Protecting from Weasels

[Dwayne Bard Rock Johnson]

Looking for some advice for dealing with weasels. We've had at least two attacks that have taken out 5 birds.

We have a coops made largely of wood, with a door for the chickens to get in and out of, two plexiglass windows, some ventilation vents, and some hardware cloth below their roost to allow for feces to exit. After the first attack we installed an automatic door to close to the coop door. The second attack was unfortunately some newer birds that I guess didn't feel welcome inside the coop at night.

At the moment I feel like our birds are safe at night. The ones we have left sleep inside their coop and it's shut up at night. Today, however, we saw a weasel inside the run. It ran off once we went to check in on them, but it concerns me. I imagine they are safer during the day since they can more easily run away, but I'm not feeling totally comfortable with the situation.

I've read a lot about hardware cloth, and I'm not opposed to running it along the run (which currently has 1" x 2" metal fencing going up about 6' and then plastic netting above that), however, I don't know how high the hardware cloth needs to go. My assumption is that if the hardware cloth is maybe 2' high then the weasels could simply climb over the hardware cloth and slip through the fence. Am I wrong on this assumption? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[McChooky]

EDit: Make a weasel box and kill it , they're too fast to shoot. It will find a way to get in the run and kill the others if you don't do something soon.They're very small and can squeeze thru a 1 inch hole.So sorry for your loss! Wishing you the best in catching it!
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/build-diy-weasel-box-keep-hens-safe/

 

[Dwayne Bard Rock Johnson]

EDit: Make a weasel box and kill it , they're too fast to shoot. It will find a way to get in the run and kill the others if you don't do something soon.They're very small and can squeeze thru a 1 inch hole.So sorry for your loss! Wishing you the best in catching it!
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/build-diy-weasel-box-keep-hens-safe/

Thank you. I'll definitely consider this!

 

[McChooky]

Thank you. I'll definitely consider this!

Weasel riding on the back of a woodpecker that took to the sky to escape.Its not hard to guess what happened next. https://slate.com/technology/2015/0...hotographer-says-its-a-real-weaselpecker.html

 

[Dwayne Bard Rock Johnson]

Weasel riding on the back of a woodpecker that took to the sky to escape.Its not hard to guess what happened next. https://slate.com/technology/2015/0...hotographer-says-its-a-real-weaselpecker.html

I've seen his shot. It's fantastic!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Treat the cause of a disease as well as the symptoms. Check to see if there are any signs of rodents around the coop that will attract predators like weasels. If there are do a forum search for Howard E.'s posts on rodent control or check some of the other never ending posts about rodents and chickens as I frequently post the links to some of Howard E's posts.

 

[50-45-1]

Weasels are your best option for rodent control.
I would advise to try to coexist with your weasel.
If you fortify your coop with hardware cloth and no cracks or gaps you will keep those chickens safe at night.
Check out some of the threads here with folks with rat infestation and you will see they have a real difficult and disgusting problem.
Close your chickens in at dusk.
Weasels hunt at night.
They wont chew through wood , but will use rat tunnels and holes that they provide.
Also weasels are not difficult to trap in a live trap.
Just wire a raw bloody piece of red meat to the pan, and you will likely have him in the morning.
They are solitary creatures and territorial so there will only be one. But once he is gone another may move in.
Good luck!

 

[TOR]

Weasels are your best option for rodent control.
I would advise to try to coexist with your weasel.
If you fortify your coop with hardware cloth and no cracks or gaps you will keep those chickens safe at night.
Check out some of the threads here with folks with rat infestation and you will see they have a real difficult and disgusting problem.
Close your chickens in at dusk.
Weasels hunt at night.
They wont chew through wood , but will use rat tunnels and holes that they provide.
Also weasels are not difficult to trap in a live trap.
Just wire a raw bloody piece of red meat to the pan, and you will likely have him in the morning.
They are solitary creatures and territorial so there will only be one. But once he is gone another may move in.
Good luck!

Good post,
Not to contradict but add. Weasels are usually nocturnal, but will move and hunt during the day.
Weasels also can move quite fast and jump pretty high.
Weasels do not store fat so they eat on a regular basis.

 

[Krugerrand]

Weasel riding on the back of a woodpecker that took to the sky to escape.Its not hard to guess what happened next. https://slate.com/technology/2015/0...hotographer-says-its-a-real-weaselpecker.html

Reminded me of this one. An osprey caught a shark with a fish in the shark's mouth.

https://www.earthtouchnews.com/in-t...osprey-caught-a-shark-that-was-eating-a-fish/

 

[McChooky]

Reminded me of this one. An osprey caught a shark with a fish in the shark's mouth.

View attachment 3349846
https://www.earthtouchnews.com/in-t...osprey-caught-a-shark-that-was-eating-a-fish/

2 for 1 !