# Mink Trouble



## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

If this is in the wrong spot please feel free to move to the right forum.

I am wondering if anyone can help me in trapping mink? We are having issues with Mink getting in our bird pens and killing everything. Chickens and ducks. I know nature is nature but it sure would be nice to keep chickens around longer than a year! 

Thanks!


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## Fabner1 (Jan 24, 2009)

Pheonix said:


> If this is in the wrong spot please feel free to move to the right forum.
> 
> I am wondering if anyone can help me in trapping mink? We are having issues with Mink getting in our bird pens and killing everything. Chickens and ducks. I know nature is nature but it sure would be nice to keep chickens around longer than a year!
> 
> Thanks!


P,

When I kept Chickens I never had a Mink kill any but I had lots of '***** kill 'em! I had Hawks kill them when they were young and Great Horned Owls kill and eat just the neck meat. Set a live trap baited with Fried Chicken bones, Sardines or Marshmallows and see what you get. If you catch a '**** introduce him to a .22 right at the base of the skull.

O'lame


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

Fabner1 said:


> P,
> 
> When I kept Chickens I never had a Mink kill any but I had lots of '***** kill 'em! I had Hawks kill them when they were young and Great Horned Owls kill and eat just the neck meat. Set a live trap baited with Fried Chicken bones, Sardines or Marshmallows and see what you get. If you catch a '**** introduce him to a .22 right at the base of the skull.
> 
> O'lame


Thank you for the reply. We are positive it is a mink. Have had several people who have seen what it did to our birds and everyone is positive it is a mink. There is no way possible for something as large as a **** or even a hawk to get in our pen. Nothing larger than chicken wire in any areas. Same with our duck pens. And we don't free range our birds for this reason either. Only thing we have caught in live traps is opossum and they too would have no way to get into our pens. We have two ponds on our property and I am 99.9% positive that it is a mink.


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## backroadstravler (Jul 12, 2006)

Weasel?


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## Raptor2 (Apr 7, 2013)

Are these birds found with no heads? Is the top of your bird housing wire or a solid roof?


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

The heads are still there just not on the body. No meat missing at all. Just the back of the neck torn open or the head severed off.

The coop has solid wall at least 3' tall. Then above that is either chicken wire to the top which is 6' tall or netting that has no holes in it. Kind of like a screen material. The top is netting we got from a pheasant preserve a friend of ours runs. 

The only time we have a problem is in the fall. September/October time frame. All winter we have no issues with our ducks nor do we have problems in the spring or summer. 

I have 6 new chicken chicks that I am waiting til they feather out but I am going to be very frustrated if they get killed this fall.

Whatever it was killed 14 ducks in one night as well. Same MO as the chickens. So one night it killed 5 chickens and the next 14 ducks. And they were all adults no babies. So 19 birds in 48 hours was a bit much for me. They are not pets so not emotional over it but still we have them for a reason and to have some varmint taking them out is really frustrating.

Our pigeon coop has never been an issue but it is about 3' off the ground as well.


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## motorcityhtps (Mar 1, 2010)

I've helped out a farmer with the same problem. Chicks and adults with heads severed. Ended up being an opossum.


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## UplandnWaterfowl (Jan 3, 2010)

First - took a quick peek at your facebook page, great looking GSP's, really like the white body/liver head one. Here is my boy









Second - since it looks like you don't know exactly what it is and are guessing a mink, the best article that I found on Poultry Predator Identification is pasted below - hope it helps.

Poultry Predator Identification 
The First Step to Deterrence 

By Gail Damerow

"What are you building there, a bunker?" My visiting uncle was referring to the concrete foundation of an under-construction chicken house on our new farm. Looking at it through his eyes, maybe it was overkill. On the other hand, a neighbor had told us nothing we could do would stop predation. "Chickens just don't live long out here," he said.

Well, as long as we kept our flock in that bunker, we never lost a chicken. Oh, except for the two that disappeared one day when we let the flock out to forage while we worked in the garden. The chickens took advantage of their new-found freedom by wandering into the woods to scratch in the dry leaves. We heard a quick, loud squawk from the right and then, almost immediately, a quick, loud squawk from the left. The flock came back two short. A pair of foxes with hungry kits apparently happened along that first (and last) time we allowed the chickens to roam from their bunkered yard.



Cats - both feral and domestic - will eat entire chicks and ducklings, but leave the wings and feathers of growing birds. If a cat kills a mature duck or chicken, it will eat the meatier parts and leave the skin and feathers scattered around. Photo by Michael Dougherty.

