To be annoyed with neighour feeding the fox

[Pat123dev]

My neighbour feeds the fox, which has now turned to foxes, they keep eating my chickens. They are having to be shut in to protect them, which miserable!!

We've had an offer of help by shooting them. I said to my neighbour we wouldn't do that, of she stops feeding them. She thinks I'm unreasonable.

We've had the odd fox attack over the years, it's part of country life, but now we're over run they literally take any birds and fight with dogs and attack the cat.

Honestly I’d take up the offer and I’d report the neighbour to the council to see if they could make her stop. This isn’t about the chickens it’s about being able to use your own garden full stop.

I had problems with foxes shitting in my tiny (fenced in!) back garden so my sister bought this stuff off Amazon that you dilute in a watering can & sprinkle round the garden - the smell of it is unnoticeable to humans & cats but really puts off foxes.

We found two applications really worked and I've never seen a fox in my garden since.

I will look for it on Amazon now as it's definitely worth a try.

Btw a fox chased my healthy young cat over a fence... then my cat turned round & chased it back!!

Get a better chicken run. Wtf?! I can't believe I've just read your op. You're threatening to get foxes shot because your neighbour feeds them?

@SommerTen

Is it safe for dogs and children?! Please post a link!!

she puts tins and tins of food out What an idiot she is.

We had urban foxes in London (really mangy, poor things). And they would go bananas playing, and cat would be in the middle watching totally bemused.

Ok. Amazon currently sell Scoot fox repellent granules for watering cans & it's less than £7 a pack.
You may need to use it more than once.

@Franca123

Sounds to me like you're being incredibly patient. I'd be sending her the vet bill at the very least. I would be having a stern word and telling her you will take it further if she doesn't stop immediately. It's not reasonable for her actions to directly impact your ability to enjoy your property.

This. It's really not on that's she's feeding them. They are wild animals, why on earth is she trying to domesticate them

@Justheretoaskaquestion91 yes it's safe for other animals etc

YABU. Secure your chicken if you must keep them.

We live in the countryside and I feed the foxes. A friend of ours gets just as many foxes as we do but doesn’t feed them.

You must have very very strange foxes if they attack dogs and cats. I'm in a big city where the foxes are very bold, and they still never come close to humans and the only fox/cat argument I've ever witnessed was a cat attacking a fox.

Its not hitting bird flu season we are well into it, ive had multiple alerts a day about new cases from the government/defra alert service and they requested poultry keepers increase biosecurity over a week ago

FFS foxes attacking cats and dogs is urban myth!

Like hell it is. My cat has been chased at least 3 times that I’ve witnessed. There is an ongoing thread on our local Nextdoor.com about a small dog that was killed this year by a fox in a garden. Various other posters commented about attacks on their pets too. ( although in the spirit of fairness I didn’t see any furry corpses) I certainly know that a fox strolled into my sitting room via the open French doors while I was sat there so not exactly cowering. I think it’s a pain in the arse that people feed them - they have access to enough food via food bins and public bins. I’m not particularly wanting them to be destroyed I would just prefer the numbers were more tolerable in urban / suburban areas.

I don’t necessarily agree with shooting the foxes but I agree with you that your neighbour shouldn’t be feeding them. They don’t need to anyway- as you know with your dead chickens foxes are perfectly capable of finding their own food.

@ATTA45

FFS foxes attacking cats and dogs is urban myth! I've seen my dopiest cat chase off a fox numerous times! You are either a scaremonger or you're trying to justify not liking foxes, either position is shit.

Tell that to the Glasgow fox which chased my neighbour's cat down the road last night.

SHE HAS SECURED HER CHICKENS

For those who are hard of hearing ^

Fox proof your garden? Use those roller bar things to stop them getting over and a catio for your cat

We feed foxes every night in my house. They are starving and have young ones so we feed them. We also have a dog and not once have the foxes gone for him, I don’t believe you saying they have attacked yours and gone for your kids. Think you’ve imagined that. Secure your chickens and move on. I would rather foxes be in the area then noisy smelly chickens.

Yabu, I have 3 rabbits, it's my responsibility to house my rabbits securely so they don't get taken by foxes. If your chickens are miserable then you need to find them a bigger enclosure for night time like a shed

@SommerTen

Thank you!!

@Adios2011 - I’m not rich or white as it happens. Nor did I hunt. I do recognise its value in keeping the fox population down, however.

You’re perhaps quite an unpleasant person, if I judge you by the tone of your post. I will however give you the benefit of the doubt despite the viciousness of your quite extraordinary outburst.

Foxes very very rarely attack cats, dogs or kids. Some of the exaggerations on here are ridiculous.

@ATTA45

FFS foxes attacking cats and dogs is urban myth! I've seen my dopiest cat chase off a fox numerous times! You are either a scaremonger or you're trying to justify not liking foxes, either position is shit.

My previous neighbour had two kittens, siblings.

They grew into two of the friendliest cats you could ever hope for.

I would regularly wish they were mine.

I nicknamed them Smudge and Smudgy because they had little darks patches on their white muzzles.

Used to see them every time I went to the shop, sitting outside their house, on a little wall.

Smudge used to roll over for tummy tickles if you so much as looked at her. Smudgy would come up to you, purring like mad and would try to touch your face with his paw if you bent over to stroke him.

One day, I didn't see them as usual. Weeks went by. Smudgy was back but he was alone and was not his usual self.

A few weeks later, DH saw the neighbour and asked after the cats.
A fox had ripped Smudge to pieces and Smudgy was seriously injured and only just survived his wounds with lots of care from the neighbour and a very big vet bill. The neighbour could not even stroke Smudgy any more as Smudgy would not let him touch him because of all the wound care he had no choice but to do and the cat held a grudge.

Urban myth, don't think so.

Before you say, not a fox, probably a dog or something. The owner witnessed the attack but could not get to Smudge in time. He literally had to wrestle Smudgy from the foxes jaws. I have absolutely no reason to believe my old neighbour was lying.

A woman’s dog attacked my cat as she had it off lead on the bridle path running along side my garden. Can I now shot it as it nearly killed my cat and cost me just under£1000 in vets bills.