Need tips for fox

[Husky243]

I have a fox doing the rounds around a acreage property. Den is likely on another property but usually cuts through this property randomly. Pops up 1-3 nights at random times and then disappears for a week or 3. Property has neighbours so subsonics only which leaves me using the 22LR with no thermal or night vision but close range <20m as it passes by the house. A few months ago I left a rabbit and few chicken necks out and placed a borrowed cage nearby covered with sticks and leaf litter and leaves on top cage floor with no bait for 2 weeks. The buried rabbit and chicken necks taken by fox few days after. Then placed chicken necks under cage for 3 weeks and no luck. I probably visited site too much leaving my scent. Didn’t want it suffering in the heat through the day so checked every morning. While I used a purpose built fox cage it seemed a couple of inches short for this fox based on the trail cam images. Does that matter? I’m wondering if my best option is trying again with the cage as I can’t afford to wait up all night for what possibly could be a couple of weeks for me to only spook it. Sorry, not an option for others to come onto property to hunt it. Thoughts?

[Oldbloke]

Leg trap or poison. Not that I'm a fan of either.

[bigpete]

Leg trap or poison. Not that I'm a fan of either.

Nor are either necessarily legal.....

[Peter988]

It will still be up and about early morning. Have you tried to whistle it in ?

[Oldbloke]

Leg trap or poison. Not that I'm a fan of either.

Nor are either necessarily legal.....

NFI

[animalpest]

The bigger the cage the better. Set the cage so you don't need to go close to check it. Foxes don't really like to enter a cubby (unlike cats) so you can overdo the covering over the cage. Tryng to "hide" the cage is pointless. Don't cover the back so the fox doesn't feel trapped when it enters.
Don't bury the food completely as you want the fox to see and concentrate on the food.
Cover the bottom mesh with sand - the fox could still feel the mesh otherwise.

[Blr243]

Good thinking tips from animal p

[Husky243]

Thank you everyone. That's some great tips animalpest.
Oldbloke, I have been lent a soft leg trap and didn't even consider the legality. Will look into it. I can't bring myself to use poison bait.

[Oldbloke]

Yeh need to check but got a feeling soft traps are ok. Each state will vary I guess.
Poison would be last option for me.

Animal pest should know?

[Tilb004]

I have a fox doing the rounds around a acreage property. Den is likely on another property but usually cuts through this property randomly. Pops up 1-3 nights at random times and then disappears for a week or 3. Property has neighbours so subsonics only which leaves me using the 22LR with no thermal or night vision but close range <20m as it passes by the house. A few months ago I left a rabbit and few chicken necks out and placed a borrowed cage nearby covered with sticks and leaf litter and leaves on top cage floor with no bait for 2 weeks. The buried rabbit and chicken necks taken by fox few days after. Then placed chicken necks under cage for 3 weeks and no luck. I probably visited site too much leaving my scent. Didn’t want it suffering in the heat through the day so checked every morning. While I used a purpose built fox cage it seemed a couple of inches short for this fox based on the trail cam images. Does that matter? I’m wondering if my best option is trying again with the cage as I can’t afford to wait up all night for what possibly could be a couple of weeks for me to only spook it. Sorry, not an option for others to come onto property to hunt it. Thoughts?

I heard a pro fox trapper around my neck of the woods swears by a cooked chook from coles .
Take the meat off the bone put it in a stocking ( ladies ) and hang it in the trap , recons they can't resist.

Best of luck

[animalpest]

Each State has it's own rules on the use of foot-hold traps. Which State are you in?

We don't call them leg hold as the right sized trap should catch the foot. Catching up on the leg can break bones.

[bigpete]

I have a fox doing the rounds around a acreage property. Den is likely on another property but usually cuts through this property randomly. Pops up 1-3 nights at random times and then disappears for a week or 3. Property has neighbours so subsonics only which leaves me using the 22LR with no thermal or night vision but close range <20m as it passes by the house. A few months ago I left a rabbit and few chicken necks out and placed a borrowed cage nearby covered with sticks and leaf litter and leaves on top cage floor with no bait for 2 weeks. The buried rabbit and chicken necks taken by fox few days after. Then placed chicken necks under cage for 3 weeks and no luck. I probably visited site too much leaving my scent. Didn’t want it suffering in the heat through the day so checked every morning. While I used a purpose built fox cage it seemed a couple of inches short for this fox based on the trail cam images. Does that matter? I’m wondering if my best option is trying again with the cage as I can’t afford to wait up all night for what possibly could be a couple of weeks for me to only spook it. Sorry, not an option for others to come onto property to hunt it. Thoughts?

