Any one know about muskrats???

[woodmort]

Quote:
I trapped as a teen too, just gave away the last of my muskrat stretchers--told the kid they were real antiques, 60 years old. With the price they're getting for muskrat hides, even prime, isn't worth the trouble. Even a good sized beaver pelt isn't bring that much. You can make better money picking up cans and bottles along the highway.

I doubt that nutria have gotten as far north as NE PA. Muskrat or beaver, on the other hand, are running rampant--undermining banks and flooding roads. Need you ladies (or men) to start wearing fur again.

 

[CindyG]

Thanks all for the replies. I thought he was out there eating fish, but if they are vegetarians, must have been something else. I'll keep an eye on him, don't think I could trap and skin him, but maybe live trap and relocation if he becomes a problem. We've had such a lot of wildlife around lately, a snapping turtle crawled up and laid eggs at the side of the road a few weeks ago, we have deer coming right in the yard, now this muskrat or whatever it is. Lots of fish in our pond for the first time in years, but the frogs seem to have moved out, only a few left. Haven't seen the blue heron this year tho, could be why there are fish.

 

[AfewBricks]

Muskrats absolutely will kill your chickens. In large numbers. Massacre style. They scalp them and drink the blood. Sometimes eating the breast/ crop area.

 

[woodmort]

Muskrats absolutely will kill your chickens. In large numbers. Massacre style. They scalp them and drink the blood. Sometimes eating the breast/ crop area.

Not in a 100 million years--muskrats are vegetarians.

 

[fred081646]

I had a family of muskrats move into my pond. Mama, Daddy and about 3 or 4 babies. I had a huge amount of cattails that I just could not get rid of. Well, the muskrats moved in and ate all the cattails then they left. They were a godsend for me. I really don't think they will hurt chickens.\Fred

 

[woodmort]

First of all there is no way they could catch/hold a chicken not to mention they wouldn't want to any way. The only problem they can cause is, if your pond has a dike, they can tunnel into it and weaken it. Otherwise, enjoy them and, just maybe, they'll eliminate your cattails--although it didn't work for me.

 

[Ole and Lena]

The only threat muskrats are to your chickens is that they attract mink. The mink like to use the muskrat dens in winter and eat muskrats (and chickens). Muskrats will occasionally take small minnows, mussels, frogs etc but their staple diet is aquatic tubers, primarily cattail and lily roots. They are prolific breeders and burrowers. If your pond has steep banks or is impounded by an earthen dam you should absolutely trap it clean. If it's just a natural shallow marsh, let the muskrats be unless you want some toasty mittens made up.

Muskrat, beaver and nutria all look like giant field mice (voles). They are chunky in appearance ranging from tawny tan to dark sable brown and are not particularly agile on land. While swimming they are boat like, moving slowly in straight lines. Beaver will loudly slap their tail in the water when alarmed. Otter and mink swim much more agilely, usually moving in a roving pattern searching for things to kill and diving silently and frequently. If you have beaver, chewing on nearby trees WILL be apparent. Muskrat and nutria leave small feeder piles of partially chewed roots and towards fall they will put up wigwam looking huts of dead vegetation and mud. Mink and otter are more weasely in appearance. They are agile on land and water and much longer and leaner than aquatic rodents. Wikipedia is a good source for some quick pictures and biology of the different species. Otters are little threat to chickens. Mink, however, tend to range farther from the water and are notorious chicken killers. There is little that can be done to prevent mink predation also as they can crawl in through a mouse hole.

 

[woodmort]

Ole and Lena--well put. I would add that while mink can be a problem they aren't as bad as weasels. I had one destroy my flock after gaining entry to my chicken coop through a hole that mice had chewed through the bottom of a door. (I trapped him. replaced the door and the flock.)

 

[Ole and Lena]

BTW, after 2 years of dry summers/falls and a brutal winter that froze out/starved many small marshes in the prairie pothole region, muskrat pelts are shaping up to be a pretty good cash crop this fall/winter.

 

[AfewBricks]

Not in a 100 million years--muskrats are vegetarians.  

Sorry, but the vegetarian thing is a bad rumour. Maybe in the states muskrat don't eat chickens, but here in Ontario they sure do.