Jump to content

Jay Foxing

Members
  • Posts

    135
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Jay Foxing

  1. Hi all, I once read that your never more than 15 ft from a rat, i think this was only true if you lived in London. Saying that, i know i get the occasional visit from the odd rat. I am aware of the signs and keep a cage trap permanently set to catch the odd one that dares venture onto my patch. Now i know i don't have them living on my land and they come here after the food put out for the birds and other wildlife, they also clear away any food the dogs spill. My question is - With everyone doing a great job feeding birds and other wildlife, attracting them into our gardens. How many of us are feeding rats and not knowing about it? All the best, Jay.
  2. Hi all, Was saving this one until i gathered a bit more info, but here you go. The North American Mink (Mustela vison). The mink is an introduced species. American mink were originally introduced for fur farming in the late 1920s to be bred for the fur trade, with around 700 mink farms in the UK in the 1960s. Increasingly tough legislation gradually saw the end of the mink farm business. Breeding confirmed in the wild in by 1957, with escapes and deliberate releases during the 1960s and 70s increasing their numbers to such numbers that mink have now spread throughout the country. From tip of its nose to the base of its tail a male (dog) mink is approx 24” in length and about 2.25lb in weight, female (bitch) mink are approx 20” long and about 1.25lb in weight. We can then add another 5-8” for its tail, this is quite a large animal. Mink are generally a rich dark brown colour with or without white markings to its undercarriage. Found in most parts of mainland Britain, except the Lake District and the mountains of Scotland. Choosing to live near rivers, lakes and marshes, needing several miles for a territory. Males having a larger territory than females. Mink are strongly territorial, and a male will not allow another male on its patch, although females are occasionally tolerated. In a territory a mink will have several dens – tree roots, hollow trunks or rock piles, as long as it’s near the waters edge they will find it comfortable. Mink are drawn to water, even when traveling they choose to follow streams or drainage ditches. They will travel short distances across open land when hunting, but only for a few hundred yards or so. Mink mark the territory with droppings (scats), they are tapered and twisted, dark in colour (not too dissimilar to a foxes, only smaller). The mink mating season starts around March. The actual gestation period is 39 days, although can 76 days due to delayed implantation. 48 days being the average gestation period. A female can have five or six young, known as kits. Only one litter a year, and the male takes no part in rearing the young. The kits remain with the mother until the autumn when are fully grown. They then go off to find territories of their own. Mink are generalist predators of the water’s edge, feeding on fish and frogs, moorhens and ducks, rabbits and rats. Will also raid farmers and keepers bird stocks, and can have a mass killing spry once inside a pen. Fisheries have good reason to dislike the mink, they can make a large dent in fish stocks. In my opinion this animal does not belong to this country. This puts it alongside the grey squirrel, only complete eradication in the British Isle will do. And yes I already know, this is an almost impossible task. Thanks again for reading, Jay.
  3. The Brown Rat (Rattus Norvegicus). This early 18th century immigrant has managed to adapt to every environment in the British Isles, a true survival expert. Also known as the Norway, Sewer or common rat, it has concurred our lands with ease. Anywhere you have a food source that is relatively undisturbed you will find this disease carrying problem. Measuring 20-25cm in length and with its tail adding another 15-20 cm it’s easy to distinguish from a little mouse. Generally brown coloured fur (this may vary from rat to rat) and its pink thick tapering scaly tail, small ears covered in fine hairs and almost black beady eyes. A fully grown rat can weigh in at 150-500g, but average around 300g. Dropping are cylindrical and about 15-20mm long, often flat at one end and pointed at the other. Moist when fresh but drying within hours, you can locate recently used sites easily. Footprints and tail marks can sometimes be found in soft mud or dusty sites, giving away a rats regular visiting area. Found in buildings of all types, refuse tips, farms, crops and field margins, river banks gardens and park land the rat burrows into its chosen habitat spreading disease and causing considerable damage. Burrows are around 8cm in and about 2ft deep into banks and earth, also living within man made structures such as buildings, tyre heaps, pallet stacks and mounds of rubbish. Living as a complex social unit, dominance hierarchy determining the social status of each individual. Large infestations often consist of a number of smaller social groups with their own territories within a large area. These territories are defended fiercely with intruders being attacked. Rats will travel up to a km for food but the average range of a rat is 10-500 m2, preferring to live as close to an abundant food source as possible. Moving along well defined