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foxes!

Pip&Milo

Pip&Milo

Warren Scout
Well last night was stressful. Myself and mog were awoken by a random banging noise. He went to the window to see and it was milo thumping because a fox was trying to get into his hutch! I ran as fast as i could and chased the fox away. Milo continued to thump-he was obviously terrified. I opened his hutch and he ran at me, stopped then came and licked me repeatedly. Then jumped out of the hutch and hid underneath. He continued thumping :( it took us an hour to get him back into his hutch and he was still terrified. All this at 4am :( now i haven't slept a wink becaused im so panicked it will come back. I like foxes generally and i wish it no harm but milo is my baby! Does anyone have any experiences like this? Will the fox come back? Milos hutch withstood it but what if were not here next time! Is there anything i can do to deter the things? !
Thanks in advance
A scared milo and a worried pip
 
Can you buy Milo a playhouse which would give him more protection and not be as scary for him. You still need to try and make your garden as foxproof as possible, using good fencing with some sort of trellis around the top, or wire. The fox will probably come back and you could be in for many sleepless nights and Milo many scary nights. There's some good advice somewhere on here
 
:(Milo must have been terrified.
Yes, the fox will definitely return: they don't give up.
Is it possible for you to have him as an indoor bunny? I think that is what I would have to do in your position.
 
Foxes are a bit of a nightmare and unfortunately they do keep returning. Believe it or not, I saw one last night in my neighbour's garden, on their trampoline!! He comes back every night and plays on it at about 8.30 pm. I've also seen him trying to climb up the slide they've got - not the steps, the slippery slope part!! It looks very funny, as he keeps sliding back down it and then trying again. Luckily, our bun lives in the shed, so he is very well protected, and our garden is fenced to all boundaries and securely gated. If there's no way of fox-proofing Milo's hutch, I would be tempted, as Babsie has said, to bring him indoors. Hope you can find a solution.
 
Pip&Milo said:
Well last night was stressful. Myself and mog were awoken by a random banging noise. He went to the window to see and it was milo thumping because a fox was trying to get into his hutch! I ran as fast as i could and chased the fox away. Milo continued to thump-he was obviously terrified. I opened his hutch and he ran at me, stopped then came and licked me repeatedly. Then jumped out of the hutch and hid underneath. He continued thumping :( it took us an hour to get him back into his hutch and he was still terrified. All this at 4am :( now i haven't slept a wink becaused im so panicked it will come back. I like foxes generally and i wish it no harm but milo is my baby! Does anyone have any experiences like this? Will the fox come back? Milos hutch withstood it but what if were not here next time! Is there anything i can do to deter the things? !
Thanks in advance
A scared milo and a worried pip
Click to expand...

Yes a fox will definitely return. He knows where his food is now .... You have to do something, because as you probably know, rabbits can die of shock as much as anything else. You will have to keep a close eye on him for the next 2/3 days to make sure he is OK.

If it were my bunny I would bring him indoors, but this is probably not an option long term? If not, then I would consider some sort of shed arrangement whereby his hutch is inside it - perhaps always open if your shed is perfectly secure. I would monitor him closely and perhaps bring him indoors for two or three nights anyway, or until you have alternative accommodation sorted.

Sorry you've had this experience ...
 
Thanks for the advice everybody!
I have brought him inside for the time being. Luckily we recently replaced Milo's hutch with a bigger one so we have brought the smaller one in for a couple of nights! Unfortunately bringing him inside permanently isn't an option as our house is an old one and being done up so not exactly safe for a free roaming bunny!
Also a shed or playhouse is out of the question as it would take up soooo much of our small garden!
My partner has bough some reinforced steel mesh and some more bolts to make his hutch more fox proof, and we have also bought some spray deterrent that says it is safe for rabbits but will deter foxes.
Any chance the fox will give up coming back after a few days of Milo not being there?
Shock was my big worry which is why he is tucked away inside with us. He seems OK but is very nervous, will not leave our sides!!!
x
 
