Tips On catching this Bugger would be helpful!!!!

[njduck]

try multiple traps. believe it or not people buy havahart traps all the time without the proper use of them. trapng animals is a skill set. anyone can catch the dumb ones. to make a good weasel trap. build a rectangular box about 6 inches high a foot long and 5 inches wide. on each end drill a 2 inch hole about an inch down from the top. get 2 rat traps and some liver from the store. set the rat traps so that they have the triggers towards the openings and then put the liver n between the 2 traps. sit the box over top of the traps and liver. mink are much more difficult and depending on your state laws is how you trap them. I will bet you have a mink or weasel along with a raccon. raccoons will kill everything just for sport, but they will do more then just eat the head.

for raccoons in the havahart, get tuna fish in the can and just poke holes in the can and put in the back of the trap. then get a bunch of the little marshmellows. throw some in front of the trap and make a trail right into it. if that doesn't work, go to walmart and get the small training golfballs. they look like mini wiffle balls. pack it full of peanut butter and hang it from the rear of the trap inside. Raccoons like visiual aids, this gets them into the trap and playing with it to get the food and more likely to trigger the trap.

 

[theFox]

Likely the work of a raccoon.

If you think it is a weasel a nice bloody chicken liver and a small mesh trap or the weasel jug that aprophet suggested or google weasel box (preferred bait a mouse urine trail and bloody liver or decomposing mouse) for an alternative trap.

 

[TheChickenCameFirst]

Quote:
Believe it or not, we set two traps in there last night. We set a havaheart with chicken parts, and my husband spent the evening building a weasel box, which we baited with sardines. I will put a can of tuna in the havaheart tonight! If that doesn't work, I'll try the ball. We really want to get this thing, but we have never trapped before. Thanks so much for your advice! I do believe we are dealing with a weasel or a mink... and very possibly a raccoon as well!

 

[bobbi-j]

A weasel may not have been able to manage the bungee cords, but they really don't have to. The can get in through some very small openings. While you're trying to trap the critter, it would be good to thoroughly check over your coop and seal up any openings you find.

 

[TheChickenCameFirst]

Quote:
The bungee cords didn't bother them one bit. They were holding the roof down, and this thing is getting in between the roof and wall. The bungee cords weren't even touched. When I found them all dead, the coop from the outside looked like nothing had gotten in. *Sigh* So this thing is crawling in through a space about 2 MAYBE 3 inches wide. I know it does it, we heard it do it the other night, but it didn't touch the havaheart. That's why we made a weasel box. Here's hoping!

My husband is in the process of coming up with a way to seal it up really well. I certainly don't want to get new chickens and lose them again. We will be taking all the precautions we can!

 

[njduck]

remember a raccoon is like a rat, if it can fit its head it can fit its body. I had a raccon break out of 3 cage traps a night for 2 weeks before I finally caught him. He was about 20lbs and just destroyed the cage traps. he bent the rod frame where the door went down to get out. When I finally got him, he had rubbed all the hair off his head, chin and back from squeezeing out. I have since reinforced all of by box traps with 1/2inch rebar. so if he could fit his head in the gap and the roof was only bungeed down, he just squeezed in and out with out a trace.

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
The bungee cords didn't bother them one bit. They were holding the roof down, and this thing is getting in between the roof and wall. The bungee cords weren't even touched. When I found them all dead, the coop from the outside looked like nothing had gotten in. *Sigh* So this thing is crawling in through a space about 2 MAYBE 3 inches wide. I know it does it, we heard it do it the other night, but it didn't touch the havaheart. That's why we made a weasel box. Here's hoping!

My husband is in the process of coming up with a way to seal it up really well. I certainly don't want to get new chickens and lose them again. We will be taking all the precautions we can!

Definitely enough space for a weasel, and maybe even a mink (not sure on that). The experts can tell you how big a space a weasel needs to get in. If I remember right, I think maybe as small as an inch. Weasels aren't very heavy. Even if it did get in the live trap, it may not weigh enough to set it off. Sounds like the weasel box is a good plan. Keep us posted! I certainly don't blame you for not wanting to get new chickens until you get the critter caught. BUT you also need to find a way to close off the space that the weasel was getting in through, so you don't have any other visitors.

 

[TheChickenCameFirst]

Quote:
The bungee cords didn't bother them one bit. They were holding the roof down, and this thing is getting in between the roof and wall. The bungee cords weren't even touched. When I found them all dead, the coop from the outside looked like nothing had gotten in. *Sigh* So this thing is crawling in through a space about 2 MAYBE 3 inches wide. I know it does it, we heard it do it the other night, but it didn't touch the havaheart. That's why we made a weasel box. Here's hoping!

My husband is in the process of coming up with a way to seal it up really well. I certainly don't want to get new chickens and lose them again. We will be taking all the precautions we can!

Definitely enough space for a weasel, and maybe even a mink (not sure on that). The experts can tell you how big a space a weasel needs to get in. If I remember right, I think maybe as small as an inch. Weasels aren't very heavy. Even if it did get in the live trap, it may not weigh enough to set it off. Sounds like the weasel box is a good plan. Keep us posted! I certainly don't blame you for not wanting to get new chickens until you get the critter caught. BUT you also need to find a way to close off the space that the weasel was getting in through, so you don't have any other visitors.

I will keep you posted! We are going to be making our coop into a TANK so this doesn't happen again. we are hoping to get it tonight, we'll see. everything is baited and waiting. I'm hoping our medium havaheart is big enough to catch it IF it is a raccoon. I'm pretty sure it's something smaller though. Weasel or mink is what we are counting on. we are also going to be getting a trail camera to know for sure. It should arrive in the mail tomorrow.