Here are pictures of one fox that visits the Carters near Kelly Island.
Since day one at their home near Kelly Island, the lives of (Robert) Carter and his family have intertwined with the curious and hungry creatures of the neighborhood.
“A lot of animals that use the river corridor will come up along the fence and check things out,” Carter said.
Especially when there’s chicken dinner on the menu.
Those are Carter’s pictures, and below is more from him in his own words. Later, I’ll post more bobcat pictures, and one of a dead chicken about to lay an egg.
“We had 4 chickens, now we have none. Over the past three years the fox has gotten about a dozen chickens, and four young turkeys. We also lost two small bantam chickens to a skunk this summer. Before I put up chicken wire, we had a great horned owl in the pen twice last winter! One of the chickens we had was named ‘Stitch’ because the fox caught her about three years ago, but I saw him grab her and I ran out and scared him off. We put 56 stitches in her, but she did great after that.
Predators probably visit our yard visit several times a week, if not nightly. I only see the evidence when we have fresh snow or if I catch one in the trap. (I use a live animal trap.) This spring I caught four fox pups, at different times. (Cute little critters. ) This summer I must have caught the same skunk about 10 times. In fact, after the second time I caught her she stopped spraying me when I would go down in the morning to release her. It was funny to see her waiting patiently in the cage for me to let her out. Then, she would scurry away. …
There’s really no excuse for me to lose chickens from the chicken pen or the coop – I have a hole that I have yet to patch. The tough part is when the fox comes for a visit in the middle of the day when the chickens are out and about in the yard.
While I love to hunt, it’s my own fault that I occasionally lose chickens since I’m not interested in killing the local predators. I think they are a fact of living here on the rural fringe of Missoula, plus we enjoy seeing them around. I think it’s up to me to do my best to outsmart them – but they occasionally they do the outsmarting!”
— Keila Szpaller