I heard a pro fox trapper around my neck of the woods swears by a cooked chook from coles .
Take the meat off the bone put it in a stocking ( ladies ) and hang it in the trap , recons they can't resist.

Best of luck

Any reason you can't use mens stockings?

[animalpest]

Sometimes hanging cooked chook will work. Many times it won't. Yep, only Coles cooked chook works

You will get some stupid foxes do stupid things. Young and/or naive foxes, sick or injured or those used to pinching food around humans will be easier to catch. We even get the odd fox in a cat cage.

[NTSOG]

Cripes! Cooked chooks for foxes!

Obviously that's where I went wrong a couple of months ago: I was given two dead chooks by a neighbour after a fox got in his henhouse.

I hung them off steelies at different places on my property high enough to require some very high jumping by hungry foxes just to get a nibble. My trail cameras showed no customers over 10 days or so. Eventually the maggots got the good stuff leaving the skin and feathers. It seems I should have cooked them first.

Jim

[Husky243]

Each State has it's own rules on the use of foot-hold traps. Which State are you in?

Ok, thanks. I’m in Queensland. Do you think it is better to hang from cage or bury it under. Bury under means I need to interfere with cage but that’s what was recommended to me originally

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[animalpest]

No don't bury it. You encourage digging rather than pulling.

If you can get a bigger cage that would help. Is that a plate or hook trap?

[Die Judicii]

Hey Mate,,, From my own personal experience, you are on the right track as far as baits are concerned. (raw chicken necks)
Although foxes certainly don't get get em normally (like they are from the supermarket) they are however possibly the best attractant/bait possible.
I had a pet one from approx eight weeks old,, and he lived to the ripe old age of 14 years, and then died from a tumor.
In those years without doubt,,, his most favored tucker of all was chicken necks and crickets.

[Husky243]

No don't bury it. You encourage digging rather than pulling.

If you can get a bigger cage that would help. Is that a plate or hook trap?

Ok, thanks. It's a plate trap

Hey Mate,,, From my own personal experience, you are on the right track as far as baits are concerned. (raw chicken necks)
Although foxes certainly don't get get em normally (like they are from the supermarket) they are however possibly the best attractant/bait possible.
I had a pet one from approx eight weeks old,, and he lived to the ripe old age of 14 years, and then died from a tumor.
In those years without doubt,,, his most favored tucker of all was chicken necks and crickets.

A pet fox, interesting. This fox seems to like them and keeps coming back looking for more.

[animalpest]

Shame it's a plate trap, hook traps work better on foxes.
Rabbit is better than chook. But both will catch some foxes.

[Oldbloke]

Did you get him Husky?

[Die Judicii]

Early on you said you have neighbors and that forced yo to use .22rf subsonics,,,,,

Have you given thought to actually asking the neighbors if a shot from a 223 or similar would cause problems.
After all, you should theoretically only need one shot to end your problem.

[Oldbloke]

Early on you said you have neighbors and that forced yo to use .22rf subsonics,,,,,

Have you given thought to actually asking the neighbors if a shot from a 223 or similar would cause problems.
After all, you should theoretically only need one shot to end your problem.

How simple is that.

[Husky243]

Hi All,
Again, thanks for your replies and tips.

So I still haven’t got her I caught a possum and a goanna in the trap. Despite checking trap at first light and then in arvo they both died. Goanna likely died of shock and possum was found with no head. My goal was to rid the fox so it would stop killing the wildlife in the area and here I was unintentionally doing just that. I admitted defeat.

But I’m now reengaged to get this prick.

Die Judicii, fair point but I’m only on 5 acres and we have a lot of city people that move out to this area. If the cops were called out it would harder for me to assure the police that a 223 projectile would stay within the property.

