Here is one to work out...

User00022

Well-Known Member
Guys,

So have been told by a friend over the last few days they have had trouble with a fox at their small farm...

They had complained it had their chickens and requested its dispatch having been in Scotland and also busy the first couple of days this week and all chickens being history we agreed that later this week would be fine as surely no more damage would take place...

However to my shock woke up this morning rather late to several very distressed voicemails saying that this said fox this morning was seen entering their boot room/porch and then exiting with a very angry jack russel bitch in hot pursuit why??? Because the fox had one of her puppies, newly born... Luckily the bitch chased the fox down a valley towards their pond which was about 100m and eventually the fox dropped the puppy and back came bitch and puppy amazingly completely unharmed not a mark on it and is now just acting as normal back with the bitch...

Now was this fox taking the puppy as food or is their a possibility that this is some strange nature happening with the puppies being black and maybe this fox possibly vixen having lost its cubs etc and therefore decided she would try take one back i know its far fetched but why would a fox run 100m with a puppy and the puppy come back without a mark...

This was witnessed by two people i know very well and therefore believe everything that has been stated...

Thoughts guys???

Alex
 
Its hard to tell. From my experience foxes tend to do one of two things, they either savage on the spot then leave (this has happened to me on 2 occasions with lambs over the last few weeks) or they take away to a quiet location to eat. The latter actually happened to me last night, was out scoping foxes cleaning up the lamb killers and saw one trotting towards me with something in its mouth. I duely slotted the fox and to my surprise saw the head wriggling about. When I got there i realised it was a young rabbit struggling to get free from the foxes mouth which then took off across the field.

Im sure its possible that the fox was after a cub location, but I suspect its more likely it didnt feel safe in the house and was taking the pup somewhere quieter to have dinner.
 
Taking it back to the cubs which are 2/3 grown now, to teach them how to kill maybe???
 
Wilts Pat and Si all your suggested theories seem very plausible sure we will never know...

Just hope it gets it later...

Alex
 
The idea of a vixen attempting to adopt a jack russell pup is very sweet, but highly unlikely... Foxes are instinctive, indiscriminate killers. The pup got lucky this time :)
 
Foxes are some of the softest mouthed about, as stated earlier, a fox will sometimes carry live caught to a quiet place to scoff, I witnessed a fox taking chickens off a yard, (livery) in broad daylight in front of the stable hands currying down bloodstock, I traced it to the underside of a little used grain trailer, back to the truck for the .410!:D
 
Foxes are killers. You're kidding yourself about thoughts of adopting....don't try to 'humanize' a wild animal. Shoot that bloody fox pronto as it now knows where there's a ready supply of food - the pups.
 
Taking it back to the cubs which are 2/3 grown now, to teach them how to kill maybe???

it's not the first time this has happened, normally they bring the cubs with them
so it may seem this is a late litter and may be about 10 weeks old if not younger
but to enter a house where they know has a dog....
this is one dangerous vixen and the cubs will also turn out as bad
 
Well 3 Foxes, 2 Cubs and a Vixen between 4 PM and 7 PM hardly ideal fox shooting hours I hope to have sent a thundering message back to the local fox population but we will see...

Alex
 
This time of year it's almost certainly taking it back to cubs to teach them how to kill.
Over the past couple of weeks i've had three foxes carrying, in two cases live rabbits and the other had a chicken all alive-o and all on their way back for the cubs to hone their killing skills on!
 
Centralbeltstalker,

No that would be our new attempted member REX!!

As for the Fox issue, I agree with the majority in that the fox was taking the pup back to the cubs to learn to hunt. My motto with Foxes has always been that if it can get it in its mouth whether its dead or alive it will have it, and eat it, rotten or fresh either.
 
270wsm, It's not certain but I shot 3 in 3 hours that afternoon basically within 200 m of their house, 2 cubs and a vixen and no reported sightings of foxes since so hope they got the hint...

Alex
 
i think perhaps the pup did what alot of young animals do when in danger and displayed thanatosis, the fox thinking the pup was dead takes the food back to the cubs or for consumption away from the house. Someone with stronger fox knowledge then me may correct me but i would imagine the instinct to feed/provide would be to great to allow consiouce thought of taking live prey to the cubs to teach them to hunt.
 
it's not the first time this has happened, normally they bring the cubs with them
so it may seem this is a late litter and may be about 10 weeks old if not younger
but to enter a house where they know has a dog....
this is one dangerous vixen and the cubs will also turn out as bad

Here we go again "good fox bad fox"
There are only bad foxes PERIOD.:cuckoo::cuckoo::cuckoo::cuckoo::cuckoo:
 
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