Crosshair
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Everything posted by Crosshair
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I don't think you can generalise like that FB. It depends on so many variables. Foxes are so adaptable in their family habits that what applies on a sparse upland sheep farm with a fox every five or ten miles won't apply to a heavily wooded pheasant shoot where a few fields and a big wood hold enough food and habitat for a family of six foxes. We have such a high population in this area that I work on the basis that it probably takes a night or two at the most for neighbouring foxes to realise a territory is empty and every fox free night is a good one! It's naive to assume that a seemingl
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I saw a squirrel carrying a well furred up youngster for the first time the other day so they definitely do move them. No pics as was driving unfortunately.
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Hoppers with feed in will be great focal points for territories. So put them where the birds have the best chance of successfully nesting- as otherwise you could lure them away from better habitat. If you notice two males fighting near a hopper, placing an extra one nearby will generally result in them making two smaller territories quite happily. Watch out for concentrating rats nearby too otherwise they'll undo all your hard work. Good luck
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That's the irony of the ban isn't it. It removes that incentive for people to turn a blind eye and cover the cost of fox damage out of their own pocket for the good of the hunt. The next big revolution in fox preservation will be when people start charging for guided fox shooting (although a few people have been running foxing 'courses' for years already) I can see it happening!! I spent a bit of time with the guys at the Great Bustard project on Salisbury Plain and I said to them, the best way to re-introduce the Bustard is to put them straight on the Game Act There will soon be half a m
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As I say- the CA slipped up by ignoring the sport aspect of dog work whether above ground or below. Proper hunting folk have done more good for the fox than any animal rights charities ever will- especially the sickos who rehabilitate a fox in a way that makes it too tame to release so it's forced into their care for them to fawn over until it dies of old age. But we are where we are which for me is semi-suburban lowland England (you know what I mean) crawling with public, foxes and every vermin under the sun and trying to make a bit of space for other wildlife to survive. Cubs are little
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Granted and I respect that. However not all dog men are sportsmen and not all gamekeepers indiscriminate killers. Not to mention the minor inconvenience of the wording of the law.
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I'm pretty much out of interesting ones anyway These are from across last season so some them from times of year when you digging purists would be out carrying out 'game bird protection' anyway. The Antis all tell us that killing foxes creates a territory vacuum which causes more foxes to breed and more Cubs to survive so those of you NOT killing enough foxes are your own worst enemies perhaps I don't think my boss would be happy if a fox got in and killed 250 poults and I said "yes, I knew he was about but a few lads want a dig in Novemeber so I thought I'd leave it" Beside
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No, but the bird of prey centre that take my trapped squirrels took the muntjac This one would have made better eating
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Lol, don't panic, even going Lamping twice a week and sitting out at least three other nights most weeks, we still never run out of foxes. We're surrounded by 3000 acres of unshot, unkeepered forestry. We try and give the birds as many fox free days as we can but now the local outdoor pig farm has shut down, we seem to be a fox magnet! It's not like Norfolk where a fox sighting still makes the parish magazine I read once that an owner used to give his keepers a day off if they killed a fox! I might see if my boss will go for that
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Thanks! Its force of habit now. My lamp man takes the Mick when we're there in the pouring rain trying to get the torch and camera lined up but loves looking back through them too. Even a tally with notes is still pretty un-memorable whereas each pic triggers the story behind it instantly. It's my way of showing a little bit of respect too although I'm sure that will seem stupid to some. A brief moment to pause, reflect and admire- before it gets chucked in the dead pit
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Yes saw that. I shot a roe fawn clean out of a vixens mouth four years ago! Then did the same with a cock pheasant last year It turned its head 90degrees as I shot it! 3 weeks later we caught up with what we assume is the fox Would certainly have survived but wasn't very nice for it. Always the risk when you loose off a bullet at a living creature with all the hundred of variables involved and another tick in favour of dog work.
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I find it offensive to the fox how poor a hunter many anti's think they are Every other carnivorous mammal on earth tackles prey much larger than itself so no reason why the fox should be different. The biggest prey item I saw last year was a freshly killed muntjac fawn.
