Tiny little weasel. Help!

[boundtogoboogie]

Thank you. I googled "weasel box trap" and realized fairly quickly that the only way to deal with these animals is to kill them. I have the components of the trap. Just have to assemble and set it. Anyone have any idea about how likely it is that I have more than 1 or 2 weasels to be worried about?

 

[jetdog]

I would keep it set for a while after catching 1 and see if there are any more hanging around.

 

[Trefoil]

If you live in an area where weasels are native, killing them isn't going to do you much good. Build a weasel proof pen and keep your chickens in it during the weasels' active and chickens' inactive hours. That way your chickens are safe and you get the varmit eating advantage of the weasels. As long as you keep up on the maintenance of your pen, its the only permanent solution that completely stops the loss of chickens to predators and also keeps the presence of rodents down to a manageable level. Hardware cloth, either 1/2" or certainly 1/4" works well, keep in mind that poultry wire is only to contain chickens, it isn't intended to keep predators out. The best/easiest way to go is to put the hardware cloth over your existing wire and also either use it as an apron, going out 2' from the exterior wire (and connected to the upright wire) or down 18", slanted away from the perimeter. I use the apron method, lightly covering it with soil. I have used poultry wire for the top of the pen and so far anyway, it has worked well.

 

[aart]

Thank you. I googled "weasel box trap" and realized fairly quickly that the only way to deal with these animals is to kill them. I have the components of the trap. Just have to assemble and set it. Anyone have any idea about how likely it is that I have more than 1 or 2 weasels to be worried about?

I agree keep it set for a couple months.

Meanwhile, read up on weasels in your area, learn about their habits...territory, family size, mating seasons, predators.
That might help you keep them away, but keep the trap set anyway until you can secure the coop against them.

 

[boundtogoboogie]

So, how can I tell what the "active time" is for the little monster? I've seen him at 7 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon, both times dragging a dead mouse with him (or her, I haven't gotten that up close and personal.) Will it help if I have nesting boxes and perches kept up away from the floor to keep the girls at a safer height? They are getting pretty crowded and I really need to get them out of the tackroom. Also, the box trap hasn't caught anything yet, chicken liver and all. And the butcher at the grocery store now thinks I am weird.