War has been Declared (Graphic Pictures)

[KingD]

were they ferrets that were released, or do they exist in the wild where you are?
ok, just looked up where the long white cloud exists,,, New Zealand!

They were released.

 

[Laura_BelgianBantams_63]

Ferrets

 

[JaeG]

were they ferrets that were released, or do they exist in the wild where you are?
ok, just looked up where the long white cloud exists,,, New Zealand!

Ferrets were released in New Zealand on the logic that, being the natural predator of rabbits they would wipe out the plague of rabbits we had here after they were introduced for the fur trade (another awesome idea ) . Being the natural prey of ferrets (among other things) rabbits rate of reproduction is such that there will always be more rabbits than predators. So it didn't work, and our native animals that evolved with no mammalian predators have suffered dearly ever since and many have become extinct. A dead ferret here is a very good thing, and 2 dead ferrets even better.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

the owner is responsible for this

I know the owner is responsible for destroying predators. Plus that question was answered a long time ago.

 

[birdlady11]

I'm not sure where you live but what you have in your traps looks exactly like domesticated ferrets, the smaller probably female, the larger probably male. They belong to the weasel family but have been bred as pets for many, many years. They are quite common in pet stores, at least in the U.S but are not native wildlife of America. As with many pets that people no longer want (rabbits and ferrets being the most common), unscrupulous and uncaring owners oftentimes dump them into the wild thinking they be "just fine." Almost of them die in the wild in a very short period of time but unfortunately for you it seems this pair have learned how to provide for themselves by taking advantage of your chickens.

Ferrets can become excellent hunters and are accomplished diggers. Your best defense against them would be to cover the floor of your coop with 1/2 inch hardware cloth. They can't dig into the coop and with hardware cloth they can't pull chicken body parts through (heads, legs, or wings, or squeeze through themselves through like they can with chicken wire. A very determined ferret can also eventually bite or claw through chicken wire that has started to become weak with rust as it inevitably does when placed on the ground. Use 1/2 inch hardware cloth under your coop and those ferrets (or weasels, if you live in weasel territory) won't be able to reach your chickens.

With any luck, someone dumped off just a pair and you were able to get them both but I'd keep that trap out there just in case there are more ferrets on the loose looking for chicken dinner. Good luck!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Op lives in New Zealand where ferrets are an invasive species. They weren't just pets that were dumped.

 

[chickentrains]

Still ferret free over there?

 

[Chookwagn]

Still ferret free over there?

Yep so far so good

 

[theycallmechickmagnet]

i thought ferrets were just pets, i didn't know they run wild. omg!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

i thought ferrets were just pets, i didn't know they run wild. omg!

Theyre pets in the US. OP isnt in the US