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Fox!!!

Mables mum

New Kit
Boll*cks boll*cks boll*cks!!!
My rabbits have a wonderful life, we have rabbit proofed the back garden and they are out all day, every day. We leave their hutch door open and they just bumble around keeping our grass down.
Now they are usually lured into their hutch at night with their rabbit mix, but last night I could only get the Mable in and didn't want to seperate them over night so i just left the hutch open (this happens about once or twice a week.

Well the dogs were barking at 4.30 which is very odd - so Michael went through and asked them to be quiet - they did.
Just got up at 6 to find Mable and Fergus both in fergus' little safety place (I don't know how Mable fits in there) fur all over the garden and Mable with spots of blood on her neck

The dogs were going mental sniffing around the garden - so I am certain it was a fox - but what do I do now?
I don't begrudge the fox - it doesn't know any better - but I love my rabbits and it will know they are there now (along with hutches with Guineapigs and Ferrets in!!)... I need to deter the fox but I can't see any thing on google that would help!!
We have checked them both over and put them in their hutch - however I don't know if they would be better off free so they can get out of the way? I feel certain that a determined fox could pretty much ripp apart any hutch and then they would be trapped?

Oh God I feel sick!! I guess I could bring them in and let them be house rabbits? But it all seems such a shame they were so happy with the way things were!!

PS I have checked them both over Fergus is fine, Mable has a few little bite wounds on her dewlap but seems fine!
 
Personally I would have to bring them indoors. A Fox will not give up once it knows prey are about. A Fox will get into a hutch unless it is very sturdy, has double layered galvanised wire and is fitted with padlocks.
But for me no hutch or shed can be 100% Fox proof. Thats why I cant have outdoor Rabbits here as we are plagued by urban Foxes.
Sorry, but I hate them.

If one of your Rabbits has bite wounds please please get her to a Vet today. Bite wounds can look innocuous but can easily abscessate and become very serious indeed.
 
Agree with Jane.... I couldn't keep them outside if there were foxes in the area.
They could move inside and have supervised access in the garden during the day, but if you do have a fox in your area I would never leave the rabbits out free range.

I would also take Mable to the vet, fox bites have a nasty habit of abscessing.:(
 
I occasionally see foxes around at mid-day in winter! :shock:

Your rabbits should be safe overnight in a substantial hutch or hutch and run combo

We have lots of foxes around us (urban foxes...we are only a couple of miles from Nottingham city centre) but fortunately they have never tried to get into any of the hutches. I sometimes see foxes walking across our yard at night and they totally ignore the hutches
 
It was midday on a sunday afternoon in late winter/early spring when my sweet little boy Kumquat was taken a few years ago. He was only six months old. I had only popped into the house for a few minutes....I get frustrated when people say they don't get foxes...just because you dont see them doesn't mean they aren't there. Unfortunately houserabbits aren't an option for me but I build all my own enclosures and they are more secure than almost anything you can buy in the shops, I believe.
 
They will soon adjust to being house buns - having supervised garden time. It's a shame when they have been enjoying their freedom so much! And it is so lovely to see buns behaving naturally. Bloody foxes!

I wonder though.. ferrets attack rabbits, and if you have ferrets in your garden would this attract wild ferrets (if there is such a thing - not sure :oops:) especially as the spring time approaches - if your ferrets are amorous and a wild one has picked up their scent?

Also rats will group together to kill a rabbit, apparantly suffocating it whilst the others start tucking in.. not pleasant. Just a thought about the ferret/rat thing. Can you tell by the bites if they are canine type punctures?

Or could your buns have had a fight as so many area doing at this time of the year :roll:
 
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I get frustrated when people say they don't get foxes...just because you dont see them doesn't mean they aren't there.

I agree. :(:( We definitely do have foxes, but we only know from the poo in the garden mainly. The fox can't poo in every garden it visits though and so most of our neighbours could assume they don't have foxes.

Foxes are very determined and nothing can be 100% fox-proof. I think you should do everything you can to make sure the accomodation you have is as secure as possible - padlocks, strong mesh securely attached to the wood. Also, provide a blot-hole inside the hutch where they can both hide to feel more secure if threatened. Definitely don't leave them out, assuming they can hide. Usually a rabbit will run but sometimes it can freeze through fear and that would be an awful way to go. :(
 
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