Taming of the shrew?

[LazytownChick]

They dug right under where the hardware cloth apron starts.

This is how I temporarily repaired the entry hole but I'm sure they were also getting inside through other holes.

 

[Al Capon]

The one on the right is a shrew. The left looks like half a mole. Shrews aren't equipped for digging tunnels but I'm sure they explore mole tunnels looking for food. Google pics and look at the front feet of both, you'll see the difference immediately.

 

[centrarchid]

The one on the right is a shrew. The left looks like half a mole. Shrews aren't equipped for digging tunnels but I'm sure they explore mole tunnels looking for food. Google pics and look at the front feet of both, you'll see the difference immediately.

They dig tunnels very well.

 

[Redhead Rae]

We call them Voles here. You'll often find mazes of tunnels just on the surface of the ground when a lot of snow melts or if you leave something they can't penetrate on the ground for any length of time like metal or plastic siding.

 

[sourland]

shrews

They are shrews. Front feet and over all body size too small to be moles. I do not consider them to be a pest. They will eat mice if they can catch them. One shrew appears partially eaten, they eat each other when confined. They are one of the few small critters my chickens do not like to eat.

Even fox will not eat them. They kill them and just let them lay there.

 

[Redhead Rae]

shrews



Even fox will not eat them. They kill them and just let them lay there.

My outdoor mouser and my parent's Cockapoo/Dachshund love hunting them.

 

[aart]

Even fox will not eat them. They kill them and just let them lay there.

I wonder why they won't eat them?

My outdoor mouser and my parent's Cockapoo/Dachshund love hunting them.

Do they eat them or leave them lie?

 

[Redhead Rae]

I wonder why they won't eat them?


Do they eat them or leave them lie?

My parents' dog never eats them, just drags them around and rolls on them when they get stinky.

The cat likes to eat the chest and leave the head, spine, and back end.

 

[sourland]

I wonder why they won't eat them?


Do they eat them or leave them lie?

I believe they have some sort of toxin ? Not certain why I believe that, but my 'brain' stores odd things in it's recesses.

edited to add: Just googled 'shrew toxin'. Apparently their salivary glands contain a toxin which may cause paralysis in their prey. I have seen (in the snow) where fox will toss and play with them. I also once found two dead shrews. Apparently they had fought and paralyzed/killed one another.

 

[centrarchid]

We call them Voles here. You'll often find mazes of tunnels just on the surface of the ground when a lot of snow melts or if you leave something they can't penetrate on the ground for any length of time like metal or plastic siding.

Voles, representing at least 3 species here, are rodents that in many ways resemble lemmings.

Moles and shrews are "insectivores" that are not classified rodents.