My barncats killed a young weasel!

[Chick_a_dee]

I found it on the driveway about 50ft from the chicken coop, all the chickens and ducks are fine but one of my two former city street cats killed what looks to be quite a young (and small) weasel! I'm so proud of them, they didn't eat it but atleast it's dead.

 

[SarahFair]

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Okay it probably wasn't young, but this looks to be the culprit they caught...

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

He's very small but doesn't have a babyish face and has the same colouring.

 

[AHappychick]

good job kitties! I hear a can of tuna in your future

 

[isabrownmom]

Good kitties!!

Oh, and AHappyChick, I just have to say that every time I see your avatar, it cracks me up!! That is the funniest looking chicken!!

 

[kartking22]

My kitty killed an adult one last week. It was just turning from it's summer colors to it's white winter coat. My cats usually eat everything that they catch but the weasel/ermine must have smelled too bad. I don't find evidence of mice but do find the occasional mole in the yard too.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

My cats leave the chickens lovely catches like mice, voles, pheasants.. I'm not joking, my cats are actually terrified of the chickens, we can let all the hens and the ducks out and the cats run away from them.

 

[horsejody]

One of my barncats killed a mink in my neighbor's yard and presented it to her as a gift once. Yes, the neighbor loed the cat. She and another neighbor are always coaxing my barn cats into their yards to kill vermin. The same cat also once gave my a dead baby black footed ferret. Don't tell the government though because black footed ferrets are supposedly endangered. A few years ago they were reintroduced into the area. I would really like to thank the government for that. It's just what we needed, another predator.

 

[gsim]

Good Kitty! Weasels of all sorts are blood suckers too, preferring chicks to full grown birds. For serious control/protection a sturdy steel fence of say 2x4 welded wire set in cement and lined at lower level with hardware cloth will do. Top that off with electrification as I did with say, a 5-mile 4KV fence charger and multiple courses of hot wire and you are going to sleep better. Even if I had a chicken tractor, I would put a really hefty fence-charger on it and a pigtail so that I could run a drop cord to it wherever I had it. An ounce of prevention..............

 

[LynneP]

Wow- that's great! Even a small weasel is a formidible opponent.
I love how the ferals keep out place free of rodents, they brought down a full-grown rabbit once, but never a weasel!