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Fox scaring my rabbit

We have a 7/8 year old rabbit who lives in a raised hutch outside. Sometimes we hear him stamping his feet at night, and today we found some large droppings directly outside his hutch. We live in some quite rural suburbs, so it's pretty apparent that it's a fox.
Although there's no way it could hurt him, obviously we don't want it to cause him any stress, so what do people think we could do? Should we lay some stuff down that would discourage the fox or will our rabbit be alright as things are?

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When I was in the hairdressers a man came in to collect the hair and he was using it to scare the fox away. I can kind of see the smell would discourage them; try that? :P
Reply 2
Get your rabbit out of sight. Your rabbit is getting stressed. The stamping is NOT good for his back either. Plenty of rabbits end up getting their spines snapped through stamping after being frightened. There are a few ways I have heard of people getting rid of foxes (putting pet poo in the gardens etc) but haven't tried any myself.
It's very hard to get rid of foxes. They tend to avoid areas with "new smells" such as new pet poo or hair, but once they find that there isn't actually a threat, they will start returning. They can, if they really want to, climb chicken wire fences and they have been known to returns to sites over and over to dig for days to get under fences.

Your best bet is to move the rabbit.
Reply 4
Are you sure there is no way that this fox can get your rabbit? When foxes have found prey, they will keep trying until they get it and even if it takes weeks they'll keep coming back each night until they've found a way to kill it. Move the rabbit, or kill the fox. Bloody vermin.
Reply 5
Well, his hutch is already as close to the house as it could be - and it's up on stilts with both a closed section and a wire mesh, so I don't think there's anyway it could get him aside from pushing the hutch over, which would be nigh on impossible. It doesn't come very often (as in the stamping only occurs sporadically, and it has been happening for quite a long time), but this is the first time we found droppings. Surely a fox would just give up and find easier pickings? There are plenty of dustbins etc around here, as well as other animals in hedgerows, I'm sure.

The rabbit comes in to the house every day and his general health seems good, so I don't think it's affecting him too much/at all, although I am aware they are sensitive creatures and can go into shock very quickly/easily.

Also sorry Carrot, but "snapping their spines through stamping"?! How does that happen, and what about wild rabbits who use stamping on a daily basis, surely? Anyway, everyone thanks for the suggestions; I think if we see any more droppings (because I took this as an overt sign of intimidation) then we might try something to scare it away.
Reply 6
No foxes don't give up. Once they're attracted to something they will keep coming back until they figure it out. If there is a way to get inside the hutch and kill your rabbit, then it will. Take it from me who's lived in the countryside and dealt with foxes before.
Reply 7
Ad-Alta


Also sorry Carrot, but "snapping their spines through stamping"?! How does that happen, and what about wild rabbits who use stamping on a daily basis, surely? Anyway, everyone thanks for the suggestions; I think if we see any more droppings (because I took this as an overt sign of intimidation) then we might try something to scare it away.


Wild rabbits are phenominally fit and supremely well adopted aminals, a pet rabbit will be chubby generally, and unfit. Ditch the rabbit, or kill the fox.

I'm not sure if you are still allowed to snare foxes in england, I think you are though but I only really know scottish law. If you pm me I can send you a couple of snares.
carrot
Plenty of rabbits end up getting their spines snapped through stamping after being frightened.


And:

Ad-Alta
Also sorry Carrot, but "snapping their spines through stamping"?! How does that happen, and what about wild rabbits who use stamping on a daily basis, surely?


Lovely idea but in practice it doesn't really happen if at all.

This stems from handling a rabbit without supporting it's rear end, if it then kicks out it can break and/or injure it's back. The rabbit's back is very long and it's spine relatively weak which predisposes them to problems and this is why you put a hand underneath their rump and back legs to support their back should their kick out.

However just thumping his foot is unlikely to cause any damage but it can be a sign that the animal is stressed which is not good for it's health or it's welfare.
Ad-Alta
Sometimes we hear him stamping his feet at night

How big is your rabbit if you can hear it stamp its feet lmao
Ad-Alta
Well, his hutch is already as close to the house as it could be - and it's up on stilts with both a closed section and a wire mesh, so I don't think there's anyway it could get him aside from pushing the hutch over, which would be nigh on impossible. It doesn't come very often (as in the stamping only occurs sporadically, and it has been happening for quite a long time), but this is the first time we found droppings. Surely a fox would just give up and find easier pickings? There are plenty of dustbins etc around here, as well as other animals in hedgerows, I'm sure.


No. The fox knows your rabbit is here and he will be very unlikely to give this up now. As I said, they have been known (and I know from personal experience) to return to sites they are 'working on' for months on end. We spent 4 months of one season filling in holes the foxes were digging around the chicken coop when we had the farm, and each night they'd come back and redig the hole.

The fox will return, and he'll start working at the cage - Finding weaknesses in the basic sctructure and exploiting them. If the cage is high up he'll likely either start on the legs, or find a way to balance to get higher up (they're amazingly well balanced on hind legs). They gnaw and scratch at small holes or thin peices of wood, and weak joints until they form a hole, and take the whole hutch apart from there.

Seriously, just move the rabbit inside. It is literally the only way you're going to stop this over a long period of time - Unless you kill the fox. Even if you just get one of the indoor plastic hutches and move him into that every night.
Reply 11
I've not been so lucky we've had a hole in the mesh and our grey rabbit gone. Gutted and angry. Move the rabbit we had no warning either
Reply 12
Very old thread but, poor rabbit.
Original post by Bio 7
Very old thread but, poor rabbit.


Poor fox. He dead too. :frown:

Advice: Eat the rabbit to stop the fox getting there first.

I suggest Lapin a La Bourguignonne is best.
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 14
Am I the only one who found Innuendo in the Topic title?
Original post by ANM775
Am I the only one who found Innuendo in the Topic title?


My original thought was to limit the amount of Sky tv the rabbit watched. But that's moot now since the Fox channel no longer broadcasts in the U.K.
Reply 16
Original post by uberteknik
My original thought was to limit the amount of Sky tv the rabbit watched. But that's moot now since the Fox channel no longer broadcasts in the U.K.




Really?!

when did that happen?

I hadn't noticed

Didn't they have loads of family guy/American dad.....?

damn........
Original post by ANM775
Really?!

when did that happen?

I hadn't noticed

Didn't they have loads of family guy/American dad.....?

damn........


Ha ha. I should have added 'news' to that !

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/aug/29/sky-to-stop-broadcasting-rightwing-us-channel-fox-news-in-uk
Reply 18




oh, the news channel?

that's ok then, I never watched it anyway

didn't even know Fox had one tbh
the rabbit in question has probably gone to the great hutch in the sky since the thread was started in 2008

:emo:

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