Giving food to the animals in your garden is one of those simple pleasures that can make you happy right away, says Gillian Lloyd. People can feed birds in their garden, but you should also be careful not to hurt foxes and badgers.
Here are some good tips on how to feed foxes and badgers in a way that won’t bother your neighbors and what to feed them.
Bacon is a popular breakfast food that many people love to eat. With its savory, smoky flavor and crispy texture, it’s easy to see why. But is raw bacon ever a good snack for foxes? Let’s take a closer look at whether foxes can safely eat raw bacon.
An Overview of the Fox Diet
In the wild, foxes are opportunistic omnivores. They eat a wide variety of foods including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, plants, fruits, berries, and carrion. Foxes are built to eat raw meat and bone, utilizing their sharp teeth and acidic digestive system.
As pets or captive foxes, it’s ideal to mimic their natural diet as much as possible. Raw meaty bones, whole prey items, and raw meats are excellent choices. Supplemented with plant matter, this comprises a species-appropriate diet. Some good options are mice, chicks, quail, rabbits, beef, venison, turkey, chicken, fish, and game birds. Fresh fruits and vegetables are also great supplemental foods.
The Nutritional Profile of Bacon
So what exactly is in bacon that may or may not make it suitable for foxes? Here is a nutritional breakdown
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High in fat – Up to 68% of bacon’s calories come from fat, mostly saturated and monounsaturated fats.
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High in sodium – Bacon contains a very large amount of sodium, around 1283 mg per 100g.
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Low in vitamins & minerals – Fresh meats have more nutrients versus cured, smoked meats like bacon.
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Nitrates/nitrites – Bacon contains sodium nitrate and nitrite preservatives, which can be toxic in large amounts.
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Sugar & other additives – Bacon often contains sugar, corn syrup, artificial smoke flavoring, and other additives.
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Salt – Bacon is very high in salt, which can cause excessive thirst and urination.
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Negligible fiber & moisture – Bacon contains virtually zero fiber or water. Foxes thrive on moisture-rich foods.
Potential Risks of Feeding Raw Bacon to Foxes
Based on the nutritional makeup of bacon, here are some of the risks of feeding raw bacon to foxes:
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Obesity – The high fat and calorie content could lead to weight gain and obesity over time. Obesity negatively impacts health.
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Pancreatitis – The high fat content makes pancreatitis a risk. Pancreatitis can be life-threatening.
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Salt poisoning – Excess sodium can cause salt poisoning, leading to vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, coma and death.
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Kidney disease – Too much sodium stresses the kidneys over time. This could lead to kidney damage and failure.
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Diarrhea – The high fat, low moisture, and lack of fiber in bacon can cause loose stools or diarrhea.
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Nutrient imbalances – Bacon shouldn’t comprise a large portion of the diet, as it could lead to nutrient deficiencies or excesses over time.
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Toxicity from preservatives – Nitrates and nitrites in large amounts have been linked to methemoglobinemia and cancer in animals.
Healthier Meat Options for Foxes
Rather than bacon, healthier meat choices for foxes include:
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Whole prey like mice, rats, chickens, rabbits
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Raw chicken, turkey, duck, beef, fish, venison, lamb, goat
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Organ meats like liver, kidney, heart
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Raw meaty bones like chicken wings, lamb necks, beef ribs
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Cold water, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines
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Insects like crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers
These provide balanced nutrition without the unhealthy fat, sodium, and preservatives found in bacon. Variety is key to good fox nutrition.
Can Foxes Eat Raw Bacon? The Verdict
Much healthier options are whole prey, raw meats, bones, and organs from animals like poultry, rabbits, ruminants, and fish. These provide balanced nutrition and are a species-appropriate food source. Raw bacon should never comprise a large portion of a fox’s diet. At most, a small piece of bacon no more than once a week is unlikely to cause harm. But raw, whole prey items and fresh raw meat should make up the bulk of any fox’s diet.
What should I feed the foxes in my garden?
Foxes are by no means fussy and have one of the broadest diets of all our wild animals. They catch rabbits, rodents, birds, frogs, earthworms and will eat carrion. For food, they eat berries and fruit. City foxes, on the other hand, eat our food scraps and hunt pigeons and rats.
The best way to feed foxes in your garden is to try and replicate their natural diet. Primarily this means meat protein so leave out cooked or raw meat, tinned dog food, or specially-formulated fox food like Wild Things. Your foxes will also be pleased with treats like unsalted peanuts, fruit and cheese.
What Do Foxes Eat: Complete List of What Foxes Hunt, and Eat
Do foxes eat raw meat?
Personally, I’m an advocate of raw meat as a staple in any captive fox’s diet. This more closely approximates their diet in the wild. Depending on how the meat is offered, it can also be a great source of entertainment and enrichment for your fox. For example, Wolf Park in Indiana often gives their foxes an entire leg of venison.
What do foxes eat?
Leaving out food uneaten by foxes that could attract unwanted visitors like rats. The bulk of a fox’s diet is made up of meat protein, so the best things to feed your local foxes are cooked or raw meat, or tinned dog food. They are also fond of peanuts, fruit and cheese. Foxes can be fed all year round but should follow a set feeding routine.
Can foxes eat dog food?
Yes foxes can eat dog food. The primary diet of foxes is meat protein – so they love cooked or raw meat (including dog food). Chad Fox is an author and researcher dedicated to bringing reliable information about foxes to the public. He supports animal sanctuary awareness. Foxes eat a variety of small mammals and vegetation.
Can a fox eat meat from the bone?
Stripping the meat from the bone is great for keeping a fox’s teeth clean and in top condition, and they can practice their natural behaviors such as food caching. Obviously, this won’t be practical for most pet fox owners, but it’s still something worth considering.
Do foxes eat supplementary food?
A varied diet is best. We recommend supplementary feeding which means you do not supply all the food a fox needs so that they do not become too dependent on you. Winter is a time where supplementary feeding is much appreciated by foxes as there is less prey about and the fox expedites more energy due to the long cold nights.
Do foxes eat venison?
For example, Wolf Park in Indiana often gives their foxes an entire leg of venison. Stripping the meat from the bone is great for keeping a fox’s teeth clean and in top condition, and they can practice their natural behaviors such as food caching.