Trapping Chicken Killers

[JJSS89]

Thank you
I will do that

No worries, keep us posted on how it goes.

As springtime approaches, everybody...keep in mind that soon there will be new litters of coyote pups, fox kits, baby raccoons, bobcat kittens etc. that mom and dad will be teaching to hunt. Your chickens are prime targets. Predators are kind of laying low right now as they breed and gestate but soon they will be out in full force again with an increased population.

 

[Torch404]

You should have just covered yourself with the tarp (like a ghost) until you were close enough to get it over the trap.

Sounds dumb but I had to do it once when I picked up 2 baby skunks who's mother was road kill, covered myself until I was close enough to throw it over them, it worked, but I had to throw away a perfectly good blanket.

I tried that but my tarp had too many holes.

For bait that is more interesting than the chicken I use bacon! yummy bacon!

 

[JJSS89]

Bacon is for me.

Bacon is good but when you're talking about a weasel or mink or some others...nothing replaces fresh blood. They crave it and you can't distract them at all. For those ones, you have to give them a way into the coop like a fake dirthole/tunnel or an entrance through wire that IS the trap.

 

[19disbre]

What do you recommend as live rabbit trap and what bait is better

I hope you don't mind me adding my input I am also an ADC & Fur Trapper. when trapping bait is honestly the last thing I worry about, but thats for more intelligent critters. Rabbits are easy enough to catch. I have found that rabbits respond best to 1. Other Rabbit urine or scat (the smell is all your looking for) domestic rabbit also works 2. Vanilla 3. Apples 4. believe it or not some rabbits will be tricky to catch like if they have something like a garden to eat out of instead that is when I break out the snares. If you want I can put on here how to make them out of 20 gauge wire. those in trails are deadly, and extremely humane. Honestly rabbits are such a powerful yet fragile animal the the snares kill the animal in 30 seconds or less. if they are caught around the leg all they have to do is bend the wire back and forth a time or two and with this light wire off they go

 

[JJSS89]

I hope you don't mind me adding my input I am also an ADC & Fur Trapper. when trapping bait is honestly the last thing I worry about, but thats for more intelligent critters. Rabbits are easy enough to catch. I have found that rabbits respond best to 1. Other Rabbit urine or scat (the smell is all your looking for) domestic rabbit also works 2. Vanilla 3. Apples 4. believe it or not some rabbits will be tricky to catch like if they have something like a garden to eat out of instead that is when I break out the snares. If you want I can put on here how to make them out of 20 gauge wire. those in trails are deadly, and extremely humane. Honestly rabbits are such a powerful yet fragile animal the the snares kill the animal in 30 seconds or less. if they are caught around the leg all they have to do is bend the wire back and forth a time or two and with this light wire off they go

Great point there. If one is willing/able to use snares for rabbits then go for that!

 

[slingshotandLAR]

You can catch just about anything in a cage trap....

 

[JJSS89]

Fishers are easy to cage trap. What'd you do with that one?

Cage Trapping:
Pros: easy to understand, not "scary", can usually release non-target animals
Cons: EXPENSIVE, tough to hide from do-gooders, not coyote effective

 

[Danieldude888]

What do you think would work for cage trapping fox. Specifically red fox.

 

[JJSS89]

Something in the medium sized range, 12" high and 36" long is a good place to start. Red Fox can be trapped with cage traps, not as easily as Grey Fox... it's still doable.

Describe your situation and what the fox is doing and that will help with advice. In general there are a lot of prepared baits made for trapping bobcats, foxes, coyotes etc. Feathers work great for getting a fox's attention.

 

[Danieldude888]

Something in the medium sized range, 12" high and 36" long is a good place to start.  Red Fox can be trapped with cage traps, not as easily as Grey Fox... it's still doable.

Describe your situation and what the fox is doing and that will help with advice.  In general there are a lot of prepared baits made for trapping bobcats, foxes, coyotes etc.  Feathers work great for getting a fox's attention.

Thanks for the advice. The fox has been slipping into my chicken coop as well as my duck coop in early morning. I have actually seen him once in action. He jumped in there, nabbed a chicken, and ran back into the woods.