runs of about 5-8 cm wide can clearly be seen as continuous paths through vegetation and alongside walls. Mainly nocturnal, active the most just after dusk and just before dawn. Though if left undisturbed by predators during the day and predation risks are greater at night they will become more active during daylight hours. This is also true if there is a large pressure on available resources, this often happens with large rat population. Rats need food, water and shelter to live. In large infestations, rats will run around the clock to over come this increasing pressure. As an omnivorous mammal a rat will eat a varying diet, preferring cereals and proteins. Will also eat fruit and vegetable remains, predate on slugs and insects. They have been know and are very capable of taking frogs and small birds, eggs are highly prized. Consuming 25-35g of food each day, a large population can have a devastating effect on certain food stores. Rats carry their food to safety, preferring to dine in under cover. Baited areas you will often see poison blocks of packets protruding from burrows where a rat has tried to take its supper to ground. Its also worth mentioning that the rat can become cannibalistic under certain conditions, though this is uncommon. The Brown rat can live up to 3 years of age, but uncommon for it to last beyond 2. With a female reaching sexual maturity at 8-12 weeks and a gestation period of 21 days, populations can rise very quickly. Litter sizes of 7-9 and young being weaned after 3 weeks, I will let you do the math. Female rats normally having 5 litters a year with breeding peaks in spring and autumn, but if conditions are mild or when living indoors rats will breed all year round. The rat has many predators to avoid apart from man. Dogs, cats, owls, stoats, weasels, polecats, foxes and occasionally badgers will eat rats. In urban areas cats are the rats main predator, though a large adult rat is a fiercely difficult prey to tackle for any predator so more often it’s the young that is preyed upon. Rats have razor sharp teeth that never stop growing, they have to gnaw on things to keep them in check. They can chew through wood, wire and concrete so a bite from an adult can cause much pain and damage. Often inflicting multiple bites to its attacker before its overcome, the rat is surprisingly fast with lightning reactions. Rats carry a number of diseases that can be potentially fatal to humans as well as animals, Leptospirosis (also known as Weil’s disease or rat catchers’ yellows), Toxoplasmosis and Salmonella are among some of the worst. Couple that with the considerable structural damage that a rat can cause with its gnawing and burrowing, you have to admit that complete eradication would not be a bad thing. Thanks for reading, Jay.
  4. Rabbit (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS). The rabbits Latin name Oryctolagus Cuniculas means “burrowing little hare” but in fact the rabbit and the hare are quite different. The rabbit is generally smaller rarely exceeding 2kg (4Ib) in weight with the female a little smaller as opposed to the weight of a hare at 3.5kg (7.5Ib) making it fairly simple to distinguish even at distance. The rabbit hops along in a series of small leaps, one fore-paw slightly ahead of the other, while the hare lopes with long bounding strides. You can’t miss the flashing white underside of its tail (Scut) when it’s running at speed. Its familiar hopping gait with the bottom bobbing up and down is produced by the powerful, heavily muscled hind legs which are much longer then its front ones. At speed the rabbit’s hind legs land ahead of its forepaws. In muddy, snow or sandy ground, this leaves an easily recognisable track – two large prints side by side in the front (made by the hind legs) and a small round print behind (made by the two forepaws closer together). Rabbits were not known in the British Isles before about the 12th century. It’s thought they were introduced then from the continent as sport for noblemen and to provide a new source of food and fur. Originally kept in fenced enclosures they managed to escape and becoming the most successful colonizers of all time. Rabbit’s fur is soft, thick, dense and very variable in colour. Seeing individuals with fur of any shade ranging between grayish-brown and sandy-yellow, the nape of the neck is usually reddish while the flanks are brown and the under parts white or grey. The distinctive tail or (Scut) has a white underside and brown or black on the topside. Young rabbits sometimes have a white star on their forehead, but rarely seen on adults. A few black (melanic) and some albino rabbits do exist. The black being more common, probably due to the albino being easier for predators to spot and being picked off at an early age. All rabbits moult their fur once a year, usually between late July and September- a neutral time when neither mating nor breeding takes place. The rabbit is superbly equipped to detect potential danger. Its long ears can be turned into a variety of directions to catch the faintest sound. Large bulbous eyes spaced wide apart and angled on the sides of the head to see in an arc of over 180 degrees .And has an acute sense of smell assisted by two sensitive pads situated around the nostrils, these pads are covered by flaps of skin which can be retracted to increase sensitivity. Often you will see a