Fox

Conmaicne Mara

Here's one for ye.

Had a discussion lately where it was said if a fox gets in a field with sheep and lambs, but has no way out, s/he won't kill any lamb?

What do ye reckon?

Lano Lynn

:rolleyes:

AnFeirmeoir

I've seen foxes walking through sheep wiith lambs at night and not bothering with them. More over the sheep seemed used to this and paid no notice. Strange because I do have problems with them here at lambing.

Green farmer

Hmmmmm , under estimate them at your own peril. When I started farming I had the attitude well if they ain't bothering me, I ain't going to bother them......then noticed lambs going missing without trace, a clever fox would never get the sheep used to thinking his not a threat by spending time around them, until the opportunity arises........

foxylock

Lost about thirty lambs to the foxes my first year in farming. No time for foxes here but spend a lot of time around them They only got one lamb last year.

Green farmer

A friend of mine , also a sheep farmer told me that he had lambs a month old with bites gone out of their ears from fox attacks, I was sure that he was winding me up...... Until i found a ewe that died over night and her ear completely missing. It's very hard to scrape a living from sheep farming. Every lamb the fox takes, is the same as deducting €100 from your weekly wages.

For non farming folk,imagine going to aldi and buying a €100 of groceries to feed your family for the week, it feeds a lot of people. The fox eats that in a single meal. And the more times he gets that €100 meal from you , the bolder he gets, as they see they are getting away with it.......

syconerd

well lads if any of your are in or around wicklow and need someone to help clear out a few for u contact me as im allways on lookout for oppertunities for shooting fox or rabbits
been shooting bout 15 years and fully insured countryside alliance/ NARGC member

Conmaicne Mara

The question is not whether a fox will kill lambs or not.

The question is if a fox gets into a well fenced field, but cannot get out, will he or she kill lambs?

Base price

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

The question is not whether a fox will kill lambs or not.

The question is if a fox gets into a well fenced field, but cannot get out, will he or she kill lambs?

His main concern is self preservation so unless he can find a way out then he will be stressed panicked. I would have though that, if he could get in on his own it would be unusual for him not to be able to find the same way out again unless he was sick. Therefore I would not think his mind would be on feeding.

Nekarsulm

What kind of fencing will stop a fox? except for one of them old walled gardens? And if the fence is so good, how did he get in? Of course, if he is still there in the morning when the farmer arrives, his luck has ran out!%6

J.O. Farmer

This is like one of those great philosophical riddles that can never be truly tested as a fox won't get into a field he can't get out of unless he's put there.
If he's put there that process will stress him so he won't hurt anyway and he'll be more concerned with escape.

jmrc

we have had "issues" with the Fox in the past. After one bad season we decided to fence one field on the conclusion that a fox is an opportunist and if we got them off their normal usual path of travel, that a fox would not go looking for the kill. So we fenced one field very well with the 3’6” sheep wire and kept the bottom strand on the ground… we did this in the spring early summer time.
To date we have not had an the same issues with mr Fox….
To answer the question….a killer fox is hard stopped no matter where he is. IMO that is.

Conmaicne Mara

Nekarsulm wrote: »

What kind of fencing will stop a fox? except for one of them old walled gardens? And if the fence is so good, how did he get in? Of course, if he is still there in the morning when the farmer arrives, his luck has ran out!%6

I have been told the so called fox netting, I think it has 9 meshes vertically, can't remember, will stop them. I doubt it, but the man scans his sheep and said while his neighbour loses, he doesn't

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

This is like one of those great philosophical riddles that can never be truly tested as a fox won't get into a field he can't get out of unless he's put there.
If he's put there that process will stress him so he won't hurt anyway and he'll be more concerned with escape.

Now as to how a fox can get in, ye must live in a tree and stoneless prairie He can walk or climb up on an external stone wall, outcrop, fallen tree, whatever, and jump in. It doesn't follow then that he can get out.

jmrc wrote: »

we have had "issues" with the Fox in the past. After one bad season we decided to fence one field on the conclusion that a fox is an opportunist and if we got them off their normal usual path of travel, that a fox would not go looking for the kill. So we fenced one field very well with the 3’6” sheep wire and kept the bottom strand on the ground… we did this in the spring early summer time.
To date we have not had an the same issues with mr Fox….
To answer the question….a killer fox is hard stopped no matter where he is. IMO that is.

I looked at that option but decided against it as I thought it would hassle the ewes and lambs too much being shut in to a particular field each night, worse again in bad weather.

Hope to erect a polytunnel to lamb in this year, if these storms ever pass.



Question still stands

MayoAreMagic

I believe he would kill alright, unless it was really tight and as soon as he hit the ground he could sense danger. But then, it isnt the fence that is stopping him, it is feeling under threat that has taken his attention. If a fox got into a large field and a young lamb had lost his mother nearby, I dont doubt he would kill him.

Personally, I find they usually go for a twin/triplet. In the dark I suppose they will always be a time when the mother will be minding 1 lamb and the other might stray off and start bleating. Particularly if a ewe hasnt had twins before. He doesnt have to deal with the ewe at all then. The landscape can have an effect also. We have 2 fields within 100 yards of each other. 1 has a bank running through it, the other is all open. I cant put twin lambs into the one with the bank. The other one, there is no issue. I figure the fox sneaks up the bank and picks off any lamb lying the other side of it that isnt beside its mother.