[down the lane]

I was down the lane yesterday at the veg plot where I'm building a new chicken run. I left for an hour or so for my lunch and when I got back I found a decapitated young rabbit on one of my empty veg beds. You could see where it had been digging before the attack, the head was gone, the intestines were all removed and beside the remainder of the body there was a mound of soil that had the stomach buried in it. Has anyone got any idea what might have done this as my chickens are going in next week

Adrian

[joyfull]

mink, stoat, weasel or fox??
Ideally you ought to bury weldmesh in the ground to prevent any of them digging their way in and also cover the roof with weld mesh or plastic sheeting.

[down the lane]

Thanks joyfull, would you believe I hope its mr Foxy as the only weldmesh I could get has 2" squares and I would say the others could get right through that. I have it buried at the bottom and will now cover the top for sure.

[joyfull]

if necessary get some finer holed mesh and attach it to the other weldmesh

[mrscucumber]

definately mink.one of my friends lost all her chickens same m.o.
if you can find a good bloke with a trap,or better still a rifle.the blooming things will keep coming back until everything is dead.
i would hold fire on the hens.

[down the lane]

  Oh no. Thank God I didn't get the chickens. Right i'll try and get some traps sorted and do a search on there behavior. I found a rabbit with its spine bitten through last year but put it down to a cat. Are thier people that hunt these things like ferritors or is it down to setting traps!!

Adrian

[mrscucumber]

where you are,do you have a stream or dry stream bed running near by?is there a pond or larger source of water perhaps.
mink like to use a run,the same as rats,if you can find and set a trap on this run you should be onto a winner.
and yes there are people out there who do this for a living,ring your local council they should have a recommended one or two.

[down the lane]

Thanks mrscucumber, the plot is beside an old cottage, there is a drain beside it but its dry at the moment. there is however a stream about 200yards  away at the bottom of the field. The only tracks i can see are, what I thought were rabbit runs. Its funny I always wondered why there was never a sign of Rats in the old building. There is cattle meal in there that has never been touched.

Adrian

[PaulineM]

Hi Adrian
I was reading your thread and then noticed you were in NI, I thought to myself 'do we have mink'. Having googled 'wild mink northern ireland' I found we most certainly do!! Especially where you live it seems. If you google what I did there is a number to ring to report sightings etc.
Thats another thing now for me to worry about  

[down the lane]

Yes Pauline, looks like where I am has Mink and probably most of NI. I've been reading up on both Mink and Stoats and to be honest I could have either down at the plot. This time of year is when they are rearing thier young hence hunting during the day. There may be up to eight young so my chickens wouldn't stand a chance if they were introduced. I'm going tomorrow to get traps and hopefully will catch the culprit.

Thanks
Adrian

[outercircle]

It sounds like a mink to me - my mum used to have real problems with them when she lived on Arran thanks to a careless fur farmer. I now live in south Birmingham and have seen mink on the river close to where I live just a few miles from the city centre, so nowhere is safe.

[basildog]

Oh dear, sounds like a mink - I lost three Pekin bantams in this way.  Unfotunately mink will keep returning.  Best solution is to trap them.

[stevefitz5]

Before catching be sure you are happy to dispatch of it or have someone who can do it for you as I think it's illegal to release it anywhere else again as they are not native animals. But if you are happy to kill happy hunting

[down the lane]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I've ordered the Live Traps and should have them tomorrow. Will set in the evening and hope to catch it/them. The traps are expensive but should last and I will probably have to continue using them as no doubt the vermin will re-appear at some stage. My mate has an air riffle and loves the chance to get using it. We have to have a Firearm Cert in NI to be able to own an air Rifle otherwise I would do it Myself 

I'll keep you all informed if I have any joy.

Adrian