What should I be looking for in terms of shock. He seems OK this evening. He was still pretty thumpy this morning but is eating and drinking fine and pooping okay?
As I say he is more nervous than usual and is following me around like a lost puppy but i don't care because he is alive and that is all I care about at this point. x
 
i would keep him inside and away from any work being done. even if this means a smaller space rather than free roam, this is still going to be better than him being outside terrified. again, a playhouse or shed taking up most of the space outside is worth it i would say?? although the fox would still beable to possibly scare him anyway.

as someone else pointed out, he could pass from the shock of seeing a fox or from one trying to break in so i wouldn't put him back out, especially as he is still thumpy and nervous now a while after.

sadly, fox deterrents don't seem to work. once the fox knows they are there, they will keep trying. apparently they follow a similar route each day/night and will check all previous places they have seen a potential meal :(

i hope you can work something out x
 
When I say a shed would take up most of the garden I mean there literally would be no garden and just shed! I will keep an eye on him over the next few days and make a decision once I am calmer about the situation. Again, thanks for the advice
 
Pip&Milo said:
What should I be looking for in terms of shock. He seems OK this evening. He was still pretty thumpy this morning but is eating and drinking fine and pooping okay?
As I say he is more nervous than usual and is following me around like a lost puppy but i don't care because he is alive and that is all I care about at this point. x
Click to expand...

Make sure he keeps eating and is warm - ie. notice if he stops moving around and becomes cool. Try and reassure him when he wants to be with you. I'm sure he'll be OK - he's bound to be nervous for a little while yet.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice. We have basically decided to build a shelter around his hutch. Almost like a mini shed. His hutch is in an alley round the side of the house and too small for an actual shed but we are basically heading to b&q and buying wood to essentially put him in a little wooden room. Topped with a reinforced cage, fox deterrent spray and security lights hopefully problem will be solved. Atleast if it does head back it wont be able to get close enough to cause milo too much worry xxx
 
This is my greatest fear regarding out door rabbits, mine are in a hutch outside, at night I surround the hutch with puppy pens, extra locks and a hutch cover. I also have two (small!) dogs and they go out last thing at night (as well all day) as do I and the area is lit up like a flight path.

I am meshing all round the hutch back and sides, plus double meshing the windows. I also lean and pile stuff around the hutch so that if a fox attacked it would make a lot of noise and wake me (or the dogs) up.

I know that there are foxes in the area, a vixen had a litter of cubs and one of my more distant neighbours feeds them!

I really hate it tho. Renting sucks.
 
Last edited:
Pip&Milo said:
When I say a shed would take up most of the garden I mean there literally would be no garden and just shed! I will keep an eye on him over the next few days and make a decision once I am calmer about the situation. Again, thanks for the advice
Click to expand...

ah ok :lol: so you'd basically step out your door into the shed! :lol:

i was going to suggest using aviary panels around the hutch possibly. so like you've said, a kind of shed enclosing it :)
 
i also love foxes and i keep chickens. we have a electric fence around the front garden, so that has kept him from coming into the garden from the fields. but he does sneak around the back from the road and pops up now and then to see the rabbits. i would put milo into a shelter with the hutch so the fox can't get to near him. you could have a removable front bit so that you could put it up at night and take it down in the morning so you will have some space. i did this with the quails when they lived in the garden.
 
Pip&Milo said:
Thanks everyone for your advice. We have basically decided to build a shelter around his hutch. Almost like a mini shed. His hutch is in an alley round the side of the house and too small for an actual shed but we are basically heading to b&q and buying wood to essentially put him in a little wooden room. Topped with a reinforced cage, fox deterrent spray and security lights hopefully problem will be solved. Atleast if it does head back it wont be able to get close enough to cause milo too much worry xxx
Click to expand...


Can I be cheeky and ask for some pictures? I am going to add more mesh to mine tomorrow.
 
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