Feeding a Fox Cub

Cooper07

There is a little skinny fox cub wandering around my estate, I felt very sorry for him so decided to leave out some dog biscuits for him. I've been doing this every night for two weeks and the food is always gone the next day.

I've mentioned this to a few people and they think I am mad and not helping the fox as he is probably not learning how to 'hunt and gather' himself.

I would appreciate your thoughts as to whether I'm doing the right thing.

Thanks folks:)

FAYESY

If I saw a wild animal im distress I would feed it as well, you could try raw foods tho? Maybe buy a frozen rat or mouse from your local pet shop? Defrost & feed whole.

Cooper07

Thanks for your reply. I don't think I could be dealing with dead rodents though. I soften the dog biscuits in hot water first and he seems to love it. I'm watching him out my window at the moment gobbling them up.

Thanks again

homerhop

Its not fair to a wild animal especially at such a young age to get dependant on humans for food.

mymo

Really what you're doing is teaching him that house/people mean an easy meal.
I understand why and honestly would probably try and help myself. Just keep amounts very small, it will learn to hunt or scavenge if hungry. Gradually cut the amount down over the next few weeks if you can, as it will need to be able to look after itself at some stage(better this happens well before the winter).
Do remember that a wild fox will always look thin and younger ones even more so as they're growing and learning to find food for themselves.

morganafay

A lot of people advise not to leave out food for foxes because it'll make them less scared of humans. Or at least you could leave the food as far away from your house as you can, he'll still find it. You could try raw meat.

If it was very skinny and a small cub I'd feed it too (well probably not because I have rabbits . . . but if I didn't!) But are you sure it's very skinny?

Feargal as Luimneach

mymo wrote: »

Really what you're doing is teaching him that house/people mean an easy meal.
I understand why and honestly would probably try and help myself. Just keep amounts very small, it will learn to hunt or scavenge if hungry. Gradually cut the amount down over the next few weeks if you can, as it will need to be able to look after itself at some stage(better this happens well before the winter).
Do remember that a wild fox will always look thin and younger ones even more so as they're growing and learning to find food for themselves.

X2
Feeding him too much could get him used to people. That could be dangerous for fox if he wanders into a shooter's place. He'll get a bullet in his head.

homerhop

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

X2
Feeding him too much could get him used to people. That could be dangerous for fox if he wanders into a shooter's place. He'll get a bullet in his head.

Its not just shooters Fergal, a cub may be killed by dogs or traffic in built up areas, not to mention what a crowd of nice respectable scummers may do to it

Cooper07

Thanks for all your comments. I will ease up on feeding him so. I just felt sorry for him, he used to dig at the grass looking for food. I'll be cruel to be kind.:(

Feargal as Luimneach

Cooper07 wrote: »

Thanks for all your comments. I will ease up on feeding him so. I just felt sorry for him, he used to dig at the grass looking for food. I'll be cruel to be kind.:(

Just feed him till he gets a bit of condition then ease off. A hard one to judge....

Dusty87

Fair play, iv watched a lot of fox cubs the last few years. Iv never seen one fat. They are all skinny. In wildlife there has to be a balance, but every creature deserves a chance. Dont get him used to humans.

Wild_Dogger

Maybe you could leave out 20% of his required food for the day ,
keeping him actively hunting /gathering the other 80% .

There's a few bad apples out there , like a family in Dundrum that leave Poison out for the foxes at night .
So better if they could get by without depending on hand outs .

Discodog

Wild_Dogger wrote: »

There's a few bad apples out there , like a family in Dundrum that leave Poison out for the foxes at night .

Very illegal unless they follow the letter of the law & irresponsible either way. I would suggest a chat with the Guards.

wetdogsmell

at this time of year cubs will be nearly full grown, foxes are vermin just like rats,, would you feed a rat if you seen it looking skinny?

Feargal as Luimneach

wetdogsmell wrote: »

at this time of year cubs will be nearly full grown, foxes are vermin just like rats,, would you feed a rat if you seen it looking skinny?

Vermin to some people, not vermin to other people. The OP obviously doesn't consider them vermin.

Graces7

An aspect of the problem here being missed is that if you create a dependency in this way then what of your responsibilty in the future?

We thought this through in our dealings with a female pine marten a few years ago when she was in dire need of help in winter.

So we fed her, but away from the house and never encouraged her to , for example, eat from our hands.

She managed for much of the year, but approached for food when nursing one year.

It is a difficult balance, isn't it?