One of my hens has come to a very sad end

stujem · « **on:** July 10, 2011, 18:31 »

Today I let my girls out 7 in total, as I do every day, but when I got home just 3 hours later today, one was missing it was one of my first which I had a year this month. I found feather's in 2 places and found my little girl over the other side of the fence half eaten by the looks of her. Sorry I feel so sick typeing this with tears in my eyes. I live in South Wales, does anybody know if a fox would just take one hen and leave her on the other side of the fence, or could it have been something else like a cat or something?

joyfull · « **Reply #1 on:** July 10, 2011, 18:45 »

yes a fox could do that as could mink (the mink that got mine ate the backs of their necks and left some in the garden and others in a store area in the field next to us).
Sorry for your loss but please be careful as it will be back

stujem · « **Reply #2 on:** July 10, 2011, 19:24 »

Thank you Joyfull, I have locked them up in there run's now.

stujem · « **Reply #3 on:** July 10, 2011, 20:42 »

I just looked up on line about a mink, it is very small, so can they take a chicken over a 4 foot fence?
I have now locked my 2 older chickens (just over a year old now) with the newer ones (had them in April) into a run which is build like a prision, I have put them together because the run and coop the older ones lived in I think a small animal like a mink could dig under the tin sheets which I have going around the frame. The older ones are not very happy in the new run at all and they are wanting to get out to get into there old home. I don't know what to do now, the older ones keep picking on 2 of the new ones, one is all black and the other is a white one. They have all had time in the garden together for over 2 weeks now. They seem to get on very well with one of the new brown ones, but the other new brown one like to think it's the boss. Should I just leave them in the safe run with the build in coop house or put them back into there old home.

joyfull · « **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2011, 21:22 »

I can assure you mink aren't that small and can easily drag a chicken. They are extrememly powerful killing machines that have no preditors in the wild in this country.

stujem · « **Reply #5 on:** July 10, 2011, 21:42 »

o.k this sound's bad, do you know if there is such a thing as a mink catcher? as I cannot have these things going around

joyfull · « **Reply #6 on:** July 10, 2011, 21:47 »

you can buy traps but when caught you must kill them as it illegal to release them in the wild again.
mink trap:-

http://www.trapman.co.uk/live-catch-humane-mink-trap.htm

or you can use a fenn trap:-

http://www.thehuntinglife.com/html/sections/articles/ferreting_trapping/fenn-trap.html

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One of my hens has come to a very sad end

stujem

One of my hens has come to a very sad end

joyfull

Re: One of my hens has come to a very sad end

stujem

Re: One of my hens has come to a very sad end

stujem

Re: One of my hens has come to a very sad end

joyfull

Re: One of my hens has come to a very sad end

stujem

Re: One of my hens has come to a very sad end

joyfull

Re: One of my hens has come to a very sad end

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