Raccoon, Opossum or Weasel???????

[Junior1]

For the last 4 nights I have lost at least 1 chicken a night, totaling 4 chickens. The last 2 nights the predator has left the chicken in the middle of the coop, headless, with the stomach area eaten too. No meat has been eaten off the body. There are feathers scattered throughout the coop and run area. I found these tracks inside the coop this morning around the body and throughout the coop. I have a very well built coop that I thought to be impenetrable by predators. However, I was mistaken. My coop is fenced in with 2" holed fencing and is covered with wildlife netting. However, the netting does have some gaps where it connects with the fencing big enough for a coon or weasel to fit through. I do not see any evidence of them entering anywhere though. I was thinking it could be a weasel because it could fit through the 2" holes quite easily. And I will be fixing this and adding a new fence. WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE CULPRIT HERE???

 

[awesomechicken]

the paw prints look like a weasel .

 

[Junior1]

Sorry I didn't include a size earlier but the prints are about 1.5"-2" wide.

 

[Junior1]

Could this be a Mink? I know that Minks and Weasels are closely related with the defining feature of their prints is that minks have 5 toes and weasels have 4. Has anyone ever had a problem with either one of these species?

 

[Gypsi]

The headless body with meat untouched also sounds like a weasel. They will fit in openings the size of a golf ball. Not strong enough to tear off stapled screening, but skinny enough to find gaps and push through.

 

[Ted n Ms]

This is work of a possum. They always eat the guts and head. The track is a possum also.
Set a live trap and bait it with almost anything and you will catch a possum.
p.s. I don't think a weasel would eat the guts.

 

[DKrueger4]

Away to fix this is not to worry about the fence during the day! Your chickens should be fineuntil it gets dark. Then what you have to do is close your poultry in at night, therefore prtecting your chickens from nocturnal animals Hope this helps!

 

[Junior1]

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

Ok, so I put two live traps in the coop and three steel traps out in the run tonight baited with sardines. I also placed a camera in the coop and one on the outside. At about 1:00 A.M a raccoon showed up and climbed around on the coop and run fence area. It took about 7 minutes for him to get in, over the fence and through that small gap at the top of the coop under the roof overhang (look at the pic of the coop in the first photo). He ignored the traps for about 7 more minutes as he searched all around the coop and then went right past the live trap and into the fenced in run area. He searched all around and then walked back up the ramp into the opening to the coop where he walked right into the live trap. So I got a raccoon tonight who is most likely the predator that has been getting my chickens. However, I am slightly doubtful that I have got the real culprit. Most of my research and forum replies has lead me to believe that I was dealing with a mink or measel and possably a opossum. Did the sardines just attract in a raccoon tonight and the real predator will back for my chicken? I left the other trap out tonight, just incase something else shows up.

 

[mmktdox]

I have ongoing raccoon issues and in the past they have eaten the head and guts. That print looks like a raccoon print too. But whatever your predator is, just keep that trap baited all the time. I started doing that this year and have sent four to raccoon heaven so far. Vigilance is the key!

 

[Autumn D]

Trap it by putting the dead bird in the trap.