Weasel Saga Continues...

[beccabonny]

Caught a baby ermine in the live trap today and mama was right there trying to get it out. She followed us around the yard.

It's legal in NYS to take weasels damaging property (i.e. the 10 quail they murdered a few days ago).

I'm wondering if it would be logical to use baby as bait since mama is too smart to fall for that.

We've had a good run, but as soon as she had a litter and started teaching them to hunt with *my* birds, things have to change. The quail were arguably my fault, since they weren't properly protected (they had been earmarked for culling), but their presence is freaking the chickens out and making them into nervous wrecks.

Chickens and the rest of the quail are as secure as I can make them behind 1/2" hardware cloth. I covered the inside of the coop after the last attack and check it weekly, if not daily, because I know they are checking for weaknesses too. I like the rodent control they provide (though we have the food secured in a locked truck box, so they've resorted to eating gas lines etc). They also feed the hawks (also after my birds).

I know they can't get along and it's one or the other, but it's a bummer.

My plan is to take baby out closer to dusk, fully enclosed in the hartz trap, which is inside of a pet carrier, and set it near the barn along the path they take. I'll douse myself in deet and settle in with my pellet gun and wait for mama. The rest of the babies should be simple to trap after that since they were still blind like baby bunnies four days ago.

I'm not experienced with pest control, we mainly try to prevent things. Is this a decent plan?

 

[Lor]

I hope it works out for.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

I'd happily kill any weasels I see, as they will kill and kill and kill and kill until they have murderified everything just to leave without a trace. I hope you catch it. I'm trying to cat and dispatch a cat the killed my favorite hen Fluffbum and killed every last polish chick oftom my neighbors coop and like half their flock, just before moving onto my flock and I will not allow it. Hope you catch her

 

[Theorrin]

Caught a baby ermine in the live trap today and mama was right there trying to get it out. She followed us around the yard.

It's legal in NYS to take weasels damaging property (i.e. the 10 quail they murdered a few days ago).

I'm wondering if it would be logical to use baby as bait since mama is too smart to fall for that.

We've had a good run, but as soon as she had a litter and started teaching them to hunt with *my* birds, things have to change. The quail were arguably my fault, since they weren't properly protected (they had been earmarked for culling), but their presence is freaking the chickens out and making them into nervous wrecks.

Chickens and the rest of the quail are as secure as I can make them behind 1/2" hardware cloth. I covered the inside of the coop after the last attack and check it weekly, if not daily, because I know they are checking for weaknesses too. I like the rodent control they provide (though we have the food secured in a locked truck box, so they've resorted to eating gas lines etc). They also feed the hawks (also after my birds).

I know they can't get along and it's one or the other, but it's a bummer.

My plan is to take baby out closer to dusk, fully enclosed in the hartz trap, which is inside of a pet carrier, and set it near the barn along the path they take. I'll douse myself in deet and settle in with my pellet gun and wait for mama. The rest of the babies should be simple to trap after that since they were still blind like baby bunnies four days ago.

I'm not experienced with pest control, we mainly try to prevent things. Is this a decent plan?

sounds like a great one

 

[beccabonny]

I'd happily kill any weasels I see, as they will kill and kill and kill and kill until they have murderified everything just to leave without a trace. I hope you catch it. I'm trying to cat and dispatch a cat the killed my favorite hen Fluffbum and killed every last polish chick oftom my neighbors coop and like half their flock, just before moving onto my flock and I will not allow it. Hope you catch her

Sorry to hear about the cat! We have one who is way too interested, but I think he's an indoor cat who escapes irregularly. The hardware cloth covering every opening larger than a quarter seems effective, but they can still hear, smell, and see those little killers. And boy, do they let us know. Definitely can't take the screaming much longer.

I remembered I got a rat trap to build one of those weasel box traps, so maybe I'll employ that somehow, on top of the air rifle. My aim with cans is great, but I haven't practiced on a moving target.

 

[aart]

I remembered I got a rat trap to build one of those weasel box traps, so maybe I'll employ that somehow

Definitely!
Have you used it before?

 

[Gigachad poultry]

Sorry to hear about the cat! We have one who is way too interested, but I think he's an indoor cat who escapes irregularly. The hardware cloth covering every opening larger than a quarter seems effective, but they can still hear, smell, and see those little killers. And boy, do they let us know. Definitely can't take the screaming much longer.

I remembered I got a rat trap to build one of those weasel box traps, so maybe I'll employ that somehow, on top of the air rifle. My aim with cans is great, but I haven't practiced on a moving target.

Can you possibly use the baby as bait by making another lockable cage for the baby so the mom will go in the trap with little to no thought.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

Like this (also sorry for my bad art)

 

[Debbie292d]

Caught a baby ermine in the live trap today and mama was right there trying to get it out. She followed us around the yard.

It's legal in NYS to take weasels damaging property (i.e. the 10 quail they murdered a few days ago).

I'm wondering if it would be logical to use baby as bait since mama is too smart to fall for that.

We've had a good run, but as soon as she had a litter and started teaching them to hunt with *my* birds, things have to change. The quail were arguably my fault, since they weren't properly protected (they had been earmarked for culling), but their presence is freaking the chickens out and making them into nervous wrecks.

Chickens and the rest of the quail are as secure as I can make them behind 1/2" hardware cloth. I covered the inside of the coop after the last attack and check it weekly, if not daily, because I know they are checking for weaknesses too. I like the rodent control they provide (though we have the food secured in a locked truck box, so they've resorted to eating gas lines etc). They also feed the hawks (also after my birds).

I know they can't get along and it's one or the other, but it's a bummer.

My plan is to take baby out closer to dusk, fully enclosed in the hartz trap, which is inside of a pet carrier, and set it near the barn along the path they take. I'll douse myself in deet and settle in with my pellet gun and wait for mama. The rest of the babies should be simple to trap after that since they were still blind like baby bunnies four days ago.

I'm not experienced with pest control, we mainly try to prevent things. Is this a decent plan?

We live next to a forest and our chickens free range during the day pretty safely thanks to a border collie and a corgi who keep the riff-raff away. We're all about prevention, too so nothing can get them in the coop. There is no way we could trap, hunt, kill, everything in the woods that comes up in our yard at night or sit in the farmer's fields beside us and watch the coop, but if these dogs, all the solar motion lights and wind spinners can't keep a varment from doing harm around here, they're dealt with. I don't know about weasels as we have those but so far not dealt with them, but your plan sure sounds good to me!