Look what we caught in our trap....

[roosterhavoc]

Congrats to the OP for catching the mink.
These threads go awry because you have google experts chiming in constantly. There’s a lot more people that read these threads than just logged in members. They’re totally full of misinformation and some people flat out pretend they know more than they do which doesn’t do anyone any good.

 

[roosterhavoc]

So I can actually add something helpful to the thread before I get bombarded with well thought out replies. This is a picture of a call duck that was killed by a mink. You can easily see the neck damage.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You can pretend like it’s funny all you want but for the people in California that can barely protect what they have as it is have just lost the ability to trap. So just because it doesn’t affect you doesn’t mean it won’t affect someone else in other areas.
You may not really care but some people do.
You’ve said in the past that you teach people about trapping. I would think you would know better.

I found this link about the semantic comparison between leg and foot.
https://www.thedodo.com/foothold-traps-new-jersey-raccoons-2079200589.html

 

[ValerieJ]

I found this link about the semantic comparison between leg and foot.
https://www.thedodo.com/foothold-traps-new-jersey-raccoons-2079200589.html

That was informative! We haven't figured out how to trap a raccoon her either. We have Havahart trap, but when we tried it we caught and terrified one of our cats. We are in the process of fortification rather than trapping. We do have neighbors hunting them. Hopefully that will end the danger. If one gets to our chickens, we'll be joining the hunt for sure!

 

[Rshumpal]

That is definitely a mink. I'm here to attest that they will go on killing sprees and take everything in a building. In my case they didn't bother piling up the carcasses and caused no visible damage. They were just dead and nothing eaten.
My family has raised chickens here or within a mile of here at the old homestead since the 1870s. We never had an issue with or saw a mink.
About 6 years ago Walmart built a store 3/4 of a mile from my house as the crow flies. In the process, they cut about 80 acres of old growth forest along the creek. Within a couple weeks, the attacks started and I was trying to figure out how, what I thought were raccoons, were getting in. It soon became clear the culprit/s weren't raccoons. In less than a week I lost about $3,000 worth of birds. Each night they got into another building and killed everything inside. I installed a baby monitor in one of the remaining buildings and was awakened by carnage. I ran out and was able to stop it after it had only killed half the birds. That was when I realized they can get into an opening as large as an inch. There was a gap above the concrete floor at the base of the door. I fixed that and hadn't lost another bird for a couple weeks. But every other building was invaded over time. One had no opening over 1/2" but after losing every bird in that building I found a small gap where the bottom of the siding had pulled away from the sill plate.
That experience almost got me out of the chicken business.
To try to salvage the rare genetics I cut out eggs from some of the hen's and it took me a week to burn all the carcasses.
I've killed 3 mink but I'm not naïve enough to think they are no longer around.
Those losses set back my breeding program by many years.

 

[Rshumpal]

That is definitely a mink. I'm here to attest that they will go on killing sprees and take everything in a building. In my case they didn't bother piling up the carcasses and caused no visible damage. They were just dead and nothing eaten.
My family has raised chickens here or within a mile of here at the old homestead since the 1870s. We never had an issue with or saw a mink.
About 6 years ago Walmart built a store 3/4 of a mile from my house as the crow flies. In the process, they cut about 80 acres of old growth forest along the creek. Within a couple weeks, the attacks started and I was trying to figure out how, what I thought were raccoons, were getting in. It soon became clear the culprit/s weren't raccoons. In less than a week I lost about $3,000 worth of birds. Each night they got into another building and killed everything inside. I installed a baby monitor in one of the remaining buildings and was awakened by carnage. I ran out and was able to stop it after it had only killed half the birds. That was when I realized they can get into an opening as large as an inch. There was a gap above the concrete floor at the base of the door. I fixed that and hadn't lost another bird for a couple weeks. But every other building was invaded over time. One had no opening over 1/2" but after losing every bird in that building I found a small gap where the bottom of the siding had pulled away from the sill plate.
That experience almost got me out of the chicken business.
To try to salvage the rare genetics I cut out eggs from some of the hen's and it took me a week to burn all the carcasses.
I've killed 3 mink but I'm not naïve enough to think they are no longer around.
Those losses set back my breeding program by many years.

How awful

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That was informative! We haven't figured out how to trap a raccoon her either. We have Havahart trap, but when we tried it we caught and terrified one of our cats. We are in the process of fortification rather than trapping. We do have neighbors hunting them. Hopefully that will end the danger. If one gets to our chickens, we'll be joining the hunt for sure!

You'll never completely eliminate raccoons. They are super smart, resourceful and agile and gaining numbers across the continent. Of all places, Toronto is now the raccoon capitol of the world. You can trap, your neighbors can hunt and cars can run over them but more will quickly fill the void.

 

[Rshumpal]

That is unbelievable. Those varmints are obviously ruthless. I am so sorry.

This has made me give thought to my situation which I will post in a separate thread. Thank you.

ETA: link to my security concern. Securing Openings of a Tin Roof

Thanks for starting this post. My coop is getting a tin roof so it will help

 

[roosterhavoc]

I found this link about the semantic comparison between leg and foot.
https://www.thedodo.com/foothold-traps-new-jersey-raccoons-2079200589.html

Are you serious? What did you learn from that article?

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

That is definitely a mink. I'm here to attest that they will go on killing sprees and take everything in a building. In my case they didn't bother piling up the carcasses and caused no visible damage. They were just dead and nothing eaten.
My family has raised chickens here or within a mile of here at the old homestead since the 1870s. We never had an issue with or saw a mink.
About 6 years ago Walmart built a store 3/4 of a mile from my house as the crow flies. In the process, they cut about 80 acres of old growth forest along the creek. Within a couple weeks, the attacks started and I was trying to figure out how, what I thought were raccoons, were getting in. It soon became clear the culprit/s weren't raccoons. In less than a week I lost about $3,000 worth of birds. Each night they got into another building and killed everything inside. I installed a baby monitor in one of the remaining buildings and was awakened by carnage. I ran out and was able to stop it after it had only killed half the birds. That was when I realized they can get into an opening as large as an inch. There was a gap above the concrete floor at the base of the door. I fixed that and hadn't lost another bird for a couple weeks. But every other building was invaded over time. One had no opening over 1/2" but after losing every bird in that building I found a small gap where the bottom of the siding had pulled away from the sill plate.
That experience almost got me out of the chicken business.
To try to salvage the rare genetics I cut out eggs from some of the hen's and it took me a week to burn all the carcasses.
I've killed 3 mink but I'm not naïve enough to think they are no longer around.
Those losses set back my breeding program by many years.

Whoa. That's intense. We've had quite a few other losses this year but nothing close to the numbers or genetic value you're describing. You're incredibly resilient to bouncy back from that.