No foxes shot and record season

[Longstrider]

It's worth remembering that not all foxing has the slightest thing to do with game birds. My shooting buddy and I shoot all the foxes we can ... on a couple of sheep farms. The one farm that rears a number of rare breed sheep lost 9 lambs the year before we got in there. Not one lost to a fox since.

Ground nesting birds are, and always will be, vulnerable to predation by foxes, stoats, badgers etc and a reduction in fox numbers can only be of benefit to them, but this is only a secondary consideration when the lambs are the next generation of a breed that might only number a few dozen in the world.

 

[Brad93]

On my last shoot, buzzards were a far greater problem than foxes. They would perch on the fence poles of the release pens and terrify the poults. The pen was in thick woodland and they would plummet down into the pen from a great height. It's amazing to watch but a real nightmare.
As far as what age birds they would take, my answer would be from six weeks to adult. I've seen buzzards drop on adult pheasants many times. At one time when birds were still in the pen I reckoned they were taking at least six to eight birds a day, and due to the location, there was nothing I could do about it. They were, without a doubt the worst problem I had throughout my keepering life.

Could you Feed the buzzards with Carrion for the first week when the poults are venturing out?

 

[Liveonce]

It's worth remembering that not all foxing has the slightest thing to do with game birds. My shooting buddy and I shoot all the foxes we can ... on a couple of sheep farms. The one farm that rears a number of rare breed sheep lost 9 lambs the year before we got in there. Not one lost to a fox since.

Ground nesting birds are, and always will be, vulnerable to predation by foxes, stoats, badgers etc and a reduction in fox numbers can only be of benefit to them, but this is only a secondary consideration when the lambs are the next generation of a breed that might only number a few dozen in the world.

if so few lambs of such importance why not lamb inside to protect the only few dozen in the world from foxes?

Most who shoot foxes do so because they can and enjoy doing so.

 

[old keeper]

Could you Feed the buzzards with Carrion for the first week when the poults are venturing out?

Not a very good idea!
All you would do is draw in more predators, not just buzzards, that would continue taking the poults.

 

[JTO]

I know we have a lot of dedicated foxers on here, and some folk are out almost every night, but is it really necessary!?!?

Some people would ask if pheasant shooting was really necessary.

 

[Rhodesianjess]

Not a very good idea!
All you would do is draw in more predators, not just buzzards, that would continue taking the poults.

Exactly this. A lady on the perimeter of the estate here has started feeding red kites. Once a day at roughly the same time she chucks out meat scraps, chicken carcasses after her Sunday lunch etc.
Amazing how people don't seem to think things through and how their actions, although well intended
She stopped me in the lane near her house recently and asked if I could do something about the crows. Seemingly they're entering her hen house and exiting carrying eggs, then flying off. When told it was really self inflicted by chucking food out for predators,she wasn't best pleased.

 

[LewisL]

Exactly this. A lady on the perimeter of the estate here has started feeding red kites. Once a day at roughly the same time she chucks out meat scraps, chicken carcasses after her Sunday lunch etc.
Amazing how people don't seem to think things through and how their actions, although well intended
She stopped me in the lane near her house recently and asked if I could do something about the crows. Seemingly they're entering her hen house and exiting carrying eggs, then flying off. When told it was really self inflicted by chucking food out for predators,she wasn't best pleased.

That is knock on the door territory surely? Can’t be good for the bird either being fed, loose hunting ability?

 

[Finnwolf VL63]

Pheasant pen or free food, vermin always turn up at some point ,fact.No point trying to kid yourselves.

 

[pop1]

I know we have a lot of dedicated foxers on here, and some folk are out almost every night, but is it really necessary!?!?

But I have just had a record season on my little DIY shoot. Broke the fabled 50% return on pheasants for the first time.

And didn’t shoot a single fox. Had a couple of harvest time lamping sessions, saw a lamp shy fox both occasions (briefly) and a had a few fruitless first light and evening high seat sessions. Flushed foxes three times on shoot days, so they were there.

Now would we have shot more pheasants if we had hammered the foxes, probably. Did it matter, no. To me it proved that on arable ground with small woodlands and released pheasants that intense fox control is by no means essential. A good pen, equally good electric fence and some highseat sentry duties when they start leaving the pen are what I have found really matters. Once they are going to roost it is only the real ‘problem’ fox, one that gets a taste for hunting them as they drop off roost, that causes any issues.

Now if you are a wild bird shoot, or release any numbers of partridge, fox control is essential. But for a put and take pheasant shoot I do have doubts.

Now you may say, what about the ground nesting birds? And I can only agree, foxes will cause mayhem among them. But we don’t have any, dry arable land, the farming did for them approx twenty years ago, late set potatoes, the contractors machinery mashed up any number of lapwing nests in May reworking brown ground for planting seed spuds, never to return.

How are your waders/ground nesting birds doing during the spring??

 

[mudman]

How are your waders/ground nesting birds doing during the spring??

Last of the Lapwing had their nests / chicks turned into the ground by very late potatoe planting. Never to return.

 

[jall55]

Last of the Lapwing had their nests / chicks turned into the ground by very late potatoe planting. Never to return.

I would be reporting that farmer - loss of permission or not

 

[mudman]

I would be reporting that farmer - loss of permission or not

Big arable stops for no one or no creature. It was a long time ago when part of the farm was let out to a potatoe grower. It was ploughed after harvest then left, greened up a bit in spring and attracted lots of lapwing. Then a convoy of machinery came to plant spuds for I think seed potatoes. I was near enough June from what I recall.

 

[jall55]

Big arable stops for no one or no creature. It was a long time ago when part of the farm was let out to a potatoe grower. It was ploughed after harvest then left, greened up a bit in spring and attracted lots of lapwing. Then a convoy of machinery came to plant spuds for I think seed potatoes. I was near enough June from what I recall.

Not sure who plants potatoes that late - but anyway