We had built that coop next to the garden near our house. We figured the chickens would be easy to care for there, and we could feed them weeds and other garden refuse. But we soon tired of the early morning crowing outside the bedroom window, so when we put up a barn some distance from the house we added a hen house to one end. We soon learned that our chicken bunker had lulled us into complacency about the local predator population. Plenty of critters are out there, seeking an opportunity to dine on home grown poultry.

The first step to deterring predators is to identify them. Each critter has a modus operandi that serves as something of a calling card to let you know which animal you're dealing with. Having raised chickens for nearly 40 years, I've seen quite a few of these signs, but every now and then I still get stumped, largely because the predators haven't read the books and don't always conform to their own standard procedure. One sure sign, of course, is tracks, but in an active poultry yard tracks quickly get obliterated, so you can't count on tracks alone. Your best guide is to examine where, how, and when birds turn up dead or missing.


Birds Missing

Missing chickens or ducks were likely carried off by a fox, coyote, dog, bobcat, owl, or hawk. One time I was working in my yard and could only watch helplessly when a hawk swooped down and carried off a full-grown banty hen that had been happily scratching in the orchard. Although we rarely lose a full-grown bird to hawks, we take great care to enclose chicks, ducklings, and goslings, as these small birds are particularly attractive to hawks and other predators.


Hawks work in the daytime; owls work at night. A band of guinea fowl that liked to roost on the utility line running to the roof of our house disappeared one by one. We began to notice that whenever we heard a sharp thump on the roof during the night, in the morning another guinea was gone. One night when we were awakened by the thump, we ran out and saw a great horned owl land near our back door. The night-time rooftop thumps continued until we convinced the remaining guineas to roost in the woodshed.

If your missing birds are ducks, and you live near water, a mink may be doing the dirty deed. Raccoons, too, will carry off a duck or chicken, and may raid the poultry yard as a cooperative venture and then squabble over their kill. You may find the carcass some distance from the coop, the insides eaten and feathers scattered around.

A snake will eat chicks and ducklings without leaving a trace. I once found a black snake in our brooder after he had gulped down a couple of chicks, then (being too fat to slip back out through the wire) curled up under the heat lamp to sleep off his fine meal.

Domestic and feral house cats will make chicks and ducklings disappear, but leave the wings and feathers of growing birds. On rare occasions a cat will kill a mature duck or chicken, eating the meatier parts and leaving the skin and feathers, and sometimes other parts, scattered around. I learned accidentally the best way to train a cat to leave chickens alone when my new kitten followed me to the chicken yard. She took an interest in some baby chicks, whereupon the mother hen puffed up to twice her normal size and chased the kitten away. For the rest of her life, that cat laid her ears back and skulked away from any chicken that happened by.

Rats will carry off chicks or ducklings and leave older ones chewed up. I once sold a dozen ducklings to a fellow who had previously raised chickens and was fully aware of their cannibalistic tendencies. He called me to report that his ducklings were eating each other. I assured him ducklings don't do that, and suggested he had rats, but he insisted and persisted in calling with his cannibalistic duck reports. Then one day the calls stopped. Next time I saw him I asked (with a smirk) if the last remaining duckling had eaten itself. He sheepishly admitted he had a rat problem.


Birds Dead

Chickens or ducks found dead in the yard, but without any missing parts, were likely attacked by a dog. Dogs kill for sport. When the bird stops moving, the dog loses interest, which is why you often find the victim of a canine attack near where it was killed. I once found a dozen of my fryers dead and lined up neatly on the walkway. I was trying to guess what kind of predator could have done such a thing, when my new puppy came bounding up with yet another fryer to add to his collection.

Like dogs, weasels and their relations (ferrets, fishers, martens, mink, and so forth) also kill for sport. If you find bloodied bodies surrounded by scattered feathers, you were likely visited by one of them.

If you find dead birds that have been flattened, the only thing you know is that some kind of predator frightened them; in trying to get away, they piled in a corner or against a wall and the ones on the bottom suffocated. This sort of thing happens most commonly with turkeys. Similarly, panicked ducks may stampede and trample one another.


Parts Missing

A dead bird found inside a fenced enclosure or pen with its head missing is likely the victim of a raccoon that reached in, grabbed the bird, and pulled its head through the wire. Or a bird of prey could have frightened your birds into fluttering against the wire, and those that poked their heads through the wire lost their heads.

When you find a bird dead inside an enclosure with its head and crop missing, your visitor was a raccoon. If the head and back of the neck are missing, suspect a weasel or mink. If the head and neck are missing, and feathers are scattered near a fence post, the likely perp is a great horned owl.

