Fox cubs in the garden

bugbug

Hi all,
We  have bought a bungalow couple of months ago and have discovered that we have 4 fox cubs and a vixen in our back garden. The house was left empty for couple of years, and before that elderly lady lived here, so garden was really abandoned. I saw that as a bonus as it would be lovely to bring it back to life, also there are many lovely plants that I could salvage. However we didn’t anticipate finding so much wildlife 😝 First we saw fox sunbathing in our garden, and now few days ago we have seen 4 fox cubs playing around. I have cleared lots of overgrown trees before I knew they were there. Fox den is behind our garage, between the neighbours fence and our garage, we did want to get the garage roof done, but now will have to wait until fox cubs move on. 

Has anyone had any experience having fox cubs in the garden? I think they are adorable, but would like them to move away once they are grown as I have indoor rabbits and would like them to be able to run around in the garden when I am out with them. 

My other half has told me not to feed them as otherwise they might stay here, I have only placed water bow out at the end of the garage. Excuse the mess in the garden, as I have just cleared the garage and some trees - it’s work in progress 😂
 Any advice would be much appreciated. 😊

pansyface

Yes, we had a surprise when we found a family of foxes living in our London garden some years ago.

The first time I saw the cubs was very early one morning when I went downstairs to make a cup of tea. They were scampering about in the flowerbeds, playing tag and pulling the flowers off some newly planted pansies. They were so cute that I couldn’t be mad at them.

As yours grow up, they will move away but you will never be free of them. They roam and travel widely at night. We have them here in rural Derbyshire. Nobody leaves their chickens to wander freely, even during the day, without someone being nearby at all times.

Foxes have a reputation for being clever and resourceful because they are.

steephill

They can be wonderful to watch as they grow up. They will move on if there is too much disturbance, in fact they may have more than one den in the area. It is likely they won't go too far though so you will need to keep an eye on your rabbits when they are out.

nick615

We had one little chap that we could feed by hand with dog chub but he then disappeared.  I suppose you've got to let the vixen shoo the cubs away so that they're naturally wary of humans wherever they end up, but there's nothing to stop you befriending the vixen thereafter if you want to - and rabbits permitting, of course..

fidgetbones

Fox cubs are delightful, but they sometimes dig holes. I  don't mind  but if you like a really tidy  garden you might. Cubs move on at the end  of the summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_FUTAxKzv8

This is one we had some years ago. He disappeared at the end of September that year.

PurpleRose

My parents had a similar experience to you, an empty bungalow with a garden not touched for years. There was a lot of woodland behind their property which they owned and there were foxes and badgers.

I was not keen on the badgers because one attacked my mums cat but the foxes were lovely. It was when I was still living at home with them so I often had experiences with the local wildlife. One that stands out was one evening I was sat in the conservatory chatting and I felt I was being watched from outside. I turned around and a fox was right up at the window watching us. As soon as I turned, he jumped back but then got his composure and walked down the side of the house. The foxes sometimes bold like that but always on the timid side.

pansyface

A friend, who lived in leafy Wimbledon, once left her dining room french windows open while she prepared lunch. Brought in a roast chicken, put it on the table, left the room to get the veg, and returned to find a fox fleeing off the table with the chicken in its mouth.

True story. 😊

nick615

Probably a Womblefox?

pansyface

It certainly didn’t leave any rubbish lying around.😊

KT53

They are fascinating to watch, we had some for a couple of years a long time ago.  The downside is that they can absolutely stink the place out.  If the cubs are very young I would try not to disturb them too much.  Once they are a bit older I would start making more noise and moving around in the garden more in order to disturb them.  Their mother will soon move them off to somewhere quieter.