[roxynisa]

  Some of my chickens are being killed, at first i thought it was rats..... but since my orpington male got murdered im thinking its something else.
Is it or possibly a polecat or stoat or mink i just dont know. What ever it is has made a hole the size a rat would, and has eaten the chickens so all that is left is the bones. . i block up the holes and whatever it is finds another way. Im going to line all my coops with aviary wire so to stop it from entering the bottom and sides. It has attempted to get youngsters in the day too. PLEASE HELP Thanks

[Ice]

I very much doubt it was rats.  Welmesh can stop even a determined fox, so that's the route to take.  Cover the top. bottom and sides with it.  Use one with small holes as polecats, stoats and mink can get through the tiniest hole.

[roxynisa]

  hi, will get straight on it tomorrow, any tips on catching the *?

[Ice]

hi, will get straight on it tomorrow, any tips on catching the *?

None that wouldn't provoke outrage.

[roxynisa]

to catch stoats, weasels and mink you can use a fenn trap in a wooden tunnel, this will kill the animal instantly and i have killed several stoats and mink this way, you could also get a live catch trap for mink, and bait it with fish or something, then shoot the mink with an airgun in the trap. do you live near a water source?

well i live near open marsh/woodlands, which has a little steam, but the stream is about 1500 metres away........ so what do you think it might be? the last coupe it attacked is about ft and a half off the floor so it must be tall. 

[Fisherman]

Its probably a mink or possibly a family of polecats. Mink live in the wild around where I live and they are vicious, crafty animals. They were released from a mink farm 20 years ago by an animals rights group. If they only knew what damage they have done to the wildlife since!

[roxynisa]

Its probably a mink or possibly a family of polecats. Mink live in the wild around where I live and they are vicious, crafty animals. They were released from a mink farm 20 years ago by an animals rights group. If they only knew what damage they have done to the wildlife since!

yes my friend was telling me about that only yesturday, they were released in ringwood near me to. of course they were doing the mink a favour but like you say there causing mayhem for wildlife and pets. well ill have to put out a trap and see what i get.

[pelirocco]

I used to live near you , one year our cat brought home a live mink , I can still see it dangling from my brothers finger when he tried to save it from the cat lol

[roxynisa]

I used to live near you , one year our cat brought home a live mink , I can still see it dangling from my brothers finger when he tried to save it from the cat lol

lol oh my, ive been told they like cat food in gravy so im going to put a catch trap out tonight fingers crossed i catch it.

[peter rooster]

For rats stoats  I would use a (size) number 4 fenn trap think I would move up to a larger one for mink. They are best used in a tunnel with restricted entery size to stop cats etc getting caught. Only use a trap if you are confident in its placement and setting . If you want I will find more infomation on setting of traps etc

Peter Rooster