Oh, Yes -I DID Feed The Foxes

 

photo (c) 2022 Terry Hooper-Scharf This is the vixen back in 2016 (having recovered and had young) feeding on Cornish pasties. I eventually gave up when I watch the two foxes lie down and open up the patry to eat the insides only. After that I went to sausage rolls.

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The first thing I noted when I moved to my new home in 2004 was that there was a large hole at each corner of the garden shed. I toldthe council man showing me around; "That's rats" to which he responded that he did not think so. I opened the shed door and looked at the blackness across its flooring: "Okay. No rats and those are all naturally growing sultanas -eat one" were my words and guess what? He never ate one. Also at that point the shed complately collapsed thanks to the rats work.

One day I looked out of my kitchen window to see one of the biggest rats I ever saw (and going whiote with age) stagger across the garden. Obviously either age or someone had used poison. When the young rats ignored my indoor cats swiping at them on the window ledge and the big adult refused to move off the top of the bin by my front door I had no option but to turn to pest control (the property I had just moved from had rats between the walls and often fighting and I tried everything -at that time I had not learnt about essential oils and rat deterrence).

Then, months later rats returned and we knew where from but just couldn't deal with them at the source (a neighbour's garden). Suddenly the rats vanished. Now I knew this was not down to the local cats as they appeared to have no idea what to do when they saw a rat. These days I have Lola as well as Bella (a semi feral) and they handle any "newcomers". But what had killed off all the rats? After an odd noise one night I found out;a fox. Possible the best ratter you can have.

There is an occasional rat but they do not stay for long as the garden has the aforementioned Lola, Bella and several other cats that have now learnt to hunt.

I did not want to discourage the foxes from rat hunting but then things happened. The first was sarcoptic mange. Having seen an adult and later a young cub (probably only 3-4 months old and which I could not catch) die from this I swore that if I could do anything to prevent more such deaths I would -during 1994 Bristol lost an estimated 94% of its fox population when mange swept through.

At the time there were no feeders locally. It had not caught on until much later. So when the vixen turned up having had young I decided that she needed help to keep her fit and feed the young. I then found three foxes were coming to the garden and so I had the opportunity to study them and see how they behaved toward each other and noted how, before I had even seen it enter the garden, the vixen assumed the submissive position for her elder.

photo (c)2022 Terry Hooper-Scharf Thisis what I put out each night until the foxes had recovered and looked in far better condition -tin of cheap dog food, some dry cat food and meat pate sandwiches with meds and cod liver oil capsules.

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When mange struck again I used the National Fox Welfare Society homeopathic drops but reluctantly since I felt it was at least doing something. It was basically to make me feel like I had tried since I did not believe in the homeopathic drops. It worked. I was almost speechless even in thought at the very fact the drops had worked. "Water" people shout but in fact the efficacy depends on the strength of the diluted med and this was not a heavily watered down shop purchased product.

Originally I used meat paste on slices of bread though I would, today, use jam sandwiches. I worked and the foxes also ate the dog food put out for hedgehogs and stray cats. The foxes healed up wonderfully but before I could try to photograph them...they had moved on.

Making sure that the foxes built up their strength and, especially when I knew there were young to be fed, I provided dry cat food -originally for the cats but the foxes and hedgehogs liked it so what the heck. A can of cheap dog food sufficed -sometimes with mixer biscuits added- two pieces of bread with the pate cut up and that was it. I also added cod liver oil capsules to the food specifically placed higher up for the foxes.

And, yes, I had a couple of fine looking foxes that then, as noted, moved off.

Today I only provide the can of dog food as there are other feeders around and I only realised that after finding the signs in my back garden -chicken leg bones, egg shells and even apricot stones. The cats and hedgehogs are the main recipients of food now and to be honest if the foxes were back nothing extra would be put out since I know other parts of the area where they are fed.

Foxes will look for and eat rats as well as mice and it is one reason why I have not allowed the use of any rodenticide since 2006. Now the cats are also hunters for rodents -there is no risk in my garden of rodenticide causing any cat or passing through fox or bird of prey (occasionally owls visit to hunt).

So, yes, I did feed foxes but very carefully and under circumstances that required an "assist" because the fox is a good indicator of the local environment and we should never forget that -or the fact that they are wild canids.