What am I dealing with??

[chick4smiles]

I had no idea these animals existed! They look like ferrets!!! Sorry this is happening to you. We were having a stray cat kill a few of our chickens and it was so sad and frustrating. We finally caught it and built a really secure run for them during the day time.

Yeah...I used to think our run was secure, but I can't find the point of entry...so we're sealing the chickens in their coop at night now. We probably should have been doing that anyway, but sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. I luckily only lost one. I hope lomoka (who started this thread) isn't losing anymore chickens now that they've caught the predator. Sorry to hear about your loses to a stray cat...my cats are afraid of the chickens!

I used to run across an occasional mink in my conibear traps when I trapped muskrats as a teenager in CNY 30 years ago. One mink could wipe out a muskrat den overnight. I also saw several of those white weasels on my travels through the woods. Did the live trapped one in the photo have a black tipped tail?

Yep...the tail had a black tip. I've only ever seen them in the winter when they're white...they certainly don't smell very good.

And

 

[Keric]

Glad you caught it!

We had a mink a couple years ago killing chickens. We caught him in a "Hav-A-Heart" trap and relocated him. Even though he killed quite a few chickens, he was so darn cute! We haven't had a problem since.
We also caught a racoon in the trap a different time.

The mink had decapitated the chickens. The racoon had killed like 10 and dragged all of them to the ends of the fence, as if trying to pull them through. So I think a racoon would take them if he could...

Predators do suck, but they are wicked cute when you see them up close!

 

[lamoka]

I used a hav-a-hart live trap. For bait I used a raw chicken leg that I hung from the top of trap with zip ties behind the trigger. I set it along the run where I thought he was traveling and two nights later I caught him. Mink tend to travel the same route so if you can determine where they are traveling you stand a better chance of catching them.

 

[Mattemma]

Cute little killers!

 

[Greyfox Farm]

In winter the weasel's fur turns white, and it'll have a characteristic black tip on it's tail. This winter color scheme makes it know as an ermine. Think of the fur collar around the neck of a medieval King; who knew this his fabulous "ermine" collar was just winter-weasel!

For my 2 cent, I trap these using a weasel box. Check out You-tube for a quick tutorial. They are very easy to make, and if you use a standard rat "snap"-trap you can use things that are readily available without going to a trappers supply store. I use a #1 long-spring in my boxes, but it's just that I happen to have them in inventory. Actually, I just made another one and set it out yesterday.