Young squirrel in the chicken run

[Chickens run]

Today we found a young squirrel (Eastern Gray) in the chicken run. It can get through the welded wire fence that surrounds the pen. It is still pretty small (head, tail and feet are too big for its body yet), and it keeps going back into the pen. One of the chickens pecked it and it ran away, only to come back and hang around with them. It is climbing on the grow out pen that I have in the run with four chicks in it. Will it hurt my birds or should I just leave it alone? Kill it? Trap it and take it away? I think it fell out of the nest but am not sure. It is definitely a baby/young 'un.

 

[hiddenflock]

We sometimes have a squirrel come in and eat our chicken feed. It has never hurt a chicken before, at least in our coops. To us it is mainly a nuisance ( for eating all the feed). But I would be watchful with young poultry.

 

[Triple Willow]

Some say that squirrels will eat eggs. A small one probably isn't yet.

 

[Chickens run]

Not to worry, the cat took care of it that night. The circle of life keeps going.