All I know is I lost 2 hens 2 ducks and a couple rabbits from 1 fox. He stared me down at one time but did run away. This time of year their hungry and looking closer to our homes for food. Be careful still,watch your cat too because my neighbor lost 2 recently to the same fox :(

I rather doubt the fox was rabid - probably just curious. It may also have been young, or one someone tried to have as a pet - bad idea, that one!

The new (Jan.) EQUUS magazine had an article on rabies, mostly as it pertains to horses, but since horses get it from animal bites...., I'll pull a few snippets out - In the USA, the main carriers are bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes - which one is the main host varies from area to area. In VA the main host is 'coons - which doesn't say other animals don't/won't have it. In '06, PA had the highest no. of domestic animal cases (72) and VA was second with 62. The disease is carried in the saliva of the infected animal, but the path of infection is not blood but nerves. If the animal is in the "incubation" stage of the disease, while the virus is traveling along the nerves to the brain, there are few signs, but (I think) it is not infectious/contagious. After the spinal cord is infected, the early symptoms are minimal, some incoordination or lack of fear/aggression, which are not easy to see in a wild animal. After the brain is infected, the main symptoms are incoordination, aggression, agitation, hyperactivity and facial paralysis for the acute form of rabies, or for the dumb form of rabies, the symptoms are depression, weakness, ataxia, recumbency, paralysis and excessive salivation. Usually, the animal dies fairly quickly, but some have been tested that have blood levels of antibodies comparable to a vaccinated domestic animal, so survival is possible. VA had the second highest no. of reported rabies cases in the USA (637) in '06 - TX was first with 890 and NY third with 612 - but those were only the cases reported to the CDC as positively tested by post-mortem brain tests, there are probably a lot more not found or not reported.

And now that you have way too much info, I trust the fox doesn't come back!