Pigeon Talk

[ChickenTenderKesha]

Lethal control is the unscientific, unfounded option. No one traps a weasel once & never again. You will have predators visiting as long as you have an available food source: proof your coop and train the predators to stay away via hotwire.

That’s how this started, me taking away the food source for the predators. The deceased pigeon was part of a pair that had been living in my horse shed since the summer. There had been a raccoon in the shed attacking the pigeons one night, the first one I’ve seen on property in the year and a half I’ve lived here. My thinking there was that by removing the pigeons from the horses shed, the raccoon would carry on. I had been in the process of rehoming the pigeons (it was in quarantine) when the weasel struck. I had no sign of them previously but still made sure my coop was secure enough against them.

It hasn’t penetrated my chicken coops yet thankfully, I am planning on looking them over today for any gaps 1/2” or more after the sighting, but I’m still terminating the rodent when it is caught. Once they know they can get a meal somewhere, they will be back again. This one may be eating all the field mice we have in the garage and that’s why it was drawn there, but how do you remove field mice when that’s all your surroundings are is fields.

With the hotwire, I’m thinking it’s something like electric fencing? How would that work for weasels? Wouldn’t they just find a way around it if there’s still an opening into the coop? Is the hotwire something that needs to be added onto the costs of all the 1/4”-1/2” HWC needed to make a chicken coop/run secure enough against weasels/mink?

How do you “train” wild animals? Unless you have magic, I don’t think anything can stop them from showing up. They will always come back for the off chance they could get in this next time. Electric fencing doesn’t stop the coyotes from walking through the horses pasture, even though my medium sized dog can’t get under/through it without being shocked. I’m not saying they don’t learn from the hotwire, they just don’t get trained to stay away

 

[bluemerle]

Yes, you need to secure all entry points with hardwire cloth. Coyotes are unlikely to be a threat to your horses, but if your electric fencing is not deterring them, and coyote deterrent is the reason you installed it, your fence is useless and needs to be redone.

Remember: you are going to have predator pressure. You can either keep suffering losses and convince yourself you're doing something by trapping after the fact ... or you can reinforce your coop so you don't have losses. It's your choice.

Edit: If you would like to see electric fences in action, this video is a good example. Note that it's effective against everything but small animals that can crawl under the (IIRC) 8" first string. Hotwires must be nose level for the animal you're trying to deter - in that instance, baiting the fence itself (so the weasel would be encouraged to make contact with the wire) might have been more effective, but ideally the wire would be lowered in order to 'catch' very low-to-the-ground predators.

 

[Serin]

Live trap and drive to release in a wild area / game preserve, a farm where they don't have poultry, the places for a stoat to live without harming anyone's pets are many.

 

[WVduckchick]

Suspicions confirmed
View attachment 2001206 View attachment 2001207

brave little rascal!

 

[WVduckchick]

New pics of Jingle. Jolly is doing fine too. Two weeks old. I’m proud of the parents.
And I got my 2020 NPA bands. I love the red!

 

[ChickenTenderKesha]

New pics of Jingle. Jolly is doing fine too. Two weeks old. I’m proud of the parents.
And I got my 2020 NPA bands. I love the red! View attachment 2001575 View attachment 2001576 View attachment 2001577

What a cute baby Jingle is!! Feathers are coming in nicely as well
That red is such a nice colour, I like it a lot

 

[sourland]

Lethal control is the unscientific, unfounded option. No one traps a weasel once & never again. You will have predators visiting as long as you have an available food source: proof your coop and train the predators to stay away via hotwire.

Electric fencing - perhaps, but hot wire will not work on weasels. I believe in absolute fortification, and when a predator is breaching that I believe in euthanasia. Relocation as an option is illegal in many areas and in actuality is more inhumane than euthanasia. Understand this is opinion only on my part as are the links that were listed.

 

[bluemerle]

Electric fencing - perhaps, but hot wire will not work on weasels. I believe in absolute fortification, and when a predator is breaching that I believe in euthanasia. Relocation as an option is illegal in many areas and in actuality is more inhumane than euthanasia. Understand this is opinion only on my part as are the links that were listed.

Killing a non-suffering animal is not euthanasia, and scientific studies are not mere opinion. But continue killing your weasels - just know that it's not helping your birds.

 

[Pyxis]

Killing a non-suffering animal is not euthanasia, and scientific studies are not mere opinion. But continue killing your weasels - just know that it's not helping your birds.

In this specific instance, though, eliminating the predator is the only feasible option - the flock owner has said that currently, they do not have the money to fully weasel-proof their coop. Catching and relocating is likely illegal - I know in my area it is. So the flock owner can't reinforce their coop/loft/garage right now, and probably can't legally trap and release the predator. That leaves either killing it and then trying to save up the money to reinforce the coop to prevent future problems, or let it keep killing and eating their birds until they have the money they need to make the changes.

Welcome to the pigeon thread, by they way! What kind of pigeons do you have?

 

[sourland]

Killing a non-suffering animal is not euthanasia, and scientific studies are not mere opinion. But continue killing your weasels - just know that it's not helping your birds.

I agree to respectfully disagree. Sorry, WV, I apologize for the hijack - I'll exit your thread.