Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
#7610484
06/22/22 08:05 PM
06/22/22 08:05 PM
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 9 Northern California
NorCaler
OP
trapper
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 9
Northern California
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Hi.
I have a Red Fox or 2 or 3 or ??? slaughtering and feasting on mine and neighbors hens. I have lost 9... leaving me with 2...
I have searched the WWW and this forum high and low but I can't seem to find any solid suggestions on how best to do this but I did see a comment that Red Fox are not that hard to trap. I am not sure if they were referring to live, coil-spring traps, snares or ???. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to use a snare or a coil-spring trap as I would really like to learn those skills.
What is an ideal size live trap?
Does scent work when using a live trap?
One suggestion said to bait the trap with KFC and tie it to the top of the trap, in the farthermost corner.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. PM's would be fine as well.
Thank you!
Licensed to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. A man, free to kill gophers at will. —Carl Spackler
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7610509
06/22/22 08:38 PM
06/22/22 08:38 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,522 james bay frontierOnt.
Boco
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 45,522
james bay frontierOnt.
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Fox are easy to catch in footholds or snares. Cages not a reliable method.Fox are claustrophobic.
Forget that fear of gravity-get a little savagery in your life.
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7610539
06/22/22 09:12 PM
06/22/22 09:12 PM
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Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 5,526 West Central MN
20scout
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trapper
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West Central MN
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I have only caught young fox in a live trap. Never heard of anyone being able to catch an adult in one.
Common sense is a not a vegetable that does well in everyone's garden.
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7610541
06/22/22 09:16 PM
06/22/22 09:16 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,854 Wisconsin
The Beav
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Wisconsin
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Living where you do your only choice Is a live trap. So my advice would be to go with a large live trap something with an opening of at least 15"X15". and at least 36" long. Cover the bottom of the trap with dirt or something to cover the wire.
I would build a live bait wire cage and attach It to the back of the trap. Then put one of those chickens In It. Or you could sit up at night and shoot those fox.
Good luck
The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7610572
06/22/22 09:58 PM
06/22/22 09:58 PM
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Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 237 Texas
Sharkhunter
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Posts: 237
Texas
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I’ve caught 4 red fox in the last month in a box trap baited with dry cat food. They killed 11 of our chickens. They’re not hard to catch. I’d put out multiple traps. I had 3 out. They don’t have a problem going in a small trap at all. A plain coon size trap will catch a big fox.
Last edited by Sharkhunter; 06/22/22 10:04 PM.
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7610702
06/23/22 06:36 AM
06/23/22 06:36 AM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,357 Firth, Nebraska
jabNE
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,357
Firth, Nebraska
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Try bigger cat sized traps than coon sized traps, if you can. Jim
Money cannot buy you happiness, but it can buy you a trapping license and that's pretty close.
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7610815
06/23/22 09:40 AM
06/23/22 09:40 AM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,854 Wisconsin
The Beav
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trapper
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Posts: 23,854
Wisconsin
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The bigger the trap opening the more comfortable that animal will feel In entering.
The forum Know It All according to Muskrat
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: Andrew Eastwood]
#7611140
06/23/22 06:18 PM
06/23/22 06:18 PM
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Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 1,870 Pennsylvania
patrapperbuster
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trapper
Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 1,870
Pennsylvania
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A cage with live bait compartment in the back works well when using bantam roosters. A pair of the cages back to back against a wall or pen with a walk through cage on the outside edge covering the sides of the two live roosters is the best setup I have found for live trapping chicken killing fox. RURAL KING sells these types of live traps
Till that day.....
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7612469
06/25/22 01:54 PM
06/25/22 01:54 PM
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 9 Northern California
NorCaler
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 9
Northern California
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Thank you to everyone for the replies and ideas. It's really disappointing that I am not able to use the footholds as the WWW has hundreds of examples of how this works which would make it both easier for this novice and less expensive for me...
I am going to combine Andrew's advice along with The Beav's advice: Larger traps back to back with one of their favorite meals in between, my chickens... I am down to two hens and they are protected and confined to the pen until I get this taken care of. One was nesting and the other just joined her as the eggs are due to hatch in a few days so they will not be inconvenienced too much. That gives me about a month to get the traps in order and then I will use a few of the chicks to attract the fox.
I am not sure of the habits of the fox, but I have a game camera that I set-up every month or so and I move it around from time to time. I see fox a few times a year but not regularly and they have never come after my chickens until this past few weeks. Once I get the trap set-up, is there a way to attract them? I don't think they actively come up to my place regularly as they are probably denning up maybe up to a 1/2 mile from me? Just a guess based on land use. The fence line from where they seem to come is ~350 yards from where I keep the chickens. To the north of that, the area is sparsely populated and you will find both fallow and agricultural land for about one mile until you get to the next main road.
Thank you!
Licensed to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. A man, free to kill gophers at will. —Carl Spackler
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7614969
06/28/22 09:53 PM
06/28/22 09:53 PM
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Joined: Sep 2020
Posts: 1,870 Pennsylvania
patrapperbuster
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Posts: 1,870
Pennsylvania
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It has been my experience trying to catch fox also in coon cage traps is to put a layer of dirt in bottom of trap. Fox dont seem to like to walk on cage wire
Till that day.....
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7615831
06/30/22 12:04 AM
06/30/22 12:04 AM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,920 Central, SD
Law Dog
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I catch about half of my fox in cages set for coon, here our fox hang in the farm places so they see all kinds of metal shapes in their travels not much fear of cage traps adults no problem no need to cover with brush even.
14X14X36 cages are what I run mostly.
Last edited by Law Dog; 06/30/22 12:05 AM.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
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Re: Red Fox live animal trap - suggestions
[Re: NorCaler]
#7637249
07/28/22 08:05 PM
07/28/22 08:05 PM
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2,709 The great cage state Colorado
Monster Toms
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Posts: 2,709
The great cage state Colorado
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Where are you setting the cage? I would set it perpendicular to the pen, right tight to it. Cover the sides so he has to go in. If possible, put a poult in a cage inside the pen up against the wire at the back of the live trap.
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