Just as a raccoon will reach into a pen and pull off a chicken's head, so will it also pull off a leg, if that's what it gets hold of first. Dogs, too, may prowl underneath a raised pen, bite at protruding feet, and pull off legs.


Birds Bitten

If you find dead or wounded birds that have been bitten, they may have been attacked by a dog. If they are young birds and the bites are around the hock, suspect a rat. If the bites are on the leg or breast, the biter is likely an opposum. Possums like tender growing birds and will sneak up to the roost while fryers are sleeping and bite a chunk out of a breast or thigh. On the rare occasion a possum kills a chicken, it usually eats it on the spot.

Birds bitten around the rear end, and have their intestines pulled out, have been attacked by a weasel or one of its relatives. A hen that prolapsed may look similar, as the protruding red tissue attracts other chickens to peck, and if they peck long enough and hard enough before you intervene, they will eventually pull out her intestines. Other signs of cannibalism are missing toes and wounds around the top of the tail of growing chickens. Hens with slice wounds along their backs get them after being repeatedly mated by a sharp-clawed rooster.


Eggs Missing

Lots of predators like eggs, including rats, skunks, snakes, opossums, raccoons, crows, and jays. Rats, skunks, and snakes make off with the entire egg. Rats and skunks roll them away. One time I heard a ruckus in my goose yard and ran out to see a small skunk struggling to roll away a big goose egg with its front paws. A skunk that has been pilfering eggs will leave its odor behind. If you faintly smell skunk, but find shell shards in or around the nest, the raider is more likely an old boar raccoon.

A snake eats the egg right out of the nest. One time when I was collecting eggs from our Khaki Campbells I found a lumpy black snake curled up in one of the nests. Currently we have a four-foot Kingsnake living in the hay storage area of our barn. We're happy to have him clear out the rodents. We call him The Terminator (Mr. T for short) and don't mind that he pilfers the occasional egg laid inside the barn; he won't go into the hen house for fear of the guinea fowl that share our chickens' quarters.

Jays, crows, 'possums, raccoons, and occasionally skunks leave tell-tale shells. Jays and crows may carry empty shells quite a distance from where they found the eggs, while a 'possum or '**** leaves empty shells in or near the nest. Sometimes after cleaning out a nest, a bold 'possum will curl up in the nest and take a nap.


Controlling Predators

The easiest and best way to protect poultry is to confine them indoors, if not all the time, at least at night. A deep concrete foundation, as our poultry bunker had, discourages digging predators. Cover all openings with fine wire mesh, and if your yard is small enough cover the top of the run as well, to keep out birds of prey. To improve ventilation during hot summer nights, we covered a stock panel with poultry netting and use it as a screen door. Year around we have a bright security light that deters some predators and lets us see better at night.

Keep grass, weeds, and brush mowed around the hen house and yard. Many four-legged creatures don't like to expose themselves to cross an open field. A good close-mesh fence, especially electrified, will keep out most four-legged marauders. Burying the bottom of the fence with the lowest 6 to 12 inches bent outward (away from the poultry yard) helps deter diggers.


For pastured poultry, moving the housing every couple of days confuses predators, or at least makes them suspicious. Anchor portable housing with skirting that's tight and close to the ground; each time you move the shelter, double check for dips where weasels can weasel in.

If you have a problem with a predator that comes back repeatedly, you might call your local wildlife or animal control agency and see if they'll send out a trapper. Another option is to set a trap yourself. If you use a live trap with the intent of releasing the predator in some far off location, be aware that many animals are territorial and eventually find their way back home. Others come in families, so catching one marauder won't necessarily solve your problem. And if your marauders are a family of possums, think twice about exterminating them, or you'll likely end up with a rat problem instead.

A predator-control option favored by many rural folks is to stand guard and shoot. If the marauder is your neighbor's dog, be sure to check local laws regarding your obligation to notify the neighbor about your intentions. If the predator is a wild animal that's protected by law, you're back to begging the wildlife agency for help. In our area, poultry owners persistently complain about reintroduced bald eagles carrying off their chickens; the wildlife people remind us that our best defense is to protect our flocks and let the wildlife be.

I started raising poultry on a ranchette I bought because I was looking for a place where I could raise chickens, and that suburban acre came with chickens and ducks already installed. Our chief poultry predators then were dogs, rats, and ever-tightening zoning laws. Because of the latter, I now raise poultry on a farm at the end of a rural dirt road. We still contend with the occasional dog and, only rarely, rats. Instead we see a steady and varied parade of wildlife attempting to share our birds. Because these wild animals delight us as much as attempt to frustrate our poultry-keeping efforts, and because it is we who are encroaching on their territory, we do our best to identify the source of any predation and take appropriate defensive measures to protect our flocks while letting the wildlife be.


