Weasel - gruesome detail warning. Need ideas to catch?

[fancyfowl4ever]

that tail looks its from a flying squirrel(nocturnal critter). our cats leave those lying around too......

 

[Squeaky McMurdo]

Looks like a wood rat and just to warn you it may not be dead. We had one get into the back of a dishwasher and could see its tail sticking out so my husband grabbed it by its tail to try to pull it out...the little bugger came out all right and while he was dangling the skin from his tail came clean off and wood rat got away and lived for another couple days before being caught. The exposed muscle didn't seem to bother him.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

A Havahart trap is a poor choice for catching a weasel or mink because they are difficult to tempt with bait. Steel traps work much better but they can be difficult for a novice to use without buy catch.

Fresh rats and mice make the best weasel bait as do small birds, feathers and all. Weasels and mink also like to hunt in hollow logs, tunnels, etc. so a un-scented cloth covering the Havahart trap may make a weasel feel secure enough to boldly enter the trap. Weasels and mink are no ones' fool when it comes to a box type trap, but they are careless to a fault about where they step. There are plenty of vids on the web on how to trap fur-bearers. I hope this helps. The only thing dog or cat chow will get you is coons, possums, a few skunks, mice, rats, chickens, or dogs and cats.

 

[BethanyS]

Looks like a wood rat and just to warn you it may not be dead. We had one get into the back of a dishwasher and could see its tail sticking out so my husband grabbed it by its tail to try to pull it out...the little bugger came out all right and while he was dangling the skin from his tail came clean off and wood rat got away and lived for another couple days before being caught. The exposed muscle didn't seem to bother him.

lol well whatever it was is prob eaten...there was fuz and a little foot also...not convinced it was my predator though poor chickens are still being stuffed in the dog crate at night . I am hoping to get some traps set up over the weekend

 

[Hollow Point]

Do you have electricity to the greenhouse? If so plug in a radio and tune into a 24/7 talk station, anytime a predator comes around they will hear human voices and not eneter. Don't have electricity use battery powered radio, just have to change batteries when they go dead

 

[Dutchess]

Check out these "PestChaser" devices. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Victor-Sonic-PestChaser-Rodent-Repellant/21778127

I was having a major problem with Fishers AND Weasels/Minks. I bought the pest chaser and haven't seen one since. Simply plug it in inside the coop, it's worked for me for six months already. I don't know what kind of mouse deterrent it is, but the "customer reviews" say they aren't so great for mice...

I also have those nite-eyes (2 of them) on two of the outside corners of my chicken run. I don't know if I can thank the pestchaser or the nite-eyes, but the two together cost me all of $30.00. Small price to pay for a safe flock! Good luck - so sorry to hear about your loss

 

[Lone Wolf]

I am SO SORRY for your loss! Weasels could dig under or go through the window. Here is a link that could help: icwdm.org/handbook/carnivor/Weasels.asp I hope this helps!

Grace

 

[Gypsi]

Wow, the pest-chaser and nite-eyes both look like excellent things to try. Since I really tried to trap the weasel without success this summer. And if I catch one, how many more are out there? I just want my chickens to be safe. Thank you.

 

[bruceha2000]

What I find on the "Long Tailed Weasel" (*) is that they are "solitary except during breeding season". That said, since you have one, if it is gone, another will likely take its territory eventually. If it is a pregnant female and you don't get rid of it, expect about 6 babies to join mom in the spring.

(*) Based on the link Lone Wolf gave, that is the only kind in Texas.

Bruce

 

[Greyfox Farm]

Pound for pound, a weasel is one formidable predator. A short-tail weasel CAN sneak through 1" mesh chickenwire. Check out "weasel box" on Youtube and you'll see just how easy a trap is to make. Weasel are VERY cagey and will avoid an open run if at all possible in favor of sneaking "through the weeds.," so set your traps in a grassy area, along side the coop, under the barn, at the mouth of a culvert, etc. The "trap" that's most readily available is a rat trap available st Lowe's, Home Depot, etc for under $2.00. I have 4 weasel box sets out currently and have killed one ermine (winter-phase short-tailed weasel) so far this season. Good luck.