Well, I guess my chicken coop made the list of good places to eat.

[hedgehog]

I found one of my Lakenvelders missing its head in the corner of the coop. It hadn't been dead very long when I found it, the body wasn't stiff yet. I figure it's a weasel. Since it stopped there, I'm hoping it is satisfied.

[virgogal]

1. Poor little chicken------and I hope the perp doesn't try to weasel out of the

charges.

[hedgehog]

3. I don't mind losing one or two birds here or there. I have plenty of eggs,

and I count it as my donation to wildlife. I'm just hoping he or she doesn't come back and clean out the coop some night. My worst fear is that I lose all my hens too late in the season to order a new batch of peeps. With the sudden popularity of backyard chickens, the hatchery I've used for 20 years ran out early last year.

[DesertFlower]

2. we have coyotes here. nt

[hedgehog]

4. We have coyates, too, but so far they haven't bothered any of my critters.

I've seen them walking through on the far side of the yard. My guess is that there is enough for them to eat in the woods out back that they don't want to mess with the people. Our dogs are penned, but I don't know if the coyotes know that. From time to time I walk the dogs around the yard so they'll mark their territory.

[virgogal]

5. Coyotes are here too----even in the Boston area. I never thought

I would see the day but they've been around for quite a few years now.

[tularetom]

12. One year we lost three lambs to coyotes

Never lost a chicken however.

[handmade34]

6. so sorry...

it is so very sad to lose a charge to a predator.

If it is a weasel, he will be back if he can get in. I lost 30 young hens in one night by a mink. A worker accidently left a crack in my chicken house door and in the morning I found all pullets dead by a bite to the neck. I imagine the mink was planning on eating one each night until they were gone. I have lost many animals over the years, but when something as senseless as that happens...

[hedgehog]

7. Well, from the mink's POV it made sense....

[handmade34]

9. yup

I understand and respect the cycle... I was just so frustrated that the henhouse door was left cracked open enough to let anyone in...

[hedgehog]

14. It's an old chicken house with so many small gaps I wouldn't

know where to start trying to seal it. Right now I'm just crossing my fingers the weasel finds easier prey elsewhere. I may have walked in on him and scared him off. I didn't see him, but the hen hadn't been dead very long.

[Ernesto]

17. They will be back!

I protect my girls with a "have a heart" brand trap.
I've trapped MANY raccoons & possums (and feral cats) over the years.
They basically "go for a ride" to be released else where.

[hedgehog]

8. My hens roost high, so I'm hoping that this was an opportunistic encounter.

[Oregone]

10. Capital punishment for offending animals will deter future offenses

Thats what the Republicans told me

[handmade34]

11. catching a weasel

is easier said than done.

I once set a trap when something was getting my animals... and found the neighbors cat in it.

[Oregone]

13. Ive never tried

I used to catch racoons in those rectangle metal live traps (not sure which one is smarter). Maybe they would work for you? You can pick them up for under 30 dollars at a feed/pet store.

Then you just release em somewhere far away

[handmade34]

16. I am not the one who posted and

I no longer have animals, but I have trapped hundreds of animals in my day. ...and weasels(mink) are easiest if you set the trap near water's edge. I was working (maintenance at an auto body shop) near downtown Pawtucket Rhode Island a few summers ago and the owner was having trouble with skunks... in just a couple of weeks, I caught 20 stray cats, 3 porcupines and 2 skunks. Raccoons ar probably the easiest to trap. The people at my small farm in Michigan have been given the task of trapping all the squirrels (not easy) getting into my buildings...

[Ernesto]

18. Eh, what happens when you trap a skunk?

In 20+ years, I've never bagged a skunk. The thought scares me !

[hedgehog]

19. The problem isn't trapping the skunk - the problem is

opening the trap to let him out without letting him get his tail up!

