|
|
Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
When Jack Henry virtually fell out of the sky and into my lap his body was about 7 inches from the tip of his nose to the base of his tail. His tail, a stubby little thing, was about 2-1/2 inches extra. I measured him today... he is now almost 10 inches from nose to base of tail and his tail, now a much more respectable for a fox length, is almost 5 inches long..... his tail looked like one of those "rubber ducky" antennas... now its looking more like a nine foot, quarter-wave, CB antenna. His ears were cute little pointy things, now they are as big as my thumb and the 2 together make up half of his entire head.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
For those interested in Jack Henry I thought I would post an update. I posted a picture of him that I took yesterday.
Jack measures 23" from the tip of his tail to his tiny nose with 8" being just his tail. All signs that he had mange are gone, his back is healed and the hair growing back... overall he is really doing great and he will eat just about anything he sees me eat so he will never go hungry.
Being so much larger Jack Henry can play a lot more with Wilson... something they both enjoy very much. While Wilson can still flatten him with his paw, Jack springs back a bit faster... LOL In the very beginning Jack used to make a sort of squeaking sound and I was hoping Wilson would realize he isn't just one of his squeaky toys... an odd thing about Wilson and his family, including his mother, they all love to unstuff their toys and get to the squeaker.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/9/2008 Posts: 2,844
|
.....they all love to unstuff their toys and get to the squeaker. LOL! That's funny Greg! Mate, my Coyote pup loves to do the exact same thing. Thanks for the update. 
Sarge
~ Insults Should Be Written In Sand ~ Compliments Should Be Carved In Stone ~
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 9/25/2007 Posts: 1,503
|
Thanks for the picture of Jack.
He is absolutley beautiful and I jut love how comfortable he looks.
Thank you again!!
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
Just a quick update... apparently Jack Henry's den was attacked by something other than a hawk. I was talking to my neighbor earlier today and got to meet Jack's brother Todd. It seems my neighbor found a beat up little fox with his eyes barely open at the same time Jack Henry was found... this one was found in the road directly in front of my property which would have Todd and Jack deposited some 1,200 feet away from each other.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 7/1/2008
Posts: 540
|
intangible wrote:Just a quick update... apparently Jack Henry's den was attacked by something other than a hawk. I was talking to my neighbor earlier today and got to meet Jack's brother Todd. It seems my neighbor found a beat up little fox with his eyes barely open at the same time Jack Henry was found... this one was found in the road directly in front of my property which would have Todd and Jack deposited some 1,200 feet away from each other.
Hello Intangible Dear,
I was just wondering,do you guys have any idea what it might have been, and have you tried to
look in the vicinity of where you found Jack Henry and where your neighbor found Todd, just to see if maybe you could find the mother or father, for they might be still alive and hurt?
Well then again it has probably been too long for them if they were hurt badly.
Maybe and then maybe not, Red Foxes can survive some of the craziest circumstances at times. After all, Red foxes love to eat invertebrates such as earth worms (which is a favorite of theirs) and insects and crayfish. They are also omnivorous, when their food supply of mice, bird and other small pray is hard to find they can and will change their eating habits and live off of a plant diet. Foxes are known as opportunists and will eat whatever they have to, or can to survive. They will even scavenge off of old dead carcasses and out of human garbage cans.
So I guess what I'm saying is if the mother or father were hurt, they still might be out there trying to survive. So if you thought that there might be a chance, maybe you or someone else might want walk around and look for a den or just look for one of them hiding up under something, where they would feel remotely safe for the time being. I mean of course it is totally up to you, weather you would want to pursue that or not.
That is odd though, I'm wondering if someones dogs had found the den and raided it. Or it's a good chance a pack of coyotes (if they are in and around your area) might have raided it. The reason I say this is because I am positive that the mother and father fox both help raise the baby kit's and if something has gotten to those babies, more than likely both parents were killed or seriously injured trying to defend those little ones, and it seems like it would have taken more than one predator to attack a mother and father fox at one time and actually succeed on getting to the babies. Because Red Fox parents get extremely nasty and defensive when it comes to their young.
Hey just a little fact I learned about the Red Fox about a year ago, that I'd like to share with you.
Did you that the Red Fox cannot curl up its lips and show its teeth like Dogs,Coyotes or Wolves can?
Nope, they can't do it, and the reason is because they lack that one muscle that allows other canines to be able to curl their lips and show their teeth when they are growling and trying to look vicious.
