What Attacked My Coop??

[Zinjifrah]

Weasel skins can be very nice! Congratulations on the hunt.

 

[Howard E]

Sounds like the OP's operation has attracted an abundance of varmints. Killing them off is a good short term solution, but is short term at best. Long term, they will need to do the "tighten up"!

Tight coops that filter down to the size of a weasel (no openings larger than 1/2") and strong enough to repel coons. Those are physical defenses.

It may be possible to devise an electric fence to repel weasels, but would not be easy. Coons.....yes. Weasels? Maybe not.

Option B on the weasels is to use weasel box traps.

Something like this, but with smaller 3" x 3" body grip traps. Place the box over an opening in hopes they will travel through it to get from Point A to Point B, or else close off the back end and bait the trap with a piece of fresh meat.....the like the leg, thigh or fresh liver off one of your dead birds.



You could also try a weasel box with big old wooden Victor rat trap, or possibly a Victor gopher trap.

 

[Howard E]

BTW, the same type of box trap can also be used with raccoons. Larger box, larger trap. They stick their head in and it kills them. Gotta be careful if there are small dogs and cats around, as these traps don't discriminate. They will kill anything that trips the trigger.

 

[microchick]

About the electric fence, No, no preferences. We are using a couple of old chargers that we picked up at farm sale and direct wired them so we could just plug them into the coops power system. That works for us if the power stays up but if the power goes down in a storm, it can be a problem.

A unit with a good solar back up as a supply source and battery would be the way to go. You will be surprised how much distance it will cover. I think even our old units will cover over 30 miles of wire.

You can find them at any farm supply or buy them on line.

https://express.google.com/product/...pping&utm_medium=product_ads&utm_campaign=gsx

Yes, you will occasionally forget that it is there and touch the hot wire. Does it hurt? Well, it isn't pleasant but it will make you be more careful around it. If you want to really deter animals (carnivores) you can hang a piece of bacon over the strand of hot wire. Any animal that touches the bacon will get shocked and stay away.

Around here where deer are a problem you can do the same thing with aluminum foil and peanut butter.

@sazika, you got yourself a good man!

 

[ellie62706]

AHH! That looks horrifying, RIP victims, could it be a weasel?

 

[annaBsChick]

Have you tried the Predator Identifier tool??
http://www.poultrydvm.com/predator-identifier.php
http://www.poultrydvm.com/predator-identifier.php

 

[IsThatARaincoat]

Well this looks handy. Thank you for sharing!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

When de-raccooning your property a few well placed Dog Proof traps is the way to go. These little honeys will catch coons and the occasional possum without endangering dogs, cats, your neighbors' rug rats or other wildlife.

Of course there are times when you need to endanger other forms of wild life so the DP traps are just a part of the solution along with a Fort Knox coop. A friend of mine who is also on this forum raised over 1,000 cockerels in only one year. His list of pelts taken that year would make Jim Bridger envious.

 

[Cayuga momma]

Chubacabra????

 

[Trish1974]

Just throwing this out there regarding electric fence: make sure you buy a fence tester and check your fence regularly. I'm super paranoid and check mine daily. All it takes is a blade of grass of a fallen stick on your fence to knock your voltage in half or ground it out completely rendering it useless. I don't think I would have a flock if it wasn't for my electric fence.