Night or Day

Most predators work at night some in the dead of night, others at dark or dawn. Exceptions are dogs (which kill any time they get the whim), coyotes (which occasionally hunt during the day), and foxes (which prefer to hunt around dawn or dusk, but will hunt during the day if game is scarce or they are feeding kits). Among flying predators, owls strike at night, hawks swoop down in daylight.

Rodents

Rats and mice are a particularly insidious type of predator. Theyre everywhere, breed like rats, and cant take a hint. They invade any time of year, but get worse during fall and winter when they move indoors seeking food and shelter. Rats eat eggs and chicks, and both rats and mice eat copious quantities of feed and spread disease. To add insult to injury, rodents gnaw holes in housing, and burrow underneath, providing entry for other predators.

Whether or not you find evidence, you can safely assume you have a rodent problem. Discourage rodents by eliminating their hide-outs, including piles of unused equipment and other scrap. Store feed in containers with tight lids and avoid or sweep up spills. Aggressive measures include getting a cat or a Jack Russell Terrier, andif youve got rats and youre experienced with a gunshoot em. Dont bother with techie solutions like ultrasound black boxes and electromagnetic radiationtheyre as ineffective as they are expensive.

Poisoning is a last resort, as you never know if you might poison pets, children, or harmless wildlife. Besides, bait stations work only if the rodents can find no other source of feed, which is pretty unlikely in your average backyard poultry situation. Traps of various sorts are invariably messy, no matter whether they kill or trap live rodents, but are an option when all else fails.


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

Thank you for the comment on our dogs.  Even after reading your info the only thing it leads me to is still believing mind or weasel. Opposum are going to be too big to get in and get out with out something being detected. And even though most of the time the heads are off they are not actually gone. And the pen is so tall that the chickens are not going to get up high enough for a bird of prey to be able to grab them through the netting. 

Our pheasant a couple years ago when they got taken out were gutted as well. BUT their enclosure wasn't this secure.


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## Raptor2 (Apr 7, 2013)

I used to work raising pheasants for releasing into to the wild. The five to eight week chicks originally had outside pens with flight netting covering the tops of these pens. Every morning we would find approx. 12-18 chicks with severed heads and birds completely ripped up. We secured everywhere up and down on these pens. Next day the same thing. What we had learned, owls would sweep low over the pens causing the birds to fly up in a panic exposing their heads through the netting. Owls seem to be working in pairs. We had proved it by (with permit) setting 6 inch by 6 inch posts at two corners above these pens. On top of the posts there were 1-1/2 coil spring rubber jaw traps hooked to a one way slide down the post to the ground. Once the owl was caught it safely went to the ground without any significant injury. The owls were relocated. This was highly effective and reduced chick kills. Although this method was proven worthy, I highly recommend try covering your pen at night with a tarp to see if bird kills stop. More than likely you will not receive this type of permit. I must remind you that even possessing a feather from a bird of prey is a federal offense. Hope this helps and good luck.


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

I really doubt that my chickens would fly up high enough to hit the top of the 6-7' enclosure though. I could be totally naive in my thinking but that is just my thought.

Now the pheasant yes I could see that. But we had someone who does pheasant on a preserve ad who raises them quite a lot come see what they looked like and he said 100% he felt it was a mink or weasel. 

We are also thinking running a strand of hot wire around the bottom of the pen on the outside. Maybe I will run a strand on the middle and around the top as well.


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## MDJ8176 (Dec 14, 2011)

Over the winter, I was woke up by chickens squawking out in their coop about 2:00 AM. Shined a light out the bedroom window, but saw nothing. Got dressed and went outside just in time to see an Ermine (weasel) go bounding off into the woods. Ermine are like a mink only smaller. One chicken was dead and another was badly hurt (died a few days later). As I was standing there checking things out that goofy Ermine came running up to me, I'm assuming it did not want to give up it's meal. It would come right up to my feet. I attempted for about 10 minutes to whack the thing with my mag light, but it was way too fast. Just kept dodging me. The wife got a good laugh over it as she watched me through the bedroom window. What amazed me was how that little weasel was able to squeeze through that chicken wire into the coop like it was nothing. The holes in the chicken wire are probably somewhere between the size of a quarter and fifty cent piece. Not big at all. Never would have thought anything besides a mouse could have squeezed through it. This was a nice size Ermine too. Probably an 11-12 inch body with a 3 to 4 inch tail. Anyway after my lack of success with the mag light option I ran the stupid thing off, sealed up the coop as best I could and went to the shed to get some foot hold traps that I use for fox and coyotes along with a five gallon bucket. I took the five gallon bucket and laid it on it's side along the coop. I then placed the foot hold trap just inside the bucket. I went inside to get some venison I had thawing for dinner to throw into the back of the bucket for bait. By the time I got outside with the bait that Ermine was already in the trap dead. I had my fur bearers license and it was trapping season. Not sure what the rules would be now. I'm assuming you would still be allowed to set traps for stuff that is killing livestock or doing damage on your property, but I would definitley want to check. If it is a mink or weasel the best set would be to use a small conibear trap placed at the entrance of a small section of drain tile. Have it closed off on one end and the trap at the opening. Throw some bait in the back. Place it outside the coop at night. Mink and Weasels love searching small openings and crevices for food. If they are hanging around that coop at night they won't be able to resist going into that section of pipe that smells of food inside. Good Luck.