Another little fact about the Red Fox:
The average number of kits for a litter of Red Foxes are 4 to 6, most commonly around 4 but a female can have up to 13 pups. They are considered mature at around 8 to 10 month's of age and that's when they leave their Mother and the den permanently and wonder off to find their own territory. Which their territory can range up to 20 miles. (Thats alot of space for such a little guy, Wow!)
I'm wondering if there was a couple more that no one ever found from Jack Henry's litter? Im thinking whatever raided the den got them and that is the only reason Jack Henry, and Todd are still alive, because the parents might have attempted to move Jack and Todd and was caught in the middle of it.
That is so sad to even think about. The poor mother and father.
Did you know that in captivity a Red Fox can live up to 12 years, but in the wild they only usually live for about three years. That is a huge difference, isn't it?
There are a few really important things you might want to look into about diseases for Red Foxes, I found them on the Internet myself just now.
If you want me to I can e-mail the information to you?
But you seriously need to look up a thing called the "Fox Tapeworm". I wouldn't have even brought this up to you unless I thought it was pretty important info. for you to read.
If you want to read about it, and I really suggest you do, here is the website:
http://www.thefoxwebsite...sease/diseaseother.html
But just like other Tapeworm's like our domestic dogs can contract, as it says on this website, there are very easy treatments for them.
Just make sure you keep the little guy wormed, at least until he gets to be about a year to a year and a half old and then I'm thinking you could slack off a little bit and ease up and not worm him so much.
Well I'm not sure if I helped you out or not? I hope I gave you some information you didn't already know.
But if you already knew it, then actually that is great also.
I hope you and Jack Henry live a long, full and happy, healthy life together. You were blessed with such a sweet and cute friend, congratulations and Good Luck!Love Mysticfox!
God Bless You and Jack Henry oops, and Wison & Lucy also, and any other friend and companion of yours I missed.   
 Again I wish you the best of luck with the little guy!
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
Mysticfox wrote:Hello Intangible Dear,
I was just wondering,do you guys have any idea what it might have been, and have you tried to look in the vicinity of where you found Jack Henry and where your neighbor found Todd, just to see if maybe you could find the mother or father, for they might be still alive and hurt?
Well then again it has probably been too long for them if they were hurt badly.
So I guess what I'm saying is if the mother or father were hurt, they still might be out there trying to survive. So if you thought that there might be a chance, maybe you or someone else might want walk around and look for a den or just look for one of them hiding up under something, where they would feel remotely safe for the time being.
Hey just a little fact I learned about the Red Fox about a year ago, that I'd like to share with you.
Did you that the Red Fox cannot curl up its lips and show its teeth like Dogs,Coyotes or Wolves can?
Nope, they can't do it, and the reason is because they lack that one muscle that allows other canines to be able to curl their lips and show their teeth when they are growling and trying to look vicious.
Hiya Mystic ~ Thanks for the info, I pretty much knew most of it because I generally research something new to me. The internet was made for people like me that can enjoy reading an encyclopedia or a dictionary.
I think Jack and Todd probably do, or at least did, have siblings. Knowing how many kits are in the average litter it would seem they must be out there. Generally foxes have more than one den that they shuffle the kits around between depending on possible danger or food supply. While both parents raise the young, the kits are often with one or the other parent. If something attacked the den when only one parent was there it would be much more difficult to defend which may be why only Todd and Jack were taken and found.
When I found Jack Henry he was making an awful sound that could be heard hundreds of yards away... and he kept on pretty much none stop. If there were other kits making that same distress sound we probably would have heard them since we walk most of the perimeter every day that is decent. There are several areas we have found where a potential den could be, but only one spot seemed active recently.
As I have said elsewhere, I have some roosters that I let run free around the yard. Last summer I had 10 roosters, today there are three... two just disappeared a couple weeks ago. While out walking the property we came across a small line of chicken feathers leading to one of the potential den sites, so I'm pretty sure that one or both parents have survived. Although there have been coyotes and bobcat in the area, none have been spotted recently, but any of them could be the chicken eater.
If I could have thought of a way to leave Jack Henry in an area his parents could have found them, I would have done so. Unfortunately I couldn't think of a way to leave him outside and accessible without leaving him in further danger from a predator. The foxes most dangerous predator is man so I was incredibly pleased to find our neighbor had Todd... they are avid hunters but they don't hunt fox!
