What do the Foxes Eat

[pntalbot]

I have a New Allotment and notice on arrival ,a Fox runs off my Plot. When I have, my Plot up and running, what should, I keep covered, so the Fox doesn`t  eat  my vegatables  or will he, Eat vegatables ? ?  Also  are they any problems ,concerning Foxes on Allotments ? ?

[pntalbot]

[gayle]

Hes probaly after mice and such, as far as i know foxes dont eat veggies! unle :-*ss there starving!

[pntalbot]

Thanks Gayle

[katynewbie]

Round here the foxes are mostly eating the contents of dustbins!!

I have a nest (?) of foxes under the derelict pigeon loft on my plot and they leave their paw prints all over the black anti weed stuff, but so far have not partaken of any veg!!

I would not worry too much, and suspect that once you work it a bit more and are frequently about the place they will probably b***er off!!

[Robert_Brenchley]

Foxes eat rubbish out of bins, carrion, small mammals, birds if they can get them, and a surprising amount of worms and other invertebrates. They have a pretty marginal life, and the average life expectancy in the wild is just over a year.

[flowerlady]

Some peasant has just dispatched my little fox on the allotment.  (See RSPCA post)  Was not a happy bunny that day.

Give me foxes any day over TOM CATS spraying everything.

[beejay]

The foxes on our site don't eat any veg but do dig in newly planted beds (sometimes burying eggs!), & leave the carcases of eaten birds for you to find. Not a huge nuisancs but a bit of an irritation from time to time!

[Sketty]

Foxes will dig, they will also bury uneaten prey, they've even been known to consume the odd bit of grass. They don't eat vegetables though. ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

The foxes at our site dig up the parsnips and eat them,

Are you sure it's foxes? That sounds more like rabbits to me.

[keef]

People blame foxes taking chickens from the other allotment site in our village, but I reckon its more likely someones cat.

[Trenchboy]

The foxes on our site don't eat the vegetables, but they do like to dig in freshly dug earth or in the manure heaps.

This "problem" multiplies up as the younger ones are out looking to build their own lairs. The digging is a mix of trying to burrow(they usually give up after 9" down)and to see if there's something interesting - ie has something else buried a prize.

They are more of a nuisance.

The rabbits, mice, cats  .. now they are another matter..

[Bionic Wellies]

The foxes on our site don't eat any veg but do dig in newly planted beds (sometimes burying eggs!)

Thought that foxes were mammals and didn't lay eggs - learn summit new each day.

As far as I'm aware we don't have any rabbits on our site. :)

Thats because the foxes get them ...


We have a big problem with rabbits on our site because the main Southampton/London railway line runs alongside the site (and they hide in the embankments - they don't drive the trains) - but its become much worst since some daft pr1ck killed the fox.

-- Gosh I'm in a bad mood today
-- Alan

[Robert_Brenchley]

We had rabbits at one time; they came down the railway, or maybe it was the canal, in a cold snap, and stayed. They lasted long enough to eat all my parsnips, then vanished. The foxes probably had them.

[Sarah-b]

On my plot, the foxes poo on any black plastic, tear the fleece, lie down on my net tunnels, and try to dig up my celeriac. Also think they do some tom cat type spraying thing sometimes. I have really started to think of them as a pest that I would like shot of. Of course, they are nothing compared to the pigeons - but still...

Sarah.

[Trenchboy]

We have a colony of parakeets that live in the stand of trees by the north end of the site.

They seem to hate the pigeons as much as I do(being a Londoner), and attack in numbers from time to time.

New pigeons arrive regularly - but you never see a baby one.

An urban myth is coming on...

[Robert_Brenchley]

Do the parrakeets raid the garden at all? What sort do you have?

[beejay]

You're right in the middle of parakeet country aren't you? We just get the occasional visitor. I believe they are extremely destructive & ripped the grapes at Painshill Park to bits.

[Trenchboy]

There are 60+ parrakeets on or by our site, and one of the local ornithologists did mention Painshill Park among a lot of blah, blah birds stuff.

There is just as big a colony over SE London/Kent - Orpington, so it makes me wonder why there are so many around. My presumption is that they have no natural predators here. Is that right Roy?

They don't seem to be at all bothered about the allotments, just the pigeons. Very territorial.

[jennym]

The blighters dig up my potatoes and make a mess of other sweet roots such as beetroot etc.

[Rose.mary]

I know we have foxes on our site, they particularly seem to like my plot, as I have lots of droppings (black). So far I have not had any damage but I have not grown any parsnips yet as it is a new (to me) plot.
Rosemary