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

What is the general consensus with us now having solid wall on the bottom 3 feet of our pen will a mink or weasel still climb to get into the pen through the chicken wire at the top?

Thank you for all the replies as well


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## MDJ8176 (Dec 14, 2011)

Mink and weasels can climb. I don't think three foot would be any problem for them at all. After the incident with the one getting in my coop, I went and recovered the coop with the smallest opening chicken wire I could find and plugged every little opening. I don't think a mouse could even get in there now. We'll see how it goes now. I had been fine with the larger sized chicken wire for two years before that Ermine showed up.


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

So our pen apparently still has issues. Other than putting ply wood along the front I am not sure what else we can do. This place is like Fort Knox! There are no little wholes anywhere. I am guessing the animal is getting through the front of the pen. Reason I say this is whatever is doing this has in the past gone in our barn and killed stuff through a wire cage. BUT our small "Brooding" box we have that is all ply wood and the same netting on the top as this chicken pen it has never gotten into. It has also never gotten into my duck pen on the inside of the barn which is all wood about 3' high with chicken wire and netting as well. But it has gotten into the outside duck pen that has low areas of wood that are leading up to chicken wire (so like the front of my chicken pen). We are going to be running a hot wire in the white insulators of the pen and also adding some more ply wood to make it taller in the front of the pen. Then will go to auction and grab some adult chickens and see what happens. If they last then we will try for some chicks again at some point. But I am very discouraged. Below are pictures of the pen and then what I found in the pen this morning (they are a bit graphic as a warning)

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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Had our first encounter with one of those little %@$(@%&$ a month ago. Fortunately, he only got one (of course our best layer) and was dumb enough to stick right near her. He is a mink no longer . Not a problem since. 
I know how frustrating it is. Last year it was ***** that were terrorizing our birds. Fortunately we have not had a whole lot of trouble with predation, but when it does happen, it's maddening! :smile-mad

Good luck!!

P.S. You can always try a live trap. We did that with the ***** because we do free range our birds and we didn't want any of our critters to get caught in another kind of trap.


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## JohnsonBrian52888 (Jan 12, 2013)

Iv had problems with this before. When I was younger I raised ducks and something kept killing them so I took a live trap and put the remainder of the dead duck in it and went out the next morning and I had a great horned owl in the trap. My advice would be to do the same. If anything you may even want to set a large live trap and a small one baited with meat. You never know what is killing them till you catch the bastard!!!!!


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

JohnsonBrian52888 said:


> Iv had problems with this before. When I was younger I raised ducks and something kept killing them so I took a live trap and put the remainder of the dead duck in it and went out the next morning and I had a great horned owl in the trap. My advice would be to do the same. If anything you may even want to set a large live trap and a small one baited with meat. You never know what is killing them till you catch the bastard!!!!!


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## Pheonix (Sep 18, 2010)

We now have two traps set with chicken remains in them. I was hoping that someone would be able to somewhat confirm that they think it was a Mink who did this. I did get paw print photos (kind of hard to tel they are paw prints from photos) and from what I have looked up today online the paw prints are very much those of a mink from the looks and formation of it. 

Thanks for the feedback. We will see what we get in our trap. 

Now I would assume if that if we catch one mink we can be sure there are others as well?


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Pheonix said:


> We now have two traps set with chicken remains in them. I was hoping that someone would be able to somewhat confirm that they think it was a Mink who did this. I did get paw print photos (kind of hard to tel they are paw prints from photos) and from what I have looked up today online the paw prints are very much those of a mink from the looks and formation of it.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback. We will see what we get in our trap.
> 
> Now I would assume if that if we catch one mink we can be sure there are others as well?


 
Usually yes, but so far we have been lucky and haven't had any more activity. Hopefully that will be the case with you too. Good luck!


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