As for curling their lip, I'm not quite certain precisely what movement is curling their lip, but Jack Henry kinda scrunches up his nose and can bear his teeth pretty well. When he plays with Wilson he sometimes does that and makes a sound that I think is his growl but it sounds like a cat purring. He makes quite a few different sounds like a spitting sound or a hiss like a cat and a sort of yelp that isn't quite like a dog yelp. Thankfully I have not heard him make the pitiful sounds he was making the day we found him.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
I believe both of Jack and Todd's parents survive. Two or three days ago I saw an adult red fox run across the upper field. It was very bright in color with no signs of gray.
This morning at 6:00 AM, my two remaining roosters started a racket so I went to see what was bothering them. On the way to the door, looking out my living room window was an adult fox about 25 feet from my porch. When I went out, I thought the fox had run off. Instead I met the fox face to face when she looked out from around the other side of my mower trailer less than 10 feet away... I'm not sure which one of us was more surprised. This fox had a lot of gray mixed in with the red so it isn't the same fox I saw a couple days ago. Given the small area, it is unlikely that two adult foxes would live so close together unless they are mated.
This is good news as well as bad. It is nice to know the wild life is so abundant and Jack's parents are okay, but I'm not so sure its a good thing for a chicken farmer to have a pair of bold foxes running around.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
I have been seeing, I believe, both Jack Henry and Todd. It seems they each have part of their territory on each side of my land. Outside the window of my computer room I can view a cliff about 40 feet high just across a creek where I have seen Todd and a different fox that seems to be more gray.
Wilson, my dog, loves to sit and watch out the window for squirrels and deer or whatever catches his attention. The day before yesterday he was looking out the window when something caught his attention. If it was a squirrel he would bark at it, with deer he whines because he wants to chase them... well the other day he was making little whining sounds and he was so excited that he was shaking.
It seems Todd has a family living in my cliff side. I have spent the past two days watching five or more little fox babies running in, around and under the rock outcrops. I never expected fox to raise their babies within a little more than 100 feet of my window. They don't really seem to mind us watching very much.
I have to get some batteries and film for my old 35mm camera. I have a 210mm zoom lens that gets me very close without leaving my room. I don't have anything else that can take pictures with that has the quality and clarity I can get with my old camera. If I can get a few decent shots in the coming days, I will try to scan them so I can post them once I get the film developed.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 4/3/2010
Posts: 255
|
Hi Intangible! That is so wonderful. Not only Jack Henry but the other one also? Guess I never saw any info about 'Todd'. Also didn't know that 'dad foxes' stuck around to help with kits. Where do you think the females are? Hope you can get pix up soon-will love to see them. Love, Pattie
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
pattieoc wrote:Hi Intangible! That is so wonderful. Not only Jack Henry but the other one also? Guess I never saw any info about 'Todd'. Also didn't know that 'dad foxes' stuck around to help with kits. Where do you think the females are? Hope you can get pix up soon-will love to see them. Love, Pattie A bit more than a week after I found Jack Henry, I went to my neighbor to ask him something about pulling a well pump. When I was there I learned that he had found a tiny baby fox down at the road in front of my property the same day I found Jack. They named their kit Todd.
When I first found Jack he had a kind of scabby bald patch that I thought looked like mange. It turned out to be ringworm, which is not a worm at all. It is a type of fungus sort of like getting athlete's foot. I gave him a few baths with a sulfer-lime shampoo that works against the ringworm.
Unfortunately, Jack ended up losing most of the fur at the base of his tail and some on the tip. Todd had the better portion of the end of his tail bald. That is the only way I feel sure that I am seeing Todd and Jack Henry, they have grown fur on their tails but it is shorter fur where it once was bald.
This morning there were two adults outside the den. One was bright fox red and looked like Todd. The other had some gray over tone with a darker patch near the rump... I'm guessing that one is mom.
It has been gray and light rain most of the day so the babies haven't been out running around. Wilson looks out the window most of the day and he lets us know if something is out and about on the hill.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/4/2010 Posts: 2,741 Location: on a hill in the hollow
|
It appears that momma fox had led her babies off to a new den. From what I understand, they can have several dens and switch between them. They also have a den where they collect just about everything they can gather up.
One day while watching them, momma fox stopped and let three kits nurse for a minute and then she walked down the hill with the babies still trying to get a nipple. She led them down to a small creek and showed them the water.
The day before yesterday, she did the same thing but she walked up the hill. There were seven kits that I could count and she led them away in small groups. I wasn't sure where she was going, but they have moved out of the den since they were not around yesterday or today.
I have a few more pictures on the roll of film before I get it developed and I will scan them so I can post them.Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
|
|
|