Five chickens dead overnight

[NewYorkMama]

Hi. I lost five chickens in one night to what I presume was a mink or weasel. Just looking for some validation this was the predator.

The only way in at night would have been through a rat hole in the side of the run. The entire run (underside too) and all openings in the coop are wrapped in hardware cloth but our resident rat chewed through the wood side of the run to get to the chicken feed. I have previously set traps (which said rat eluded), and filled & patched holes (which were re-dug in new places). Hadn’t gotten to blocking the most recent hole. The only other possible way in would be if something (raccoon or bear?) could have lifted the egg door and climbed in. But that’s a heavy door and at an angle; I’m having trouble picturing how it could be accomplished by an animal. And a bear couldn’t have fit in between the egg box dividers.

The chickens were all bitten at the back of the neck. Some blood & missing feathers. Necks seemed broken but not certain as I know dead chickens have floppy necks. No other injuries & they didn’t appear to have been gnawed on/eaten at all. I am not sure if any eggs were taken. All five of the chickens were sort of piled next to each other in one area of the coop, right in front of & in the nesting boxes. I found this odd.

Both our neighboring farms have had similar experiences over the years — one neighbor believes it to be a mink. However all of his girls were missing heads(!)

How does one go about trapping a weasel/mink? Is it possible? Would cats help deter them? Are there any other deterrents I can employ?

This whole situation is just awful. Thank you for your help.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry for your losses. Back of the neck definitely sounds like a weasel kill.
Little hav a hart traps with sardines or boiled eggs, rat traps. They'll keep coming back.

 

[ksbkeys]

Hi. I lost five chickens in one night to what I presume was a mink or weasel. Just looking for some validation this was the predator.

The only way in at night would have been through a rat hole in the side of the run. The entire run (underside too) and all openings in the coop are wrapped in hardware cloth but our resident rat chewed through the wood side of the run to get to the chicken feed. I have previously set traps (which said rat eluded), and filled & patched holes (which were re-dug in new places). Hadn’t gotten to blocking the most recent hole. The only other possible way in would be if something (raccoon or bear?) could have lifted the egg door and climbed in. But that’s a heavy door and at an angle; I’m having trouble picturing how it could be accomplished by an animal. And a bear couldn’t have fit in between the egg box dividers.

The chickens were all bitten at the back of the neck. Some blood & missing feathers. Necks seemed broken but not certain as I know dead chickens have floppy necks. No other injuries & they didn’t appear to have been gnawed on/eaten at all. I am not sure if any eggs were taken. All five of the chickens were sort of piled next to each other in one area of the coop, right in front of & in the nesting boxes. I found this odd.

Both our neighboring farms have had similar experiences over the years — one neighbor believes it to be a mink. However all of his girls were missing heads(!)

How does one go about trapping a weasel/mink? Is it possible? Would cats help deter them? Are there any other deterrents I can employ?

This whole situation is just awful. Thank you for your help.

Sounds like a weasel. They can fit through the tiniest of holes. As has been suggested, a havahart trap to catch it.

 

[lagrange chicks]

You can use a victor rat trap in a box (5x5x14) with lid that has a rat size hole in one end with the rat trap in the box trigger below the hole, bait with something bloody.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

How awful, I'm really sorry. What you describe sounds like racoon but it also sounds like you know there is no way a racoon could get in. Opossum ? You're probably correct that it's a mink/weasel..... Moving forward, can you lock chickens inside a coop house instead of allowing nightime Run access ?? It's just my first thought on how to be all the way predator proof. If not, maybe electric netting, fencing outside of the run. Rats are a different topic entirely, one that has many, many threads if you do a Forum search.

 

[NewYorkMama]

How awful, I'm really sorry. What you describe sounds like racoon but it also sounds like you know there is no way a racoon could get in. Opossum ? You're probably correct that it's a mink/weasel..... Moving forward, can you lock chickens inside a coop house instead of allowing nightime Run access ?? It's just my first thought on how to be all the way predator proof. If not, maybe electric netting, fencing outside of the run. Rats are a different topic entirely, one that has many, many threads if you do a Forum search.

I can do that but the reason I give them 24/7 run access is they get up hours earlier than I do and I don’t want to keep their food/water inside the coop. The coop is small & the run is completely covered so their food & water is out there.

This might be a solution though, thank you.

 

[McChooky]

Hi. I lost five chickens in one night to what I presume was a mink or weasel. Just looking for some validation this was the predator.

The only way in at night would have been through a rat hole in the side of the run. The entire run (underside too) and all openings in the coop are wrapped in hardware cloth but our resident rat chewed through the wood side of the run to get to the chicken feed. I have previously set traps (which said rat eluded), and filled & patched holes (which were re-dug in new places). Hadn’t gotten to blocking the most recent hole. The only other possible way in would be if something (raccoon or bear?) could have lifted the egg door and climbed in. But that’s a heavy door and at an angle; I’m having trouble picturing how it could be accomplished by an animal. And a bear couldn’t have fit in between the egg box dividers.

The chickens were all bitten at the back of the neck. Some blood & missing feathers. Necks seemed broken but not certain as I know dead chickens have floppy necks. No other injuries & they didn’t appear to have been gnawed on/eaten at all. I am not sure if any eggs were taken. All five of the chickens were sort of piled next to each other in one area of the coop, right in front of & in the nesting boxes. I found this odd.

Both our neighboring farms have had similar experiences over the years — one neighbor believes it to be a mink. However all of his girls were missing heads(!)

How does one go about trapping a weasel/mink? Is it possible? Would cats help deter them? Are there any other deterrents I can employ?

This whole situation is just awful. Thank you for your help.

Weasels will kill the whole flock and pile the bodies up in a pile after a kill whether they're hungry or not

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I can do that but the reason I give them 24/7 run access is they get up hours earlier than I do and I don’t want to keep their food/water inside the coop. The coop is small & the run is completely covered so their food & water is out there.

This might be a solution though, thank you.

Unfortunately there is really no way to leave food out all night and expect to be rodent free unless you are successful with Rodent proof feeders..... I put the feed up in a galvanized garbage can every night at lock up. Sometimes its just too bad if they have to wait for me in the am. They have enough room, a window and nest boxes so they're just fine until I get out there. Can you expand the coop maybe?

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

That’s terrible. Definitely weasel.

 

[NewYorkMama]

That’s terrible. Definitely weasel.

Thank you. It truly was terrible. I miss my girls.