rabbit sitting upright on its hind legs turning its head this way and that to catch scent, sight or sound of friend or foe. Although one rabbit may look very much like another, each one is an individual and has to find its own place in the social ladder. At the top of this is the dominant buck that requires all of lesser status to move out of his way and vacate the best gracing and burrows. Next in line are older bucks and does who in turn dominate the weaker or younger rabbits. This system of dominance and subservience is called pecking order and exists to a lesser or greater degree throughout the animal kingdom. Being more important to animals which live together in large numbers to establish order in a community. Rabbits live together in social groups. They dig burrows which form an extensive underground system of inter-connecting tunnels, nests, side galleries and entrance/ exit holes. Entrances are normally about 15cm (6in) in diameter and tunnels can reach as deep as 3m (10ft) below ground. A number of hidden bolt holes around a warren will serve as fast exits for when a warren is invaded by a predator. The tunnel systems are constantly enlarged and the warren can undermine a whole system of fields. All rabbits establish strongly guarded territories which are sharply defined. The buck marks his territory by rubbing his chin along the ground and secreting a strong smelling, colourless substance from a gland under his jaw. An old bucks chin can go bald from constant “chinning”. The doe also does this but to a lesser degree as she is not so concerned with maintaining a territory. The dominant buck guards his territory using a display and threat tactic designed to intimidate. These tactics include squirting urine, scratching the ground and bounding towards rivals. If all threats are ignored the buck will attack. Aggressive encounters are generally bloodless, if however threat and display fail to resolve territorial conflict serious battles involving much kicking, biting, tearing of fur and screaming are not uncommon between rival bucks. Rabbits display a more gentle nature when it comes to courtship. Sometimes the buck and the doe will sit licking each others forehead, ears and neck in a relaxed calm manner. Or they will play together in a game of chase, like a nuptial dance running round in small circles. Mating mainly happens at night when disturbance from predators and other rabbits are less. In the spring the pregnant doe starts to dig her first burrow and sets up the home she will need to raise her young. This burrow is also known as a stop. She digs this stop in the same manner as a dog digs, forepaws to excavate then throwing back the loose soil with her hind legs. The buck will help out with the excavations but will only spend a few minutes at it. He is more concerned with defending the nest and territory, guarding the doe against rival males. Does of higher rank build their nesting stop within the warren while the younger, weaker does dig theirs away from the main warren. The stop is lined with scraps of straw, leaves and moss. The doe will also pull fur from a pad on her chest to make the nest even softer. Any excavated soil is carefully replaced to conceal the entrance from possible predators. A chimney like aperture is retained, leading to the surface to allow air circulation. The young are always born at night blind deaf and hairless and weigh a little over 50g (1.5oz) the doe leaves her young during the day only to return for a short period at night to suckle her young sealing the stop each time each time she leaves. Within seven days the young have doubled in weight, their fur grows and their teeth and fur become visible. They are suckled for up to a month as the doe is able to become pregnant again after only 12 hours of birth she must suckle and wean her young as quickly as possible. A doe will only produce young as long as environmental conditions are favourable. She will conceive, but in times of food shortage or great over-crowding she will re-absorb the embryos completely. This extraordinary form of birth control is more prevalent among younger or weaker does. Each rabbit will eat 450g (1Ib) or more of greening every day, this diet including a very wide range of different plants –grasses, cereal crops and tree bark they establish clearly defined runways to and from their feeding areas, usual home ranges being 150-200m (165-220yds) with some individuals grazing distance of up to 400m (440yds) from the warren. Grazing rabbits fill their stomachs during short periods of hurried feeding, then line up in cover to re-ingest or re eat their food rabbits do this by eating their fecal pellets or droppings this is necessary because grass is not very nutritious and must be thoroughly broken down to extract every bit of goodness. In case of deer, cattle and rabbits, its not enough for the food to pass once it must pass through twice so bacteria and proteins within the stomach have chance to break down the tough cellulose of grass. Deer and cattle do this by regurgitating and chewing the cud rabbits eat their poo! Don’t know what’s worse. Rabbits have lots of predators from fox, stoat, weasel, badger, owls, hawks, eagle’s wild and domestic cats as well as dogs. It’s no wonder they have to well – “breed like rabbits” yet another fascinating creature a joy to watch as well as hunt. Thanks for reading. Jay.
