Mink infestation...HELP!!!

[Western Chick]

I knew I had a problem when the three new salmon faverolles I brought home from a swap had their heads pulled under the divider in my quarantine cage. I thought maybe a skunk or raccoon since we have many of those around and have trapped and poisoned many.

The next night there was a massacre in my chicken coop, a couple juvanile ducks and polish chickens (they never saw it coming). Now, my coop isn't Fort Knox but it would certainly keep a raccoon out, or at least there would be evidence of one getting in. There was nothing, no torn wire, no holes, nothing.

The next night, three more ducklings and 6 young chickens, basically anything that wasn't roosting in the rafters, dead. That afternoon I saw the hateful thing. A mink!

I called out DH with the gun, he never got a good shot at the critter but was able to set up some traps. We caught him that night, dispatched him. The next night my daughter's bunny was killed the same way as the first chickens, head pulled under the wall of the cage. I can't take this any more! How many of these awful things can there be? And more importantly how do I get rid of them?

Please, if anyone has advice specific to mink, let me know. I will stop at nothing to get rid of these awful animals! They are so much worse than any other predator I've dealt with. They can crawl through the tiniest spaces and they're vicious. They will kill anything they can catch, drink the blood and leave the carcass behind. They are hateful animals!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Minks are nasty. ive read to take a mouse trap. Screw it onto a tree. Like maybe 6-12 inches up. And put a piece of fresh bloody chicken next to the snapping part. I hope you catch it!

 

[gumpsgirl]

Oh my word! I sure wish I had some words of advice for you, but I just don't know what else you could do except for you to keep on with the traps. Good luck and I hope someone will have some good words of advice for you.

 

[PeeperKeeper]

And the worse thing about a mink is that they kill as much possible so as to retrn to feed on their kill/kills later! un

 

[skyfires]

Wow,,,now you have trouble,,,,I'm so sorry for your Loss dear,,,but you can take action. First you have the trap thing going on,,,keep it up,,,sometimes their can be a grouping of 6 or more minks,,family members,,all running together. Just because you get one,,,doesn't mean its 'over'. Next,,start bullet proofing your henhouse and run. Seal even the smallest holes and cracks. Use household caulking and expanding foam. We also stuff steal wool pads in the goopy mess, for good measure. They won't chew steal wool for long, and give up. They also have a mink oil,,you can find in the hunting section of Wal- Mart,, that its scent will draw minks in. Use this around traps to make them even more interested in your bait. Be strong,,,,don't give up,,,and I'm wishing you all the luck,,,,

:aww

 

[Western Chick]

Update....I've caught two mink since the attacks bagan. I thought we were doing pretty well but now they've moved from the barn to my fenced-in garden where I'm raising 100 meat birds.

When I got home yesterday there were 10 dead birds in the garden. all the same, head pulled off and left along with the carcass. Very little meat was eaten on any of them.

I moved the traps to the garden area last night but had no hits this morning. It was dark when I left for work but it appeared as if there were more dead birds, this time with limbs pulled off so I may have something new on my hands.

I need to do something fast! I have no idea what kind of structure I can put 100 (well, now 90) meat birds in that would be mink proof! The little buggers are so hard to catch in a trap and will take a live chicken long before they even look at a piece of meat in a trap. UUUGGGH!