At first "we" thought the neighbors dog ate them, but "I" said it had to be a fox - but "we" said DOG. Well, I searched everywhere around the coop and a 20 yard radius and all I could find was dog (big dog) tracks so I bought into the whole neighbors dog theory.
So finally, the GF see the fox up at the coop the other night... and gets worried because she just got some new peeps (silkies) to replace the three rhode island reds that got ate. We have one red hen left...
We've just completed the renovation of the chicken palace with 6' fence and intrusion detection. :
I told her the chicken perimeter was now secure, and the fox was as good as gone. Then she says "Well, I guess it's only doing what is natural..." so I say "OK, keep buying chickens for the fox to kill and eat."
Since that time, we've had no more conversation about fox hunting, so I'm free to deal with it my own way.
I'll have a nice clean shot for the setup, and figure I can draw it out of the woods near dusk (around the same time the other chickens disappeared). From what little I know, this is probably the male - while the female stays with the pups.
We have several cats too, and figure it's just a matter of time before one of them gets to be fox dinner.
Ideally, I'd get some lure, a distress call, and a flopping rabbit decoy - FILLED WITH TANNERITE - and the rest would be worthy of video tape...
Roughneck - I've never known of a fox to fall for the cage trap?