[Ted Brown]

It's been an interesting week here on the Upper Applegate. Way back, we captured a few raccons with live traps. The wife didn't appreciate me shooting them so the traps. Nothing bothered us for a long while until my wife raised a couple of chickens to supplement our egg supply. About two weeks ago one of the new chickens disappeared and the neighbor lost several ducks and chickens. So, last week we brought out the old trap. In the last 6 nights we have caught one racoon and three foxes. The fox we got last night was in the trap only a couple of hours after it was set. The wife still won't let me shoot them. I've been taking them down to California (it's only 7.8 miles down the road) and turning them loose. They had best not find their way back.

 

[MemphisMachinists]

I have spotted a fox on my "Farm" several times. One of the most beautiful animals I ever saw. IMHO

 

[MeatyMac]

We get fox here in the Oakland hills just above Piedmont, had a family of them raising 2 kit in a burrow under a downed oak tree just below our house 5 years ago. This morning just after sunrise as I was taking out the trash I spotted a healthy coyote w/a bushy coat coming down the street two house up from us, he saw me and took off downhill between two homes and headed into the canyon below our home. I haven't seen a fox around here in a while but we often hear them barking and screaming at night around the canyon, I've seen one coyote walking down the street in broad daylight about 1/2 mile away from us, this was the first time I've seen a coyote on our street. I'd shoot them if I could, county animal control won't offer any assistance in capture and certainly not culling, so I might need to do as you have, Ted, and capture them if I spot them some more...Not sure if I'd turn a captured one over to animal control, I guess I could truck the critter up to Applegate and let 'um go then head over to your place and buy some more of your stash

 

[Jackofalltrades03]

I think they need a dirt nap 😳

 

[HutchS]

I had a family of reds in my back yard last year. Really cool to watch them bound up on top the pile of logs I had back there and scurry around playing with each other.

I don't have any yard birds, so I left them alone. They do eat a ton of mice, and every one they get is one less to find it's way into my shed.

 

[ZombieSlug]

I have a red fox that visits my shed almost every night - recorded on camera. The fox sniffs around the exact spot where I plan to put up a chicken coop this Spring. Geez, foxes are not only smart but can see into the future.

 

[MeatyMac]

I have a red fox that visits my shed almost every night - recorded on camera. The fox sniffs around the exact spot where I plan to put up a chicken coop this Spring. Geez, foxes are not only smart but can see into the future.

They can climb a fence like it wasn't even there too.

 

[Sniper_M-14]

With no livestock I tend to leave foxes alone but coyotes well they get a dirt nap to many of them running around.

 

[bd_p98]

What brand/type of trap are you using? I have chickens also and deal with racoons, coyotes (and I assume foxes but have not seen those yet). Do you use bait and the same bait for both racoons and coyotes?

 

[JeffG]

In my mind you either have chickens or raccoons and foxes. Not both. Coexistence is another fantasy.

 

[Capona]

In my mind you either have chickens or raccoons and foxes. Not both. Coexistence is another fantasy.

They coexist as long as your a bad counter of your chickens.

 

[Tom Paine]

I had to shoot a fox when we lived on Dartmoor in the UK. They would go after the lambs as they were being born... This one was caught in what is called a "wire". Female, really beautiful. I was torn about it, but there was no way I could let her go with lambing season, and who in the heck wants to try and get the wire off of the leg of someone with those teeth?

The strangest thing. When I came back with the shotgun, she looked me in the eye, and as I shouldered it she nodded and bent her head down. It was as if she was accepting her fate.

 

[hytekrednek]

I got yard birds too. I have trapped many opossums and a couple . I just shoot the now because letting them out of the trap is sketchy and risky. Foxes are challenging. I tried to trap them, no luck. They are tough to hunt too. The few I have gotten good shots on were only because they were to busy screaming a mating call to my house cat. Yes, odd. But it has happened 3 times now. I will hear it screeching, grab my rifle and sneak outside quietly, then in 3 accounts I saw a male fox trying to impress my female cat. While distracted showing my cat how loud they can screech, I was able to get good position and good shots on them. I never knew we had fox around here. I have lived here 20 years. Within a year of getting chickens, I had no doubt they were here. These 3 red fox I got were all very large males. I hear them in the woods screaming occasionally, but thankfully I haven't seen or heard one in about a year "or lost any birds"
Very weird. I guess they were so lonely that my cat was good enough for their needs. All 3 were shot in spring too. Spring fever?

 

[Jackofalltrades03]

They can climb a fence like it wasn't even there too.

So can Alligators 😳

 

[Gdub]

I wonder if they will make it to my aunt's henhouse down on the Klamath near Happy Camp.

 

[Instructor]

Have two fairly large trees in my backyard next to the patio and one evening went out to check on things and heard some growling in one of the trees and got my flashlight and sure enough there was a large racoon looking down at me and showing his teeth and growling. Hunted racoons all over West Virginia as a kid with my brother and others and never had a racoon act that way just by seeing me, so I called a friend of mine who at that time was a Lieutenant with the local PD
and told him I wanted to shoot the critter and reason for the call is you cannot fire a firearm in city limits. Told me not to shoot toward any houses and told him it was in a tree and he said OK. I shot the racoon and he fell out of the tree and landed with a thud. Was still moving and shot him again in the head with my 22 pistol. I bumped him with my foot, and he certainly appeared to be dead and went inside the house. Came back out some 10 minutes later and he was gone and heard noise in the same tree and sure enough he was back in that tree. Two more shots of 22 LR hollow points and he fell down again with a thud. This was his last tree climbing exercise and have to say one tough racoon for sure.

 

[dogboysdad]

I had
a skunk take up residence in my wood pile. Shot that skunk in the head with a .17 cal pellet rifle. It fell over and did the kick'n chicken for a minute, then was still. I spent about ten minutes talking to a neighbor when, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a black shape shuffling out of my yard. The "dead" skunk came back to life and high tailed it away.

 

[JEFFJP_N_JJ]

It's been an interesting week here on the Upper Applegate. Way back, we captured a few raccons with live traps. The wife didn't appreciate me shooting them so the traps. Nothing bothered us for a long while until my wife raised a couple of chickens to supplement our egg supply. About two weeks ago one of the new chickens disappeared and the neighbor lost several ducks and chickens. So, last week we brought out the old trap. In the last 6 nights we have caught one racoon and three foxes. The fox we got last night was in the trap only a couple of hours after it was set. The wife still won't let me shoot them. I've been taking them down to California (it's only 7.8 miles down the road) and turning them loose. They had best not find their way back.
View attachment 504855

 

[JEFFJP_N_JJ]

Thanks Ted!

 

[JEFFJP_N_JJ]

We need all the targets we can get!