[handmade34]

20. funny you ask

if you catch a skunk in a live trap - most likely you already have a cover (towel or such) over it. ...the skunk will not spray when it is covered. I gently pick up the trap by the handle and put it in the back of a pickup and drive it too its destination... gently put the trap on the ground and try to open the end without too much rattling and skeedaddle until the skunk leaves and is out of sight. I have never been sprayed

[here_is_to_hope]

21. That's true about skunks, we had

six living in a basement when we moved into this house. The last one I trapped though, got a ride in my van, big mistake! The cage rolled and he let go!
My eyes burned like someone had stuff freshly cut onions into them...I went surfing afterwords and no one would come near me.
It took a week to air out the van, never again!
Ours, when trapped and covered, never let out a peep.

[Cirque du So-What]

15. Varmint Cong

A weasel will not cease plundering your coop until every last chicken is gone. They can burrow into the enclosure, so beefing-up your fencing (assuming that's where it gained entry) would be a temporary solution at best. Your best course of action would be to trap the varmint, using raw chicken for bait. It's up to you whether to use a 'have-a-heart' type trap; your local Humane Society may have one they would lend you. Your local extension agent may have other ideas; I've been out of the chicken bidness for awhile, so new technologies may have been developed in the meantime.

[newfie11]

22. Don't count on it not happening again

When we lived in VA we had the same problem. I sat outside with my 22 for hours waiting to catch the little bugger and the minute I went into the house to get a cup of coffee he got the last hen.

[hedgehog]

23. Hmmmmm.... I think the weasel was framed.

Tonight I went out to close the chickens and they were all up on their roost except for one very agitated rooster. I was talking to the birds and looking around for eggs when I looked down and sitting on top of the nesting box was a possum.

He was just sitting there waiting for me to leave, so I left and my husband who was wearing his steel toe boots went in with a couple of snow balls and encouraged the possum to leave.

Does anyone know if possums can jump?

[bvar22]

25. The possum will be back.

I don't know if they can jump, but they can climb anything.
Possums in the coop are one of the biggest problems we have had, especially in Late Winter/Early Spring.
They will sneak in just before sunset and wait.
(BTW, is IS our Rooster who will tell us if we are paying attention.)

We used to Live Trap & Relocate them.
Now we just shoot them.
I know that sounds cruel and heartless, but there are just too many of them.
When we first moved here (The Woods) in 2006, our attitude was "Live and Let Live", "Live in Harmony with Nature", They were here first, we're the intruders..."
Our philosophy has evolved.
Now, we protect our pets, stock, and gardens.
Sometimes, that involved removing threats..permanently.
We take no joy in this, but it is a fact of rural life.

Large Rat Snakes (Black Snakes) in the coop have also been a problem, though they only eat the eggs.
I don't think they can hurt the chickens.
Those, we continue to catch and re-locate.
Poisonous snakes (Copperheads mostly) in our yard, garden, or outbuildings are killed.

We have many hawks in our area.
They don't seem interested in full grown chickens.
Our birds Free Range daily, and we have never lost one to a Hawk.

We started keeping Chickens in 2007, and have come to love our birds.
They are much smarter and more social than we had anticipated.
They are a part of our daily entertainment.

There are a couple of good threads on Chickens in this forum:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x1918

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x1729

[hedgehog]

26. I was really wondering if the possum could jump on

me! I don't mind chasing one out of the coop with a broom if I won't get bitten in the process.

I'm going to be very scrupulous from now on about getting all the eggs out of the coop several times a day. The winter here seems to be breaking early, so the possum may decide to do his hunting elsewhere.

[TreeHuggingLiberal]

28. Opossums...

I had to trap opossums and raccoons for a research project a few years back, and the opossums were relatively timid (at least in comparison to the raccoons). They'd hiss and act extremely agitated, but I never had any real issues. Trapping opossums is relatively easy with a Havahart or Tomahawk live trap with a little wet cat food.

[hedgehog]

24. .So, some kind of hawk was sitting in the lilac waiting for the chickens

to come out today. I just caught a glimpse of it - I;ll have to check out some video of flight patterns to figure out what I saw.

[jwirr]

27. High roosts and keeping a light on is a help with a weasel.