Coyote or Fisher?

[OHmamma]

I have been having a predator problem.

I have lost 5 adult chickens,2 Pekin Ducks,1 Mandarin Drake, and 1 Guinea. In a span of three weeks. It just seems to be taking what it can carry off.

There are no signs of them left behind at all. Not even a feather. It is capable of climbing a 4 foot goat pannel and chainlink fence and completly removing the chickens. The Pekin ducks were huge and weighed around 12-14 punds each and lived in the yard. I don't know how it got the guinea who usually roosts in the trees. The Mandarin would have been easy I suppose since he liked to just stay wherever the pekins were since bolting out of his pen.

We have seen NOTHING but we have heard something that can sound like both a howling cat and a squealing pig. My 7 year old thought it was getting her minipig last night because it ran past the house. It frustrates my Great Pyranese because he is fenced in the field and cannot get to it while it steals the animals. I have tried to run out when I hear him barking but I have not seen a thing.

I am getting a game-cam tonight. I would rather be setting a trap. I have set a live trap but have caught nothing but a stray cat. We have coyotes around and there is rumor of a Fisher Cat living nearby that people have seen.

This is the first time I have lost this amount of animals (other than to a stupid dog) and it is driving me mad.

 

[colebarnhart]

I don't know anything about Fisher cats, however, have had friends that have lost 30+ birds in one night without hearing a thing and only a few feathers and minimal amount of blood to coyote's. They had game cam's up and saw they ripped through the chicken wire and wiped them all out. That is a sign of coyotes, they don't leave anything behind.

 

[jimmythechicken]

fishers cats can be great climbers def cant jump the fence but may climb it .seen them climb trees the fisher make a horriable scream sound very loud.good luck with the game cam.dont leave out a big old owl i watched one fly off with our 11lb rooster a few years ago with no problem.just something to think about they leave no trace an usaully will only take one bird every 2-3 days

 

[OHmamma]

The fisher and coyote are what I have it reduced to because of size of the pekins and one rooster was in a pen with netting on top but something had pushed through the gate.

I have seen coytoes that had been killed, one on the highway that runs the edge of our property 4 years ago the other by a hunter less than 1/2 mile from my house last year.

The Fisher Cat is some sort of legend that was first spotted about 2 miles form my house it is said to be white with grey spots and was actually seen on top of a small house once. My neighbor had 12 chickens come up missing over a period of a month. His son found it coming out of its borrough and after it had left filled it with rocks and dirt so it moved from their property. I am afraid it may have taken up residence in the 6-7 acre patch of woods around the pond left from the highway instal that is just a quick jaunt threw the culvert for such a creature.

I am not dismissing the fact that it may be more than one creature either. I have seen a fox jogging down my road before too.

I suppose I will see what the camera shows. I am going to use one of my ducks as "bait" but she will be safe in an enclosed in a cage and inside of a dog house with heavy wire nailed to the front. I am also waiting for the game and wildlife warden to call me back about borrowing a leg trap or snare.

I am so done with losing my animals. The one Pekin was sitting on a nest of 18 eggs and before I realized she had been taken they had set too long for me to save.

 

[archerobx]

Pa open fisher up to trapping so your neighbor has a growing population.

If it has been comming around alot I would sit down wind of coop, with a gun and wait.

Since its carrying them off I am going to say fox or coyote. Grey fox make weird sounds

 

[CMV]

I had a chicken disappear last week with absolutely no trace left behind. I assumed that she had been carried off by a coyote, fox or bobcat- something bigger because she was a strapping lass, and to have her completely vanish without a peep would take some doing. I was greatly surprised the next evening by a fisher cat stalking around in my back yard. I haven't seen/heard any fishers around for several years, so had not even considered them as a culprit. I am still surprised that the fisher managed to take a full-sized BO without leaving so much as a feather behind. Amazing, tricky critters.

This has been my first loss to a ground predator. This animal came right up in my yard despite 2 large dogs being about. When I first bought my land 9 years ago I had a different dog- a wolf hybrid. She was a huge dog. She tangled with a fisher cat one day and ended up having to make several trips to the vet when the fisher took a large chunk out of her. That was the last time I had seen one or heard one around here.

I spent this past weekend cutting all the brush down in the backyard to prevent the fisher from being able to sneak up on anyone. And the poor chickens have been in lock down ever since. Hopefully, my fisher will move along soon.

I hope you solve your mystery. Good luck.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
the grey fox I trap average 6-10 pounds soaking wet my guess would be a yote if it is hauling off a 10 pound duck I think Pa has had a fisher season for a coupla years now

 

[archerobx]

CMV: didnt realise fishers were that powerfull


I think greys are tougher they they look. They are agile enough to climb, but to climb with a big bird in its mouth i dont know

 

[mjuenem]

Let that Great P dog loose and let it do the job it was made to do.

 

[goldtopper]

First, sorry for your losses!
Fisher's aren't cats- they're the largest member of the weasel family. They are dark brown, almost black; they do not go through a seasonal color change like ermines and weasels. They run with a humpy motion and have a triangular head. I see them deer hunting frequently. I've seen them go from tree to tree at 40 feet up. They take on turkeys up here in MN, so it wouldn't surprise me if one is the culprit. A good way to catch them is use a box trap : close one end and suspend a bird's wing at that end. They are attacted to the movement.
I have little pity on predators, but these animals in your part of the country would be somewhat rare, and wherever they are, they are beautiful.