how do you catch a weasel?

[theFox]

Google weasel box, build a couple, bait them, and dispatch what you catch.

 

[riverpilot69]

Have a monkey chase it around a cobbler's bench until it goes POP! LOL.
Sorry. I couldn't resist that one.

 

[kayjan]

Oh my gosh that was funny. Thanks for the laugh

 

[darin367]

after weasels killed a bunch of mine, i set the live trap..... they robbed my bait a few times...... so i took a dead chicken carcuss, put it in the back of the trap, tied a string to it's leg and to the trigger... caught mom first night....... 2 young ones the following week.... and another one a week later....... all weasels have since passed......

 

[riverpilot69]

after weasels killed a bunch of mine, i set the live trap..... they robbed my bait a few times...... so i took a dead chicken carcuss, put it in the back of the trap, tied a string to it's leg and to the trigger... caught mom first night....... 2 young ones the following week.... and another one a week later....... all weasels have since passed......

Good job. All weasels died of natural causes after being trapped. How unfortunate for them.

 

[dominickerdame]

I have been just sick at heart and felt guilty all this last week because I have lost 14 chickens in a little oveer a week. I loved my chickens and actually spent time with them in the ccoop playing and snapping pictures. I hat what happened but I don't feel nearly as bad since i have found oht how sneaky and bad weasels really are. I am sorry for eevveryones loss but relieved thaat it wasn't only completely my fault!

 

[shmccarthy]

Use a smaller trap that a cat would have a hard time getting into. I just bought a live trap to try and catch a fox, and it came with a smaller almost "bait trap" it's pretty small, it can fit a young bantam or a large rat in it, but I don't think it could fit a cat. If worse comes to worse, let the cat out. I would highly advise getting a small trap like this and baiting it with some kind of meat and check it every day.

Edit: a weasel paid a visit to my coop once and luckily it only attacked one, didn't kill it and never returned. There was a large patch of skin missing from the back of my cockerels neck and obvious bite wounds. I nursed him back to health and he still hasn't refrozen feathers. I got really lucky that the weasel didn't get more or kill him. They are pretty Wiley and can easily fit through 1" holes. I would advise getting 1/2" hardware cloth and wrapping the run and any and every hole you can find, to help prevent future attacks in the long run.

 

[chicka pucella]

I have lost 28 chickens to a weasel. I am trying like crazy to catch it. I don't ha e any of the deceased chickens to use as bait. I have tried cat food, a dead mole my cat caught, and I was gonna try dog food. After reading many pistes it looks like I will be going to the market for som chicken legs and seeing if that may work. My rooster is noe in a serious bout of depression over the whole ordeal but I don't want to add more female until I catch the weasel.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Rat Traps work well for weasels.

 

[quigley257]

It was mentioned earlier in the thread. Build a couple "weasel trap boxes". They are very effective and you don't have to worry about catching other animals other than weasels, rats and mice. All they are in essence is box(wood or cardboard works) which are large enough to place rat traps and have enough room to allow them to "spring". You can add a piece of popsicle stick or a pad of cardboard to the trigger foot to increase it's size. Make "hallways" out of cardboard to funnel them into an area just wide enough to hold the trap. Cut holes 1-1/4 to 2" diameter in the walls of the box and place the traps immediately inside these holes. Weasels love to snoop around in small spaces. Place these boxes against walls and around your coops. The ultimate weasel bait is a live mouse placed in a small protective cube of hardware cloth inside the box. If you are able to get one(many pet stores sell "feeder mice" which work great) the scent as well as the scratching and movement nearly guarantee a dead weasel if they are in the area. It is nearly impossible to weasel-proof a coop because they can fit through openings as small as 3/4" so it's usually more feasible to keep traps set for them if you have been having problems.