  5. THE RED FOX (VULPES VULPES). Foxes are a relatively small animal, head and body measuring about 26in (66cms) with the tail adding another 15in (38cms) to its length. Average weight of a male is about 15lb (6.8kgs) vixens can weigh as little as 7.5lb (3.5kgs) the same weight as a brown hare. Their eyes are developed for nocturnal hunting (Night Vision) and have a highly developed sense of smell. Ears can pick up slightest sound being able to hear a mouse squeak at 300 Yards. Foxes form a monogamous pair living together throughout the year preparing to hunt on their own in joint territory, briefly meeting on hunting forays. Behaviour changes as the breeding season approaches. The pair spending more and more time travelling and hunting together. When separated maintaining contact vocally with a blood chilling scream or triple wow-wow-wow bark. Both calls can be heard echoing across fields and through the chilly air of a silent wood in late December through to early February depending on local climate. The vixen is only fertile for three days each year, with the pair mating several times during this period. The dog fox will approach his mate cautiously at first, since early attempts to mount her are often rebuffed with an aggressive snarl. With his persistence however he eventually mates successfully. After mating their close bond gradually weakens and the vixen starts to investigate possible breeding earths, old rabbit warrens, the roots of an old tree, vacant badger sets, rock piles and dried up drains are all ideal sites for raising her family. After she will pick up a site not to far from a good source of water a small stream or brooks. As well as investigating the potential of a few ready made sites she will however dig several new earths before making her final choice. The best earth is a covered bank, bracken and bluebells, gorse providing a play ground as well as hides for young cubs with sandy soil that is warm, drains well and is easily dug. The vixen has a 53 day pregnancy, she spends a lot of time in the earth as the birth of her cub’s approaches. The fur from her belly is lost and the enlarged nipples are exposed. Cubs are born on bare earth inside the earth, the vixen makes no attempt to line the ground before or after the cubs are born. Average Litters are of five cubs but occasionally there may be as many as nine or ten. Cub are born about four inches (10cms) long, weighing about 3.5 ounces (100 grams) and are covered in a dark chocolate /brown fur. Blind deaf and totally dependant on the mother for food and warmth. The vixen rarely leaves her cubs in the first two weeks for this reason and is fed by her mate, he enters the earth making a subdued woofing noise placing the food nearby then departing quickly. It is extremely rare for the dog fox to stay with the cubs under ground at any age, spending his time lying above ground not to far from the earth hiding in dense cover. Cubs grow quickly, Two weeks later eyes open and hearing is able. Their eyes are slate blue at this stage and provide limited vision. Wobbly legs provide uneasy and staggered transport around the earth. The vixen will spend lots of time gathering her stray cubs, during these short outings cubs utter a high pitched little triple bark that makes a contact call. Cubs are still totally dependant on the vixen for her milk. By mid April early may cubs emerge from the earth. For the first time, at this stage they are about four weeks old. First expeditions are cautious ones and cubs may just at the entrance for the first few days. They soon become confident and boisterous play commences as they chase and fight amongst each other. At four weeks of age cubs start to moult their chocolate fur and patches reddish or orange coloured fur can be seen around the face. Their eyes turn to classic amber and they weigh in at an incredible 1 stone (6 kilograms) by the age of six to eight weeks their coat has been totally replaced with red or orange fur. Once outside the earth cubs start to take solid food with most vixens virtually stopping milk production when cubs are about eight weeks of age, though a small amount of them may still produce for 12 to 14 weeks after birth. Foxes are very territorial but a breeding pair may share their territory with a barren vixen. She does not breed but will help the new mother rear her cubs. The dog fox needs all the help he can get to find food for all the cubs now they are on solids. Cubs start to forage for themselves hunting for beetles, earthworms and snails then move onto fledgling birds that can’t fly properly as the summer progresses. They