Stella's Social Club

[Happy Chooks]

All you need is a hole as small as 1 1/2 inches for a weasel. Dogs can force their way in and then get out and you may not find the spot unless you test the whole fence line. Just a year ago I had a Fisher get 15 of my hens in what I thought was a very secure run. It found one spot only 2 inches where the fence had pulled away in a corner - probably frost heave. We know this because my husband had set up a video camera after the dog massacre. There that miserable Fisher was - squeezing through that tiny hole. And Fishers are bigger than weasels. Another tearful burial detail. I set traps all over the place and the next day ( it came in the early AM) we watched the video of it jumping on all the traps and setting them off. Then it went away and never came back. That horrible animal just killed for the sport. It bit them in the head and left the bodies whole. On a couple, it bit a chunk out of their neck and ate a couple vertebrae. It has been my experience (and I seem to have an awful lot of experience!) that foxes mostly hunt for food for their kits and take the chicken away with them. You usually only find a small pile of feathers. Do you have Fishers in California?

I've never seen or heard of one in this area, but you never know, I suppose. How awful for you.

 

[ronott1]

I've never seen or heard of one in this area, but you never know, I suppose. How awful for you.

They have been reintroduced to the Sierra Nevadas after being extensively trapped.

Yippee!

 

[1muttsfan]

All the weasel family, including skunks, fishers and wolverenes, will kill repeatedly just by instinct. We have all kinds of predators here, everything from least weasels to bear, so a pen has to be very sturdy if you expect to raise chickens for long. Nothing like a determined predator to find out your weaknesses and exploit them.

 

[ronott1]

All the weasel family, including skunks, fishers and wolverenes, will kill repeatedly just by instinct. We have all kinds of predators here, everything from least weasels to bear, so a pen has to be very sturdy if you expect to raise chickens for long. Nothing like a determined predator to find out your weaknesses and exploit them.

There is a place near me called capay valley. It is on the land side of the Coast Range mountains. There is a person up there with very nice Dorkings. She has dogs, Live stock guardian dogs so does not have predator problems and has never seen a weasel. One day she did find weasel bones in her field though. They are around.. You do not have to see them because they are stealthy.

 

[Happy Chooks]

It came back today.

I heard them squawking and my dog and I went running out. She ran all around and we searched, but couldn't find anything. The hens are back inside the coop now.

 

[1muttsfan]

Everyone loves a free chicken dinner

 

[Happy Chooks]

Everyone loves a free chicken dinner

Unfortunately true.

 

[robhuncor]

Quote:
Reintroduced here, too. I can't see anything useful about them. They are vicious and killers and their pelt is the only useful thing about them.

 

[robhuncor]

It came back today.

I heard them squawking and my dog and I went running out. She ran all around and we searched, but couldn't find anything. The hens are back inside the coop now.

You need to set up a video camera.

 

[ronott1]

Reintroduced here, too. I can't see anything useful about them. They are vicious and killers and their pelt is the only useful thing about them.

They are supposed to keep the porcupine population in control--The claim is that porcupines hurt trees in the forest if there are too many of them.

This seems very doubtful to me.

There is a move to reintroduce grizzly bears to California and there was a lot of excitement when a Wolf was spotted moving down to California for Oregon. We will have to be even more diligent in the future--coops and runs will need to be even more secure.