain lions, bobcats, coyote, skunks, raccoons, weasels, but no fox.
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Post by tom ๐ on Jun 12, 2019 10:06:08 GMT -5
If your neighbor has chickens maybe he is going for the fox. Sad. Here, if you have chickens, you are going to kill fox, I confess. I've killed my share. Even my mother as a young woman killed a fox with a 22 while it was dragging off one of her hens. I appreciate the beauty of foxes dancing in the back yard on a moon lit night. Few see such things.
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Post by tom ๐ on Jun 12, 2019 10:31:09 GMT -5
Fox? Sorry, I know nothing about foxes. Here we have mountain lions, bobcats, coyote, skunks, raccoons, weasels, but no fox. I suspect you don't have fox because coyotes kill fox. Coyotes were introduced here by the tree farm companies to kill the deer that eat new pine trees. Coyotes have now finished off most of the natural, local foxes, I think.
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Post by reuben on Jun 12, 2019 12:33:28 GMT -5
Foxes love chickens. To eat. A neighbor has had chickens at various times over the years. A few years ago a fox got inside, and taught its kits how to kill chickens. They didn't even eat the chickens, it was just a teachable moment for the kits.
And so it goes.
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Post by tom ๐ on Jun 12, 2019 12:58:51 GMT -5
We have two kinds of fox here. The hound-size grey fox and a much smaller red fox. A cousin had me hunting squirrel. About the last thing I want to do in life is shoot a squirrel, but I was obliging cousin. This dog ran just in front of me. I could have reached down and petted it. Cousin knew better. It wasn't a dog but a grey fox. He swung around on it, but the underbrush was too heavy for him to get a shot off. I was walking down a farm road one evening. Up the hill comes a red fox. I stopped walking and stood there. Brer fox comes right on up the hill. About ten feet off he stops and sticks his head up. I must have been well washed because brer fox didn't detects me until ten feet off.
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Post by binnylou on Jun 12, 2019 14:00:52 GMT -5
Well, there is still at least one fox๐ฆ in the neighborhood. I had just settled down for an overnight nap and heard one scream/bark really close to our bedroom window. Scared the cr@p out of me. I could hear it moving all around the yard, screaming/barking continuously.
Neighbors to the north have had chickens. I would hear crowing throughout the day. I donโt hear that anymore. Wonder why? If folks in the country are going to have poultry, they need to offer varmitproof shelter. Free range just doesnโt work when there are hawks, eagles and four legged critters around.
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Post by binnylou on Jun 17, 2019 15:35:01 GMT -5
We had two foxes on the yard this morning. They were playing for a bit, then disappeared by way of the mowed path that goes around the outer edge of our back four. I watched for a while and one of them returned and ended up at the flower garden. On Saturday, there was new mole activity, complete with the mound of dirt . I made a hole, drizzled some castor oil down the hole, and poured some water down the hole. I also had newly planted marigolds right in the same area. The marigolds had been dusted to keep the deer from browsing.
So, Iโm watching the fox, hunting right where the mole was...heโs digging like crazy...he stops, jumps straight up in the air and pounces on the freshly dug area. He must have done this ten times ...stopping and having a lie down every so often. I assumed heโs listening for movement underground. It was entertaining to watch, but I really didnโt want him to dig up my flower garden. I knocked on the window, but that didnโt disturb him. I raised the window and yelled at him. That didnโt disturb him. I barked at him, and he decided to move along. I assume he will be back. We had errands to do and just got home, so Iโd best go check my flower bed.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 17, 2019 16:29:24 GMT -5
tom ๐, we had red foxes a-plenty, years ago. Then the coyotes became more plentiful, and the foxes have disappeared. Miss them, they are beautiful animals and indeed a sight to see frolicking at night.
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Post by deckman22 on Jun 17, 2019 17:49:28 GMT -5
Even tho we have lots of coyotes being in ranch country we still have fox too. I've had them walk right up to me at night coming within a few feet. Sometimes I'll see one walking out in the woods behind the house during the day. I have chickens but have given the fox a pass so far. I don't like killing wildlife so unless I catch them in the act of killing a chicken or eating fruit from my trees they get a pass.
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Post by binnylou on Jun 17, 2019 17:53:13 GMT -5
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