Active evening

There is still no sign of the vixen today, none yesterday either, which does worry me. I left a worming tablet in a sausage and waited but she, or the male fox did not come. Later in the evening I went to feed the badgers and the sandwich with her meds in had gone along with the sausage, but I suspect it was the male 'afternoon fox' that ate it.
Tonight's activity consisted of the two badgers, one I recognise as a 'cub' from last year, who I nick named 'Cotton Tail' as he/she had a whitish tail, which is now grey. It did not take them long to come up, it was only after seven thirty, but it did rain last night. When it rains, the earth is easier to dig. They enjoyed a few peanuts and mealworms tonight.

Saturday's feeding....

The vixen was on time today 3pm exactly. She is still limping with a now, very swollen front paw. I am actually more worried that despite me feeding her every day , and her returning  for more food   in the evenings ,that she is still extremely thin. Seeing her today next to the dog fox made me realise. Also today as it was more sunny, you can definitely see more ribs. I am starting to think she has something else going on there too. Still no response from The National Fox Society, but they are extremely busy. They are ran by volunteers and I know they will get back to me eventually. In the meantime I have to think of something to fatten her up.......

Vixen update

It concerns me that the vixen has now got another limp , this time her front paw, which is swollen. She is also shaking her head again, so probably infected still. This really must be exhausting for her and I am now afraid it will kill her. Whilst her fur has grown back, and I am still treating her, I do feel we are back to square one! She is also incredibly thirsty , visiting at one o'clock today for a drink .....

Limping vixen!

Such a shame! The vixen is limping again, this time on her right hind leg. The left one is swollen so I am assuming the right is a sprain caused by compensating for the bite in the left. She looks so much better despite this. Her fur is growing back , although her other side is looking like she is still a little sore there. For this reason I am keeping up with the treatment.

Unwelcome

This afternoon was cold. I had put gloves on ....in April! As it had been sleeting. No foxes today as it was too cold to stay out for long. I took a couple of bird photos and then I spotted him.....an unwelcome visitor! Luckily the food I leave out is gone in a flash and this is only the second time I have ever seen a rat there.

Badgers!

I got to the sett early tonight as it had been raining and hailing earlier. Badgers tend to come out earlier when it rains. Maybe because the ground is wet and it's easier to dig for food, or they sense a long night of foraging

. Anyway it paid off! 

Improving all the time

Today I was struggling a little, since we buried the cat yesterday after illness took a final turn. I went out to feed the foxes and was concerned to see a neighbour chopping down brambles and fixing his fence. I need not have worried as it was he who first apologised, explaining that he was new and could only work on the fence if he cut the brambles down. I explained that I was there to feed the foxes and he seemed pleasantly surprised. I assured him that the vixen would still come if he 'acted normally' and carried on as usual! She did come, and was not worried by him at all. I even walked over to him and had a chat and she carried on eating! I had added some cat food and cat treats since I sadly no longer needed them. Glad someone enjoyed them.

More improvement.

The vixen's fur has started to grow back, which hopefully means less of the mites will attack as they prefer hairless skin. This is good news at last. I am continuing to medicate her as she still has a few sore spots, but so much better than previous days.

Even the large wound on her leg is healing.There have been visits of Mr Fox too and of them both reunited at the food, which is lovely to see........

Missed a few days

I have missed a few days because of the loss of my dear little familiar. A cat who had stayed by my side for over 18 years. We had been through quite a lot together and I knew it was time to let him go. Whilst I feel sad for the foxes and badgers and try not to get emotionally involved, this was different. I am not posting more about him here, as this is about the wildlife but wanted readers to know  in view of late posts.
The vixen is looking better and for now, no longer limping. She ate her sandwiches as she usually does. Not so much with the badgers. I had a visit from the local countryside officer , in view of the planned housing development here . He is going to insist on a full badger survey and whilst he remains impartial will recommend they do not move the badgers. There is a main sett, where I photograph and a sub sett, which I had first thought was a fox den. What seems obvious now is that foxes as he put it, are lazy, so will just dig down into existing badger tunnels. These would run all over the land as the sub and main setts are more than forty meters apart!

Mr and Mrs Fox

 Lovely to see them eating together again!

Vixen back , limping again!

Not posted over Easter as had not  seen the vixen for two days. Mr Fox is scratching and shaking his head , but I have doubled the dose in the food and put extra out so I can be sure that they are both being treated! Today she arrived limping on her front left paw/leg and I could see a small wound, so I don't think it's a sprain. However her skin looks better than it did and her upper leg wound seems much cleaner and slightly smaller .

Mr Fox

Yesterday afternoon I had planned to see the vixen at the usual time as my daughter was arriving later. I was worried when she did not show, although the male fox did pay a visit. It was clear from the small patch above his tail that he probably had the beginnings of mange. Since I am treating both of them , it will be a while before I notice a difference there.

Terrible News....

Today I learned that the local council have a planning application to build a housing estate on the land where the foxes and badgers live. It is my worst nightmare come true.....I will fight it as far as I can. A housing estate? Really? I have studied all the badger sett regulations and although it is illegal to disturb a sett, it is possible to get a license to build there. Many conditions apply and I am still looking over this. Early days yet, but only have until May to object, which I have done already. Being Easter weekend all places of importance will be closed until Tuesday. I will fight this. I promised them.

Behaving fairly 'normally'

Today the vixen was waiting for me, I put my camera down and went to get the food and she stepped aside to allow me to put it down! She stayed close until I had filled the water bowls and put out her sandwiches. As soon as I sat down she was on the sett eating. She then gathered up a few of the remaining sandwiches and left! Far more like her usual behaviour. Before she was obviously too tired to keep coming up and taking them away(out of danger) as she fed on the sett. Now she is taking them away to eat. Her skin is definitely improving and the wound on her leg looked cleaner today.

Looking better

This afternoon it was really windy and the foxes are usually a little later as they get a bit jumpy in the wind! The cover on the hen coop was rattling around and any sudden movement and they run off. Today the vixen came from the right of the sett, where she has dug a new hole, I am thinking this was done when she first became ill with this mange, to enable her to come to and from the food more safely. She appeared very close, closer than she has ever been while I am watching and did not seem to even notice me when I sniffed loudly to alert her. She ate a good three or four sandwiches until I had a coughing fit ! I suppose it sounds a little like barking? Anyway she ran to the back to eat the rest of the food and was joined by Mr Fox, who has been keeping away from her since she has been so ill.

It was lovely to see them together again. Her skin is looking better although on close up photos I can still see mites and eggs and her leg wound is a little scabby , so difficult to tell how that's doing .

 She does look so very small.............