1" wide tunnel near run. Is this an ermine/stoat risk?

[Sunshine_Amy]

Hi everyone,

There are about five 1"-wide holes near each other, 6 feet from the edge of my run. I don't mind chipmunks or short tailed shrews or whatever is making these, so I don't want to disturb them if I don't have to, unless they pose a danger to my birds. My understanding with ermine/stouts is that they won't go burrowing into the run on their own, but they will follow existing tunnels looking for rodents to eat, and if they find themselves in a run, they will go after anything moving. So my question is, can an ermine follow such a small tunnel?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes. They can fit into a space the size of a quarter.

 

[Shadrach]

Hi everyone,

There are about five 1"-wide holes near each other, 6 feet from the edge of my run. I don't mind chipmunks or short tailed shrews or whatever is making these, so I don't want to disturb them if I don't have to, unless they pose a danger to my birds. My understanding with ermine/stouts is that they won't go burrowing into the run on their own, but they will follow existing tunnels looking for rodents to eat, and if they find themselves in a run, they will go after anything moving. So my question is, can an ermine follow such a small tunnel?


View attachment 3718104

Yes. Weasels, stoats and mink can all get down a tunnel that size.
If it's a bit tight they open it up as they go.

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

Yes. Weasels, stoats and mink can all get down a tunnel that size.
If it's a bit tight they open it up as they go.

Thank you!

I'll take care of those holes then. Do you think it's enough to shove sticks into the holes on the run end of things as I find them? Or would you take more aggressive action?

 

[Shadrach]

Thank you!

I'll take care of those holes then. Do you think it's enough to shove sticks into the holes on the run end of things as I find them? Or would you take more aggressive action?

Rolled up and screwed up chicken wire stuffed deep into the hole works.
How much of a threat the hole is depends a lot on the traffic through the hole.
Weasels will watch such holes and if they see rats etc using it they are more likely to investigate.
Digging the hole out and trying to repack the soil often makes an easy redig for whatever creature is responsible for making it.
A dug in skirt around the entire perimeter helps to prevent these breaches.

 

[Penpal]

What you have is a clue to your chickens safety. Use a hardware cloth skirt.