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It's not permission per say, it's the estate I 'keeper. 2500 acres. Been here 5 years. Killed 51, 34 , 26, 27 and unbelievably 63 last year!! On 9 this year which is a few down on same time last year.
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I've got a pic of a dead dog fox and a dead cub I shot one after the other outside of an earth if that's of any interest?? Probably not worth the hassle of posting it mind you The litter I trapped this week were caught with the last Cock Pheasant that the dog fox dropped off. I know it wasn't the Vixen because I shot her the night before. I then shot him and no further food arrived in the next three days that it took me to catch all four Cubs. Anecdotal of course but that's what happened
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I have also read anecdotally that a dominant vixen can suppress the subordinate Vixens from coming into heat so that only she breeds. The more feed available, the more other Vixens she 'allows' to cub. It would be interesting to know if those guys who have taken a baren vixen alongside the breeding Vixen and a dog fox from a breeding earth were in food-poor areas? Presumably this applies at the time of oestrus so if universally true- it's a good argument for not killing foxes just before and during the mating season as the death of the dominant vixen could result in several subordinates th
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Well it's better proof than trying to argue it without the picture I handled them and am 100% sure it was a three and a four of different ages. But as I say, it's well documented elsewhere as a well established fact in almost every fox ecology description and I'm assuming they're not all basing it on my one experience The older I get- the more I realise I didn't know
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I don't know exactly hjckcff. I know they shot another 6 adults from that same area but as far as I know they didn't shoot them by sitting out over the earth just in the same vicinity. It's actually at the back of a village and is walked daily by dog walkers! The whole shoot is less than 40 acres lol (they still shot 96 pheasants one day!!!) I can certainly ask him next time I pop in. As I say, when we examined them, the three of them were distinctly older. Much more obviously than in that photo (especially 4th from the left). Pete had seen them all on that hole about three nights before
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That's awesome! Well done Jim I love reading about the kind of informal hunting/flushing type work you do over there. It really illustrates the value of good dogs for every hunting scenario. I hope that mine will be a good all rounder- I think the more work you can get, the closer the bond becomes and the more they learn exactly what you're doing that day. She comes everywhere with me including stalking or sitting in the highseats.. Sometimes she rides in the Roe Sack and sometimes at heel. She did run in the other week on the second one of the day after I let her rag the first one I sho
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I've always been 100% straight about stuff although my mates would just say I'm boring because of it We probably have mutual acquaintances FD, I'm a Wiltshire lad, went to Lackham and most of my friends live there still. I think the biggest mistake the CA made was arguing just the control side of fox hunting- it's the sport and conservation aspect that brings the fox benefits too. It also made all hunt supporters look blood thirsty rather than keen for a glimpse of Charlie and a fair chase. I know so many keepers who used to stop shooting in Nov until the hunt had been in Feb/March
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I agree but we both thought when we handled them that there are three definitely a week or so older. (1,2 and 4 in the pic).
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??? Sorry, I think you misunderstood. The pics are all mine. I mean Google is your friend to find out information.
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If only Foxdropper had said "Wow, that's interesting Crosshair, I have actually read on other websites and in a few books that it can happen" none of this petty banter needed to occur. Google is your friend sometimes...... Anyway..... shall we move back to some more interesting ecology discussion now?
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@Onion jonny I can imagine you all solemnly throwing them in the hedge with barely a second glance what with being the hardened, macho, 'seen it all before' professionals you think you are. I think it all started with my old headkeeper at my last place. He thought he was an ace fox killer so used to bring them all back and lay them out by the feed shed to wind me up. So I'd do the same and we'd pressure each other into friendly competition. Then we got smart phones and it was more instant to ping an MMS across with a bit of friendly banter. If my post had been accepted at face va
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It's not about ego, it's about interest. It was such an unusual occurrence that I thought they deserved a picture. That said, I do photograph all of them to keep a quick record that I can transfer on to my spreadsheet for my estate records. I enjoy all aspects of fox control but bolting to terriers and sitting in highseats in daylight are my two favourite. Lamping is a necessary chore, snaring annoying here (as we have so many Muntjac who knock them over) and dispatching stuff in cage traps a distasteful but necessary evil.
