Fox cubs

Gunner223

Well-Known Member
On my way to work this morning i saw two pairs of eyes in the road, i slowed right down and saw two very small fox cubs,thats early isent it ?
 
Possibly from a late litter, when you say small, how small and what colour? Cubs I've been getting have been later this year where I am
 
Have seen vixens running in late October in the South which means end of Jan cubs. Usually it's either the moon before or the moon after Christmas meaning late Feb cubs,although I have already heard vixens calling. Can't really explain where your lot came from unless they were part of somebody's release project and bred in captivity.
 
They have been known to be released around that area, they were a slightly smaller than a small jack russel, and dark brownish colour , i saw cubs early in that area last year so maybe a release project.
 
I agree South Warwk's and North Glos were prime spots for "Tame Foxes" when I was a keeper in that area. the earliest I saw cubs above ground though was mid March and they were just turning colour to red so born early Feb. A friend of mine shot 8 foxes one morning near Stratford all within 200 yds of his house, and they were every size and colour you could think of and all having long toenails. I think they must have come from the back of a van.
They have been known to be released around that area, they were a slightly smaller than a small jack russel, and dark brownish colour , i saw cubs early in that area last year so maybe a release project.
 
On one of my permissions ive shot over 40 foxes in a year from a single field, the more i shoot the more they keep coming, but im not complaining,,but some of them had 3 legs and operation scars and marks and all very large well built foxes
 
Don't know about anyone else but we shot a vixen 5 weeks ago on our shoot it was in season .
foxes have been seen running in pairs on and off since harvest so anything can happen with the weather being out of sinq
 
Some of the terrier boys for one of the local hounds packs around here dug some cubs on Xmas Day last year. The youngsters obviously wouldn't have come above ground for some time unless, perhaps, they were flooded out.
 
Would think they are last springs youngsters possibly not as well grown as they should be by this time possibly reared by one parent, while there is quite a difference as to when cubs are born depending on which part of the country they are in there are certain things that make it unlikely that these are young cubs.

In the south cubs may be born early in the year February is not unusual and even earlier on occasion, up here
Cubs tend to be born late April or even May.
One thing remains constant nature engineers that cubs are born to coincide with with the birth of other creatures ie
spring.
While a lone adult fox will survive and thrive on carrion and what he can catch, a litter of cubs need a lot of food to support them and a litter born late in the year as you suggest these have been , would be very unlikely
to survive
Down to the difficulty the parents would have in finding enough food to support them.
Gestation period for foxes is about ten days less than dogs typically 52 53 days if these were young cubs as you suggest it would mean that the vixen came into heat sometime in September which is highly unlikely , and as I have already said even if that was the case however unlikely she would still have been unlikely to rear them
So think its much more likely that they are cubs from last spring.
 
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