We have a grey fox that seems to have made it's home very nearby to us. The grey fox is very rare in these parts, old timers say it's been years since they have seen one. He is quite bold and not bothered much by us humans. Our neighbor opened the front door one morning and the fox was standing on her porch, staring right at her and did not run away. She slammed the door shut. The grey fox can climb trees, so they are more dangerous predators than the more common red fox. The fox has been seen lurking around the turkey tractor and chicken house, and roaming the pasture, hanging around our several of our neighbors homes. Even though they are supposed to be nocturnal, this one has been seen a lot out and about during the day. This morning after my husband finished the milking and took the pail in the house, he came back out and the fox was underwear our goat house-on-a-trailer. We have 4 doe and 7 kids that are 10 days to 2 weeks old. How much of a threat is his grey fox to our kids? The mama does are very bothered by it and cry endlessly and madly when they sense it's presence. Any thoughts on this situation would be most appreciated. We are trying to get our heads around just how serious it is and what actions we need to take to protect the kids, but at the same time we don't want to panic needlessly.
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Here in Oregon, ODFW says that if you come across a fox in the day time, that is not scared of humans, to assume it is sick, and contact them. In areas where humans live, they are shot. We have confirmed cases of rabies in foxes here.
ETA: I should add that Judy's description of "acting drunk, lethargic or seriously aggressive" is the behaviors that come along with not being afraid of people, and when the animal is shot if it's near homes.
Judy,
You are probably right. The incident I mentioned happened before 1960 and that area of Virginia is now urban sprawl.
It has been nearly 25 years since I moved to Australia and I know that the U.S. is not the same place as that in which I was a child, though I don't even know what all the changes are. Relatively docile foxes is certainly a difference and it is hard to imagine the Sierra Nevadas without a winter snowpack....
I recall thinking in the mid 1960's that we had "sown the wind" as I looked at the trends in global population. I am older, though hardly wiser, and I know that we are in for a whirlwind, and were it only us humans it would be bad, but that all other living things will innocently be caught in it too is a tragedy beyond scale.
Here in Australia where I have lived nearly a quarter century, the red fox is one of the largest predator animals. It was so arrogantly introduced (to provide for the "gentlemanly" sport of fox hunting in the 19th century) and has joined forces with the domestic cat gone feral to cause the extinction of something on the order of 20 small native marsupial mammals and uncounted other animals. Foxes regularly account for the deaths of new-born or very young sheep and goats. All foxes I have seen have been shy and sly. We have locked our goats up each night in fox proof shedding from the beginning, having had the experience of a fox getting into what we mistakenly thought a fox proof chicken run, and killing all six hens (though only taking away one). They are known to wantonly kill more than they will eat. I have seen a fox running down a trail with a full grown rabbit in its' mouth and that bunny would have been larger than a young Nigerian dwarf kid.
In Australia, the fox is classed as a feral pest. In the state in which we live, there is still a $10 bounty on a fox (I think the ears are proof) though it is a bit like King Canute with the tide.
If fox is acting drunk, lethargic or seriouly aggressive- then call authorities. I am so tired of people assuming animals are sick if they have adapted to our horrible human overpopulation and urbanization. No offense- everyone does it.
Admire this lovely creature- I have never been lucky enough to see one, but have had mom red foxes follow behind me after I have chased them away from my chickens. I admire her pluck, put chickens in pen and she hunts elsewhere. Nothing sick about smarts and adaptation.
Rabies?????
This doesn't sound like a fox "in the wild", but more, as Emily suggested, like a former pet that has ended up in your neighbourhood. It might not even be a pure fox, but some sort of grey fox look-a-like that was actually a domestic cross breed dog.
When I was little, years and years ago, in then rural Virginia, a red fox came up near the house on our farm. My mother quickly rounded up the two dogs, got them inside the house, and forcefully sent my two brothers and me into the house as well. Then, she got my father's pistol, went out and shot it dead with one shot. She said it had rabies to get that close to the house. Later, my brothers and I went out to oogle the dead thing where it lay under the persimmon tree, "But not too close!" It was emaciated and laden with ticks. It had been one poor sick animal. It doesn't sound like the same as your grey fox, but that evening, at dinner, as my brothers and I marvelled at how good our mother was with a gun, our father said that if a fox gets near the house, it is either not a fox or it is sick.
It sounds like someone was keeping it as a pet and it got out or was let go. Usually foxes are not very fond of being seen by humans. I'm not sure how big of a threat it would be, I don't know a whole lot about them. I do know that they are opportunistic scavengers/hunters though so if it is eating things like cat food people leave outside, eggs that are easily gotten to or even chickens, it may not have much of an interest in something that would be more work like goat kids with large mothers. If he gets hungry enough he may try to get one though. I've heard of bobcats taking kids, but not foxes.
Sorry you're having to worry about this! I hope he moves on soon.