So the plan… trap has remained in place with door closed. From camera footage fox is now comfortable walking past trap with little care. It’s a bigger trap than one photo above but still a plate trap unfortunately. I’m going to get some cooked chook, maybe even dish out for kfc, and leave it around the trap over a week or two. Then start placing it in the trap using stockings. I might even be able to shoot a rabbit and use it.
If that doesn’t work, I have myself a bell whistle and get out there on first light.

Anyway, it’s been a good learning experience for me. I just got my R license and have learnt it will probably take me 3 years to get my first pig, cat and or fox

[Jorlcrin]

Makes me wonder how interested the fox might be, if you had a small cage on top that had a live chook in it?
Given how much the foxes LOVE getting in a killing as many chooks as possible, I wonder if the fox being able to smell a live chook in residence, that Foxy forgets some of it's natural Foxy caution?
Just need to make sure poor Mrs Chooky isnt placed in any sort of real danger...
They used to bait eagle traps (~70-odd years ago) around here with either kid goats or young lambs to achieve the same result.
Just need to provide Mrs Chookky with some Post-Foxxy trauma counselling/therapy, so she doesnt lose her s**t...

[Toadstool]

It's been 2 years, is the fox bothering you? If it's not hassling your livestock you should consider it a blessing and leave it alone. If you shoot the fox, it means another one will probably take their territory and that one could cause more trouble.

While opportunistic, they are not stupid.

How did the possom lose it's head in the trap? haha

My property is plagued with brushys, go into my roof (old old house and closing off roof space isn't too practical). Bought a couple of traps so catch them often. Possums are glorified rats

[animalpest]

When using cage traps, close the trap during the day. You will catch non-targets otherwise.
Cooked chook is no better than fresh chicken wings or necks. (If the "professional" is recommending Coles cooked chook then that guy is a crack up).
Place the food under the door of the cage which has been wired open. Once the fox takes that a couple of times, move it further inside.
Some foxes will go into cages, other never will.

[Peter988]

Where do you live. Maybe you could invite someone with a thermal to spend a couple hours watching for it.

[Die Judicii]

Die Judicii, fair point but I’m only on 5 acres and we have a lot of city people that move out to this area. If the cops were called out it would harder for me to assure the police that a 223 projectile would stay within the property.

So the plan… trap has remained in place with door closed. From camera footage fox is now comfortable walking past trap with little care. It’s a bigger trap than one photo above but still a plate trap unfortunately. I’m going to get some cooked chook, maybe even dish out for kfc, and leave it around the trap over a week or two. Then start placing it in the trap using stockings. I might even be able to shoot a rabbit and use it.
If that doesn’t work, I have myself a bell whistle and get out there on first light. [/quote]

OK,,,,,,,,,,,,, So, if it's comfortable walking past/around the trap but is taking the chicken necks that are left just outside of it.

What I would do is put a couple of fresh chicken necks in the middle of the "closed" cage,, and let it frustrate the fox by being able to smell and see them, but not able to get them.
Get rid of them every 2nd day, and replace with new.
Let those frustrations work on Brer Fox for a week or longer,,,,,,,,,,,, then set the trap with the door open, and see if it's frustrations will then get it into the cage and subsequently caught

[animalpest]

Die Judicii, fair point but I’m only on 5 acres and we have a lot of city people that move out to this area. If the cops were called out it would harder for me to assure the police that a 223 projectile would stay within the property.

So the plan… trap has remained in place with door closed. From camera footage fox is now comfortable walking past trap with little care. It’s a bigger trap than one photo above but still a plate trap unfortunately. I’m going to get some cooked chook, maybe even dish out for kfc, and leave it around the trap over a week or two. Then start placing it in the trap using stockings. I might even be able to shoot a rabbit and use it.
If that doesn’t work, I have myself a bell whistle and get out there on first light.

OK,,,,,,,,,,,,, So, if it's comfortable walking past/around the trap but is taking the chicken necks that are left just outside of it.

What I would do is put a couple of fresh chicken necks in the middle of the "closed" cage,, and let it frustrate the fox by being able to smell and see them, but not able to get them.
Get rid of them every 2nd day, and replace with new.
Let those frustrations work on Brer Fox for a week or longer,,,,,,,,,,,, then set the trap with the door open, and see if it's frustrations will then get it into the cage and subsequently caught[/quote]

Keep the door wired open so it can get the food left under the door. Uncooked chook, or better still, rabbit