Well, damn! My husband and I had to run out and chase the fox off about 15

[hedgehog]

times yesterday. He kept trying even though he never got lucky. Talk about jonesing for some chicken!
He (she?) is either shedding or afflicted with mange, there is no fur on his tail.

The white rooster is earning his feed - he lets us know whenever the fox is in the area. Guinness barks to let us know when he sees the fox (Good dog!), but he's only seeing him about half the time. Pooka hasn't figured out the connection between the fox and Good dog!. He just starts barking whenever any chicken makes any noise. Pooka can't tell the difference between sex and violence!

[leftyladyfrommo]

1. Foxes are big carriers of sarcoptic mange.

Probably is mange. Poor thing.

I like foxes. But not when they are after the chickens.

[noamnety]

2. I don't know how you'll feel about this advice

but we were able to treat mange in one of our wild squirrels by feeding it peanut butter treats that had medication in it (we had to rig it up so we could expose it only when we saw that squirrel was around).

If you're planning on killing the fox, treating the mange doesn't make much sense. But it would be possible to treat it if you can find another way to solve the chicken safety problem.

[hedgehog]

5. I'm pretty much live and let live - I've lost the occasional hen over

the years. We used to have a big old cat who maintained a detente with the local foxes - they had to stay across the road and he had to stay on this side. When they came here or he went there, there was an immediate confrontation and the transgressor got chased back. It was great, mainly because it kept Smokey out of the road! Last summer, there were two foxes denned up behind the barn last year, but they weren't a problem. I suspect that this fox may be one of them. I think he isn't doing well, which is why he is desperate to get after the chickens. I know there are plenty of rabbits out there, I see them at dusk.

I pretty much expect to have to stay on the alert until this fox either dies or moves on.I do have one question - I have tons of eggs - way more than I can use. Am I better off leaving the eggs some place for the fox to eat so he fills up on something besides one of my hens, or am I just encouraging him to hang around?

[BrklynLiberal]

7. If you leave them a distance from the actual henhouse, maybe he will leave them alone...

and maybe the extra nutrition will help him to heal.

I hate to see any creature suffer...

I admire your attitude. Live and let live.

[Ian David]

3. Paintball markers might be an effective non-lethal way to scare-off a fox.

You might want to check with your state SPCA and animal control people to make sure it's legal first.

[hedgehog]

6. We were considering a supersoaker loaded with peppermint castile soap!

nasty but non-lethal!

[Ian David]

9. You might need to get too close to use that.

Paintballs don't even require you to hit an animal to scare it away sometimes. Usually, just the sound and motion of the nearby impacts is enough.

Another idea: Lawn sprinklers with a remote control.

[Renew Deal]

4. Swiper no swiping

:evilgrin:

[Deep13]

8. Did it call you a dummy and say there were a lot of ugly animals on this here farm?

[M155Y_A1CH]

10. Even if you don't want to kill him,

whenever the dogs see him you should boot up and take the dogs on a "hunt".
Even if you never spot his den or corner him,
the scent of your dogs can be used to unnerve him.
If he thinks he will be followed home by the dogs when he comes around your place,
he will stop coming and move on to a safer feeling area.

If you can find his den with the dogs you can mess up the place and send him a message.

This method has been know to work on crack dealers as well,
for you city folk.

[hedgehog]

11. Good idea - I've been trying to run the dogs around the thickets where he hides.

I think the real problem is that this is an animal under stress forced to try for easy prey.

[leftyladyfrommo]

12. Well, be careful. Dogs can get sarcoptic mange from foxes.

It's not a really big deal - you just have to treat them with Revolution. But its a real pain.