Official BYC Poll: The Worst Predator

[Fluffyflufffluff]

All of our casualties have been to an opossum.

I'm in the verge of quitting, 5 chickens are stolen again. This will be the 4th time it happened. I hope someone can help me.

 

[Silkie2005]

I'm in the verge of quitting, 5 chickens are stolen again. This will be the 4th time it happened. I hope someone can help me.

Is CCTV an option? You could find out who it is and then send it to the police. Keep your chickens safe. Hopefully it doesn't happen again!

 

[Silkie2005]

I lost two chickens to a fox in 2017 and one chicken to a dog so I think I have been very luck on the whole considering how long I have had chickens!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If your not home to stop them a mink in day time will go on a killing spree. Like weasel at night they kill as many as they can. Being larger they can only get at the birds in daytime and fences are not much of a problem for them.

Yesterday I had to stop one that was chasing down my boy's breeder cock. I witnessed the cock shake him off his back once as I was grabbing .22 air gun and boots. Two dead hens on the ground already. I'd let them out of coop 30 minutes earlier. It makes the second mink, both in daytime chasing down my birds. Other was three years ago. I managed to dispatch both.

 

[Silkie2005]

If your not home to stop them a mink in day time will go on a killing spree. Like weasel at night they kill as many as they can. Being larger they can only get at the birds in daytime and fences are not much of a problem for them.

Yesterday I had to stop one that was chasing down my boy's breeder cock. I witnessed the cock shake him off his back once as I was grabbing .22 air gun and boots. Two dead hens on the ground already. I'd let them out of coop 30 minutes earlier. It makes the second mink, both in daytime chasing down my birds. Other was three years ago. I managed to dispatch both.

Four months ago, I had to put my five chicken flocks and six cockerels all together. The sudden amount of eggs in one place and young chicks must have attracted the local population of minks because one day in the evening when I was about to lock them away I heard my chickens all screaming and all six of the cockerels shoot into the huge chicken coop I had. When I got there I found an almost dead mink with blood everywhere. It must have gone into the coop after the eggs and chicks and had been cornered by the cockerels and the entire flock of fifty hens so it had no chance. I was so thankful to all of my cockerels for saving my flock from the mink. There were a few eggs broken in the fight but no chicks or chickens were injured!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

That's great! It's amazing how much more protective and brave they get when rearing chicks. It makes a huge difference.

 

[cscarney]

I'm dealing with a mink here this week. So far it's gotten a couple of bantam ducks and several of my roller pigeons, I've moved the birds out to temporary arks and have traps and poison down....

Worst predators by far around here are still raccoons, with their ability to get into pretty much anything if it's not extremely well built.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If a mink takes out a bird, well it takes out as many as it can then drags one away at a time, use a carcass as bait. It's really the only way to get a good shot at it. If in daytime and you scare it off just wait it out as it will be back very soon.

 

[cscarney]

Yes, mink will kill anything they can get at if they get in. And carcasses don't seem to lure them into traps here--live birds seem to be the ticket. They're hard to get rid of, that's for sure!

 

[Rooapalooza]

Wow I can't believe how wide a margin raccoons have over all the other predators!