FOX ATTACK

RICK O SHEA

Well-Known Member
Ten minutes from my house i have the stalking on a small farm of about 200 acres which holds a good number of quality roe year round, well at least it did untill the gypsies set up camp the other side of the river.
In six months they managed to wipe the lot out with lurchers and last season not one was even seen but as i also do the vermin control i continued with my regular visits.
Most of the travelers moved on last winter [HURAH] taking the dogs with them and the roe numbers are steadily getting back to what they were.

On friday afternoon i popped across with a mate to see the deer and also if there were any rabbits about and in the largest field well 3 joined into 1 the land owner had let the grass keep to a sheep farmer.
There must have been about 100 sheep in the field when all of a sudden they started acting strange zig zagging up the field towards myself and my work mate kev.
We watched in amaisment as a large fox was chassing them rushing in and biteing them on there back legs and in total he bit five before i shouted at him 50 feet away and he ran off.

[i had no rifle just a ferret and nets typical]

I just wondered if any of you had ever heard of this happening before as i know foxes take lambs but these were adult sheep and why go for the legs.
He had a light patch on his side about the size of a fist so i will no if i see him again as i am foxing there on monday.

CHEERS
RICK O SHEA
 
I of the farms i shoot over had to get the vet in to some of his young calfs earlear this year with bites on there lower back legs the vet told the farmer that it was foxes & had seen this on some of the farms in the local area in the last couple of weeks.


John
 
As in any hunt by this type of animal if you are smaller than your prey, going for the legs will result in slowing your intended victim,the larger predators will grip using a choke hold if not already having broken the neck, your fox with the recognition panel is unfortunate in having a perfect aiming mark! :lol:
 
foxes and sheep

About this time last year I saw 2 foxes working together to brings some sheep to a corner of the field.I was wondering what was going to happen next but one of the foxes spotted me and they broke off.
I was just walking my dog and didn't have a rifle as it's not part of my permission but when I told the farmer that changed :) . Seems he had seen a fox after sheep before that.

fraser
 
you will see them using the same tactics in spring to pick off the young lambs. Usually they use stealth at that time of year but if they get desperate they will rush in and try to disturb the flock.
 
i have never seen this on fully grown sheep but about 3 years ago i shoot a vixen in a tiny padock (50yrd sq) which the farmer was using as a nussery feild. when we put the lamp on her she was about 10yrds from the new born lamb streched out low to the floor stalking along and the ewe had no idea she was there until i shot here when she threw a wobbley at the dead fox
 
Being crepuscular, (those of you doing your level one pay attention), I have the pleasure of observing many antics of fox, the latest was a very very entertaining demonstration of charlie doing what he thought was the fox version of sniper at your feet exercise :lol: , the intended victim a goodly sized hare pretended to not notice & has worked with us many times before! 8) both hare & trigger operator let this go on for about 10 minutes, then the well worn phrase "smile & wait for the flash " was uttered, endex.
 
I don't do any foxing but a friend who does reported seeing 4 foxes working together to seperate lambs from a flock of sheep.

We tend to think of a fox as a solitary animal but i guess when it comes down to it then it is really a pack animal like all dogs. Maybe if we didn't shoot them then they would eventually settle down into a more "pack" like lifestyle and we'd see more examples of foxes working together?
 
Thanks for your replies guys i have shot foxes for years but have never whitnessed this sort of behavior before.
Who would have thought that such a small predator would take on such a large prey item and to bite calf legs as well, no wonder the fox is so despised by many a livestock farmer.

Many regards
RICK O SHEA
 
foxes

"Turnstone" has written what I feel is a very disappointing article on page 59 of the Shooting Times" of 16th December in which he questions "the expansion of the so-called sport of "foxing",an activity that is now...out of control".

Anyone else read it?.

fraser
 
I always seem to see a thread like this at this time of year!

I've shot hundreds of foxes in the 20 something years i've been shooting, i've seen foxes do all sorts from sitting in Willows (30ft up) to laying up with cows in the cold to get warm. When i was a kid l used to go with my dad to a friends farm (mainly grass and sheep) and we would go in the lambing shed with the terriers and bolt the doors and chase the foxes into stacks and net/bolt them.

I've seen them working in pairs to seporate lambs, doing just what you have described. Me and my dad watched a couple of foxes playing with sheep one day - they were just trying to jump on their backs - not being harmfull in any way but playing!

- Shot them in all sorts of situations too - whilst bolting them out of a disused railway embankment once we were still below the holes with guns ready - one leaped out straight over me (was about 12 at the time) but still 5'9" ish! My dad shot that one in the air as it leap the fence!

But one of my most memorable sights whilst out shooting (the group of 20 Roe i saw in the snow whilst looking for deer out stalking Friday just gone is close) - but, it is that of walking into a hugh red foxy at the begining of this year in the cold snap all puffed up and hunting will stay with me forever! - i let that one get away!

Tom
 
A fox with bad teeth will take on just about anything when it struggles to catch normal prey and a problem dog fox we shot last year had even taken down a half grown lamb before we got it. Came to squeak nicely and that was that. Wish I had taken pictures as he had broken teeth all down the left side of his mouth, probably a car.
 
have spotted foxes seperating lambs from the mothers when there are other things they can hunt. think its a taste for blood thing as i have witnesed the fox walk right past a rabbit to do this the 243 soon put a stop to his game ;)
 
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