Mink in the coop

[Chickenmom-1600]

This was my first winter with my first flock, and we thought for sure our coop was buttoned up and safe for my feather babies... I was wrong. A few days before Christmas I went from getting about 5 eggs a day from my 6 hens to getting maybe one. I just figured its cold out the egg production will slow down, now I believe we had a critter visiting our coop. The day after Christmas I went to check on my girls and spend some time with them cleaning the coop and checking for eggs and what I found was was not a pretty sight.. 4 of my hens were deceased, laying on the coop floor, I thought they froze to death, oh no. I didn't insulate enough.. But then found wounds and blood.. So my husband and I look for entry points for critters. We set full steam ahead and filled every Crack we could think of, my girls were safe. The next morning 4 more chickens gone ( I also had 3 roosters and 3 guinea fowls). I suffered a loss of 8 chickens all together and now it was personal. I have 2 roosters and 2 guineas left alive now. So I went to tractor supply and got a trap, I needed to catch this critter. My husband pokes a bit of fun at me for crying over chickens but these were my girls. We unfortunately did use a deceased chicken for bait and removed my remaining poultry to a secure location in our basement. We also set up a game camera so we could see how this critter was entering and exiting the coop and turning my coop into a slaughter house. It was a terribly sad sight to see.. But the next morning, we caught it. A tiny little Mink was what had been slaughtering my chickens. We called the game commission and had it removed from our property but I'm still scared to return my chickens to my coop. Even though we did figure out how it was getting in. I'm devastated over the loss of my flock... and I will fix this problem and start over again, having chickens is such a joy in my life and in my children's lives. I loved more than anything working out in my garden and watching my chickens happily free range around me and watching how much my babies loved feeding them treats. They will be missed.

The same happened to me after 3 years of nothing. A piece of me is missing. I want to start over but I’m scared. This just happened, so I am still processing. I really want that mink caught. It scares me for my old cat who so desperately wants to go outside. This loss is real and hurts so I understand completely what you went through.

 

[Callender Girl]

Predator attacks are devastating; I'm sorry for your losses and the hurt you are feeling.

But, I think having a wee bit of fear in the back of your mind is not a bad idea. Staying vigilant will help you keep a flock safe, should you decide to start over.

I've added coops since a mink killed three hens years ago. Now, every run is protected by hardware cloth, even the smallest coop openings have been closed, and doors are constructed to completely seal off potential predator entry. And, I double check to make sure I don't forgetfully leave a coop door unlatched again.

Still, when I thought I spotted a mink running through the far end of the property a few weeks ago, I immediately went into panic mode. I then made sure everything was fortified as well as it possibly could be. I never again want to feel as if my negligence killed my birds.

If I were you, I would keep my old cat inside -- unhappy, perhaps, but safe.

Take care.