Mink attack?

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Bev

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Mink attack?
« on: March 06, 2012, 20:14 »
Hi,

My next door neighbour lost 8 of her 11 chickens last night  :(. We of course immediatly suspected fox attack. However having spoken to a few country types we are beginning to wonder if it is a mink attack.

The 8 chicken bodies were strewn every where but each one had its head cleanly removed at the breast bone and the heads were gone. None of the chickens bodies had been attacked. There are 3 chickens left which were the quicker, more athletic bantam ones. One country gent I know did say there are lots of foxes and mink about this year!

I had had suspicions that my chickens had been frightened a few nights before as they have taken to roosting on a bench next to the house rather than their hen house. The first night I went to find them missing there were a few feathers in the hen house and I wondered if they had had a close shave?

Assuming it is mink does any one know how to defend against them? Are my chickens actually better free ranging to give them a chance to get away or shut in their run? It is a fairly safe run, I dug the wire in 30cm down all around and it is wired over the top. I know there is a slight weak point under the door where I did not dig wire in.

I have been careful to shut hen house up immediately when chickens gone to bed. I did leave them shut in their run today except when I was there and I let the dogs out with them!

Hope you can advise or enlighten me to Mink behaviour,

Thanks in advance,

Bev

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darren64

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2012, 21:26 »
mink are not native to this country,so if you trap them,you are forbidden by law to release them,in my view all mink should be hunted,trapped and killed,as they have decimated the water vole populations.

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Tony H

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2012, 06:01 »
Also if you did relese them you would only be passing the problem on to someone els, mink were loosed out of farms by some so called end cruelty  :tongue2: the problem now is they are breeding in large numbers and have no natural prediters in our countryside, they also kill shrews, doormice, stotes and weesels, they are a nice animal but should never have been relised in this countery  >:(
Chicken crazy

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Thrift

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2012, 07:07 »
That sounds like a fox attack I think.

We have had mink and stoat attacks where they have damaged the back of the neck, not killed outright in all cases. I think they suck the blood.

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Mickle

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2012, 07:16 »
Hello Bev
From what you've described it sounds like a typical Fox strike, check the bodies of the dead hens you will probably find puncture marks across the small of the back,
Question?
Did the chickens get scared 2 nights previous to the attack??
 
Mink are easy enough to control with a tunnel trap or two.

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kegs

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2012, 09:43 »
Bev, you could pm Joyfull as she has suffered from mink attacks.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=84007.0

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Bev

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2012, 10:40 »
Thanks everybody, at least if it is a fox I know what I am dealing with. My chickens were scared 3 nights before next doors were killed. If I don't go and shut them in the run they are still trying to roost on bench next to house.

I will continue to keep them in then unless I am there to watch. At the weekend I am going to dig that last bit of wire in and then I am certain we are fox proof!

Not sure what my neighbour has done with the bodies, I wouldn't put it past her to bury them all! Will ask about puncture marks.

Thanks again,

Bev

p.s I am very aware of the problems with Mink having worked for the wildlife trust for a while. I did wonder if I did trap one how would I dispatch it humanely?

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Spana

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2012, 11:20 »
I've had mink attacks on my ducks. Last autumn mink called my last 14 ducks, all living semi-wild  and about 70 on the next lake along the valley.

From looking at how mink killed  here i'm another who thinks you've have had a fox attack.

My ducks were big ducks and non fliers.  On this last attack a mink killed a Canada goose who couldn't fly on the  first night.  Then it proceeded to kill one a night until all 14 were dead.  They all appeared to have been killed in the water or carried into the water after the kill.  Some were attacked on one night and weakened and then killed the following night. They had damage to their legs and undercarriage which shows , i think, that they were attacked in the water.
I still have traps set and would have no qualms in shooting one.


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Mickle

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2012, 13:05 »
Spana hit the nail on the head when he explained Mink will come every night as will a Cat, from all my dealings with Foxes they always miss a Night or two but always seem to set up a routine, i.e Monday night is Chicken night at No 9 ,Tuesday/Wednesday night is well away, Wednesday/Thursday night is once again Chicken night at No 9 and so on until there are no more chickens at No 9.
Most I have dealt with came alternate nights and used the same Modus Operandi which makes them easier to deal with.
Most times you will smell them before you get a visit as they tend to try to keep others away from a possible food source.

Mink follow water courses using them like highways and predate on anything edible on hand but usually never far from water, they set up residence on a pond/Lake until shortage of food drives them on.
From what Iv'e seen members of the Mustelidae family tend to kill and eat starting at the front base of the neck entering into the chest cavity for the good bits.

Foxes on the other hand will take head and neck if there are a few birds to go at and maybe one bird for later,  If they feel like they have time burying others, they usually leave the Wing bones still attached after eating everything else of the bird.

Cats tame or Feral will also come to a food source every night, in their case at different times and from different directions and by this are the most difficult to control.

Hope this is of some help in working out who to blame

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bood77

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2012, 09:48 »
Hey what is a mink?
and can you get them everywhere in the world?

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ANHBUC

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Re: Mink attack?
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2012, 10:05 »
Hey what is a mink?
and can you get them everywhere in the world?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink

 ;)
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens!
Bagpuss RIP 1992 - June 2012, 1 huge grass carp (RIP "Jaws" July 2001 - December 2011), 4 golden orfe, 1 goldfish and 1 fantail fish (also huge)! plus 4 Italian quail, 1 Japanese quail, 1 Rosetta quail.



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