New Artifical

[mudman 14]

Any tips/ shortcuts on encouraging foxes to use a new artifical?  

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Any pics mate .Put food around the entrance and inside.Used to be release a few eabbutx into them but thast' frowned on now .

[mudman 14]

dont want to put any pics up as to be honest i do not know what location data might be embedded☺

 

but its made with good 9" clay pipe, one bed and two bricked bends which are big enough to be beds, two entrances and each pipe about 6 metres to bed.

 

 

[fireman 10,996]

If it's not in the right place and it lets the wind blow through it it won't ever hold on a poor weather day,but dragging a dead fox through will line the walls with fox scent and maybe encourage another fox into it..

[trapliner 92]

Funny old things artificial s have put many in over the years if it’s to there liking had foxes move in within weeks of finishing it others never had a thing in them I try to put them in areas where there are no other earths about to improve the chances of them been used have tried the warreners tip of using fox smelling water to tempt them but not found it to make a lot of difference to be honest I would say the key element is the position of the entrances I have mine facing south as you never get cold winds from that direction the last one I dug in was only a single entrance to a bed with a large stone in the centre to act like a mini roundabout have found this to be successful as it dousnt create a chimney effect of drawing a cold draught through like the double enterances have but sounds like you done a good job with that one time will tell

[mudman 14]

well we have done the best job we can, bulls horns shape with bed as the head. Dug into a north facing bank of a small gulley with the entrances facing directly away from the prevailing wind.

Only one natural earth on 500 acres of fox rich country, and that earth is only generally used at cubbing time.

Going to try a P shaped one next when we get enough material

[TOPPER 1,809]

we always dug heart shaped earths with a bed in the V of the heart with plenty of sand in the base these always worked well

[rob284 1,682]

Artificial i used to go to was a T shape with two entrances and the stop on the perpendicular straight. Would get a few foxes a season out of it until i took someone to it and it was ruined.

[shovel leaner 7,650]

The area I grew up in had some very big fields and very little cover or woods near . The area was hunted over a lot in days gone by but because of the M5 it could no longer be hunted . There were three artificials that were basically terracotta pipe about 10-15 yards long with a slab bed chamber covered with old grave stones they were just straight running in the hedge line . But I used to go over there a lot and regularly found in them , sometimes more than one , 3 was the best . I even found old billy in there , on his travels no doubt and in the days before you could get in trouble . My theory is that where there is little or no other places to hide away the daylight hours then an artificial will work well , but if there is a lot of cover and woodland and natural earths or rock piles then they may take longer to be used , if at all .

[Daniel cain 46,219]

2 hours ago, shovel leaner said:

The area I grew up in had some very big fields and very little cover or woods near . The area was hunted over a lot in days gone by but because of the M5 it could no longer be hunted . There were three artificials that were basically terracotta pipe about 10-15 yards long with a slab bed chamber covered with old grave stones they were just straight running in the hedge line . But I used to go over there a lot and regularly found in them , sometimes more than one , 3 was the best . I even found old billy in there , on his travels no doubt and in the days before you could get in trouble . My theory is that where there is little or no other places to hide away the daylight hours then an artificial will work well , but if there is a lot of cover and woodland and natural earths or rock piles then they may take longer to be used , if at all .

There's a few I know for , up on a open hill top sheep country made exactly the way you discribe...... I checked them in the last load of snow we had

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Beaufort make them out of railway sleepers above ground, bent tin and brush piles .They all hold when fox numbers are good .

[shovel leaner 7,650]

A few years ago I had a go at making one . After a chat with the local hunt terrier man we decided on a good spot . I had begged some large yellow plastic gas pipe which I cut in half lengthwise. We got the digger out and a trailer of sand which I was informed would be the best thing for the floor of the pipe . When the job was done I stood back and admired my handy work , I dreamt of all the easy bolts I would be having and chuckled to myself at how cunning and clever I was to have constructed such a brilliant artificial. Well as you’ve probably guessed it didn’t quite go to plan , rabbits moved in and quickly destroyed it . It’s still there and I often try it but so far I haven’t had one in . 1-0 to Charlie.

[nick703 447]

All ours are u shaped so one gun can cover both entrances, they're made from bricks, slabs, concrete blocks, ones made with plastic pipe and holds regular, mostly it's a quick bolt but we do have to dig a few each season,we've also had a few litters of cubs in them and all of them are used by rabbits. 

This was a morning round the artificials.

[jcb 271]

Read somewhere that the plastic pipes are a waste of time.anyone have much success with it.

[nick703 447]

35 minutes ago, jcb said:

Read somewhere that the plastic pipes are a waste of time.anyone have much success with it.

 Our plastic pipe artificial is one of the best we have, , although we've never had a litter in it in the recent snow it was being used by several different foxes, if I could get some more plastic pipe I would definitely use it