koru 12 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Does anybody know how many rabbits a fox takes over a period of Time what the percentage is? Obviously it depends on the land time of year and so on but you know like they say so many hares eat the same amount as one sheep. I'm just wondering how many rabbits a fox would kill and do the foxes really pushed down the Rabbit population. Quote Link to post
Saltmoon 2,208 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 How long is a piece of string comes to mind 1 Quote Link to post
micky 3,325 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 I do not think Foxes make much impact on rabbit numbers like most predators they will take the young ,old and weak, they can and do a lot of damage to all types of poultry and i lose a lot of snared rabbits yearly really they are opportunists and scavengers 2 Quote Link to post
troyboy17 631 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Do u think they take new born lambs some say yes others say no Quote Link to post
socks 32,253 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Do u think they take new born lambs some say yes others say no What do you reckon ....... 4 Quote Link to post
troyboy17 631 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 There are not as many sheep farmers round by me I suppose in Wales and on the moors food is scarce and they take anything Quote Link to post
bird 9,913 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 Do u think they take new born lambs some say yes others say no What do you reckon ....... ive never actually seen a fox kill a lamb , found lots of lamb parts etc around earths , but never see a proper kill by one , suppose its the same with poultry , you see the damage they do when they get in with birds , but dont actually see the kill . i think like been said on here foxes are opportunists and will take sick or very weak animals 1st, then 2nd will kill healthy animals driven by hunger . my brother when he lived in England , he kept birds = chickens and had foxes over the years kill nearly all his birds, i went down to his place many times with dog an gun to get the foxes , but the bloody things seen to know when you're knocking about and keep away, then strike when nobody about. sometimes you seem to get them better when not really looking for them, a bloke i know keeps chickens and was loosing them from old charlie and a keeper had lost few birds he told him the other week .,this was few months a go . i went out on dog walk in morning , dogs were loose by the wood, old Bryn came back when i whistled , but not Buck , he been gone nearly 10 mins, heard crash in the cover , then saw Buck pulling something in the branches , thought at 1st it was a munjack , then could see it was a charlie . told the bloke with chickens , he was over the moon about it , you just never know when you will bump it to them , never mind seeing them kill something 1 Quote Link to post
king 11,972 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 On a big sheep farm in s.Wales 1000s of sheep on. The foxs would take the first lamb born out of twins when the ewe was dropping the second twin. As he knew she could do nothing to stop him. He would only take about 1/4 of the lambs he killed back to the earth.the rest he would take the middle right out to regurgitate near the earth. leaving back and front legs attached to the wool and the head use to be left. The 22.250 stopped him though. 1 Quote Link to post
neil cooney 10,416 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 A field full of lambs have only the ewe to protest their baby but two foxes can sort that out easily, especially if the poor ol' ewe is trying to protect a double. A pen full of chickens is a dream to a fox if he can get in. Free range they're a bit harder but he'll often nail a few before fecking off. But a hedgerow full of rabbits who are on high alert and are looking out for each other is hard for any predator and let's face it one healthy rabbit would feed a man for a day so why wouldn't a fox be happy with one every other day including all the other stuff he picks up along the way. It's rare to see the remains of more than 5 or 6 grazers outside a cubby and that's with both the dog and vixen flat out hunting. I wouldn't think the rabbit makes up much of a foxes diet. More a bonus than a staple part of their diet. 4 Quote Link to post
peter7917 5 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 I'm off on holiday fox hunting in Ireland this season. Can't wait. Quote Link to post
Rabbit Hunter 6,613 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 I once had a terrier disappear into an earth and pull a lamb out still alive. Only way it could've got in there would havto have been dragged in by a fox, it was wedged in tight and the terrier had gone out of sight before he started tugging it out, so it must've been 6-8 ft into the tube. 2 Quote Link to post
Blueboybilly 164 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 A field full of lambs have only the ewe to protest their baby but two foxes can sort that out easily, especially if the poor ol' ewe is trying to protect a double. A pen full of chickens is a dream to a fox if he can get in. Free range they're a bit harder but he'll often nail a few before fecking off. But a hedgerow full of rabbits who are on high alert and are looking out for each other is hard for any predator and let's face it one healthy rabbit would feed a man for a day so why wouldn't a fox be happy with one every other day including all the other stuff he picks up along the way. It's rare to see the remains of more than 5 or 6 grazers outside a cubby and that's with both the dog and vixen flat out hunting. I wouldn't think the rabbit makes up much of a foxes diet. More a bonus than a staple part of their diet. Well said Quote Link to post
bird 9,913 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 A field full of lambs have only the ewe to protest their baby but two foxes can sort that out easily, especially if the poor ol' ewe is trying to protect a double. A pen full of chickens is a dream to a fox if he can get in. Free range they're a bit harder but he'll often nail a few before fecking off. But a hedgerow full of rabbits who are on high alert and are looking out for each other is hard for any predator and let's face it one healthy rabbit would feed a man for a day so why wouldn't a fox be happy with one every other day including all the other stuff he picks up along the way. It's rare to see the remains of more than 5 or 6 grazers outside a cubby and that's with both the dog and vixen flat out hunting. I wouldn't think the rabbit makes up much of a foxes diet. More a bonus than a staple part of their diet. Well said + 2 Quote Link to post
trigger2 3,145 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 as has already been said foxes deffinatly take new born lambs, seen it myself when i worked on a farm as a young lad. personally i dont think they have any noticable impact on rabbit numbers. i know to a fox that got into a laying shed with 6000 hens he had got to have been in there at least all night by the time he was discovered. and the fecker never even killed a chicken why that was i will never know. Quote Link to post
Phil Lloyd 10,738 Posted September 25, 2017 Report Share Posted September 25, 2017 (edited) Like most folk, I've never seen a fox take a healthy lamb,..but a small terrier could certainly kill one, so there is no reason that a fox couldn't... Edited September 25, 2017 by Phil Lloyd 2 Quote Link to post
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.