Help! Her head was chewed on by a fisher cat!

[justusnak]

OH MY!! Evil lookin little thing isnt it?? get a trap!!!

 

[WestChesterfield]

Thank you all for your kindness. Yes, fisher cats are nasty things. And they don't scare away easily either! I saw it come (it ran off with two of my other birds before I got out there). I shined the flashlight right into it's beady little eyes and walked up pretty close to it - it didn't even phase it! It eventually did run off, but it came back several times during the night, I mean morning - it was after 4 am. I found out later that they have been known to attack humans. I got lucky I guess.

Thank you all again.

~Carol

 

[justusnak]

Attack Humans?? OH JEESH!! Be carefull! I would try to set a trap of some sorts. Sounds to me like the little devil will come back again and again, especially when they have a litter of thier own to feed. BE SAFE!!!!

 

[hencackle]

Carol,
What a terrible ordeal to go through, I'm so sorry. Call your game warden and have him/her come set a trap for you.
Stephanie

 

[MTchick]

I'm sad that you had to put the hen down- but hopefully you can take some comfort in the knowledge that you were trying to do what was best for her.

As for the fisher (they are giant weasels)- they do not normally prey on large animals like chickens. It is odd that you saw it at all, let alone that it attacked your hens. I would recommend getting it trapped and removed by a reputable animal control officer. I fear it is either sick or raising its young near your house, neither of which is a good thing for you or your chickens.

I hope the rest of your hens stay safe!

-MTchick

 

[SpottedCrow]

Holy Sheepdip!!!
I'm so sorry about your bird...
You did the best thing for her...
I'd get the fish and wildlife folks in on this...

 

[mudhen]

I am so sorry you had to go through all that. You did the best you could do. :aww
I have heard of fisher cats for while, but never saw one until last Saturday, running across a field. At first I thought, that is the darkest and longest groundhog I have ever seen. Then, no, not a groundhog, a very short fox with no black markings. hmmm.
Looked up fisher cat after reading your first post and there it was. Mean little buggers.
Know that you did the right thing, as hard as it was to do. My heart goes out to you for how dfficult it was to deal with...
Hang in there.
Hugs...

 

[TheBigWRanch]

I don't think I have heard of anyone using starter fluid on an adult bird, just chicks. Does anyone else know, because I'd like to know for sure incase I need to do it someday.
I'm so sorry about your chicken, I hope you catch that Fisher Cat.

 

[chickbea]

Oooooh - those Fishers. Many a fine cat has been lost in my area to those beasties. My husband's friend watched helplessly out the window as one grabbed his cat and was gone in a flash. When I was a kid you never heard of Fishers coming into people's yards; they were reclusive and rarely seen. Over the last 20 years or so, they are either getting more prevalant, or bolder, or I don't know what.
As WestChesterfield says, they are not particularly phased by human presence, either. I came across one eating some nasty snack on a mountain road one night, and I drove right up to him, beeping the horn, and it was a good 30 seconds of him glaring at me before he reluctantly grabbed his kill and ambled off.

 

[Spydrworks]

Carol...

Traps only do so much. When one fisher cat is removed (if it's a fisher cat that gets trapped...traps are indiscriminate), be assured another will take its place.

The best livestock protection against any predator (except birds of prey) is a good dog or two. They're even good for protecting livestock from coyotes and wolves and bears (Oh my!!...lol), so problems with fisher cats should be easily controlled.

The best way to do this is to raise large breed pups with the livestock (mutts are always more medically sound than pure breeds and have less disciplinary problems). Let them eat with the livestock, sleep with them, and basically let them live among the livestock most of the time if not at all times. They will grow to naturally protect the livestock. This has been a very effective method in reducing livestock loss to predation even on a commercial scale.

Good luck and sorry for your loss.