I have a 6 wk old lamb that's alone in a box stall.. In the other I have a huge pig.. Do you think a fox would harm the lamb? Just thaought I would ask.. The lamb will be going out in fenced in area later this week and just thought I'd ask.. Have a great day and thanks.. James

-- James (onemaur@yahoo.com), February 11, 2002

Answers

James, if a fox can get to your lamb, so can other kinds of predators. As to your question, predators of every species act differently in different parts of the country. So, sorry, I don't know about where you live. Wish I had some idea but if you don't live where I do(Oregon), I think you would be looking at different behaviors. Also, there are several different species of fox. The Red Foxes here hunt rodents(according to stomach contents taken from trapped fur animals)and opportunistically fledging birds or eggs of ground nesting species, grasshoppers and berries, and some hare young. Rarely the young of poultry, but they won't turn them down if they are offered! The Grey fox also takes rodents, several species of birds and lots of vegetable stuff, like berries. LOL However in other states they behave differently. Maybe someone from your area can guide you there. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 12, 2002.

Feral foxes in Australia are the biggest predator of lambs, and of lambing ewes. People who didn't think they had a fox problem - never saw any foxes - have had lambing percentages go from 80% to over 140% when they started baiting for foxes, and found that a lot of ewes they thought they were losing to crows - they weren't losing any longer. Crows can be bad here, but it turns out the lambing ewes were frequently being eaten by the foxes first, and sometimes killed as well.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 12, 2002.

P.S. .... and the second worst predator (again, in Australia) is feral pigs.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 12, 2002.

A fox will definitely go after your lamb if it is hungry enough.

-- fred (fred@mddc.com), February 12, 2002.

I think a six week old lamb would be fine. maybe a lamb straight out of mom could be taken by a fox, but I doubt it would bother with something as frisky as a 6 week old. My parents have tons of foxes in their area of northern virginia, and since most of their yard is scrub, tons in their yard too. they seem to be pretty happy to eat the mice and rats, and have never bothered the cats (even the old weak ones) or the chickens (but the hens are fenced in pretty well.)

-- Elizabeth (lividia66@aol.com), February 12, 2002.

In a heartbeat!

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.

They take alot of lambs. With a newborn, a fox can pick it up and pack it off. Then he will eat it around the den or bury the uneaten parts. He will also kill the older lambs and sometimes adults, but he does it by biting the neck and back many times. Look for needle holes thru the hide when you skin the dead sheep. They pretty much die of shock, not blood loss. Then the fox comes back to feed on the carcass. I know of a big dog fox that even killed some Jersey calves a few years ago. They get piglets, poultry, and cats.

-- Eric in ID (umm@nope.com), February 12, 2002.

Yes, a fox could kill a lamb. And so could that pig if it gets in with the lamb. I have a neighbor whose sheep gave birth and the lamb wandered into the pig pen through the fence that the sheep couldn't fit through. All that was left was a little blood and some wool. By the way, sheep are flock animals and one by itself will not thrive as well as if they had company of another lamb.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), February 13, 2002.