will perfect their hunting skills and become less dependant on parents for food. While inexperienced the cubs will eat lots of beetles, slugs, carrion and fruit like blackberries. Occasional supplements of young rabbit or vole as skills are sharpened. By September/October cubs are indistinguishable in size and appearance by parents. The fox family bond starts to weaken and the play fights become more serious. The cubs will soon disperse, the cause of them finally moving off is uncertain but disturbance may often stimulate the move. Autumn the local hunts move through the woods to train new hounds with some of the cubs killed survivors moving away to start new territory. Male cubs travel further a field then female, often several miles before settling in new areas. Many will die over the winter period run over or snared whilst they disperse. By the end of winter only perhaps two of the original five would have survived the gauntlet of Riflemen, Hounds and cars to raise litters of their own the following year. The size of a foxes territory can vary from as little as 25-50 acres to well over 250 acres dependant on the local food supply. They trespass on territories of other foxes to increase their search for food. Some foxes may never settle, constantly moving on in a never ending search for a place to call home. Foxes have a wide vocabulary of noises each can be made with a variety of pitches, A night spent in woodland over winter will convince anyone how complicated a system of communication foxes have. Foxes make noises throughout the year but are at their most vocal mid-winter. Each call probably serves multiple functions, enabling caller to identify itself and position with other vulpine members. There are four recognisable types of fox call, most frequently heard is the wow-wow-wow call. The second is the screech often known as the vixen scream, though dog foxes also make this noise. The two other noises you have to get close to hand as the noises are made when foxes are in close contact. One is a clicking sound similar to a footballers raffle and the simple whines and whimpers which can be heard as foxes greet each other. Another form of communication is scent marking. Grass tussocks, mole-hills, fence posts, trees and bushes will all serve as scent stations for both dog and vixen to anoint staking claim on territory. Foxes droppings or scats as they are otherwise known are remarkably similar to each others, they always contain the remains of beetles and other insects, small mammals such as mice and voles and the bones and feathers of birds. Rabbit fur and bone fragments will be found in a high percentage of scats as they are a staple food source in the foxes diet. The droppings are tapered and twisted, dark in colour and frequently found on large stones or mole hills besides tracks. They also serve as territory boundary markers. Foxes use regular runs which they use at predictable times, a fox has a almost set routine from day to day. A foxes footprint is oval, about two inches (6 cms) long and one a half inches (4 cms) wide. The fox never leaves claw prints, only the impression of the pads. Only in very soft ground will some impression of foxes claws be seen, but this is rare as a fox tends to avoid mud whenever it can. The fox quite literally walks on the balls of its feet, stepping daintily over most obstacles and leaving little sign of its passing. Foxes walk very straight, purposeful lines. Sometimes if conditions are right like a hard frost or fresh snow you can follow it’s tracks for sometimes miles with little course deviation except for the odd investigating stops on it’s route to sniff around the odd warren or cover and may hide the odd pheasant. Foxes larder surplus food while the goings good but as its food is highly perishable it can only store its food for a short time. They dig a small grave in to which the food is carefully nosed. With delicate sweeping strokes of it’s snout the fox covers it’s hoard, pushing the soil down with jabs of it’s nose. Foxes are killing machines and often kill more then is required to store later on when times are hard. Sometimes I think our foxes are more feline than canine as they are very agile and pounce on prey in a cat like manner. They are also good climbers and can often be found sunning themselves in trees and on out building roofs. Foxes are fascinating creatures and their joy to watch. They should never be hunted to extinction but numbers do need controlling, but in some areas it’s possible to live and let live. Thanks for reading, Jay.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy