fowl killer

jimjams · #1 (**permalink**) 04-04-2008, 06:03 PM

Hello!
On our farm we have a guy who breeds poultry, and recently he has lost 48 birds. The pens are all Fox proof and there is an electric fence all the way round, so we think it is a Mink. Many of the birds have had their heads and feet bitten off. Whatever it is has taken chickens, ducks, geese and peacocks. would a Mink tackle such big birds? I just can't think what else it would be. He does seem to have a bit of a giant rat problem (as you always do with poultry!).
Thanks x

demicav · #2 (**permalink**) 04-04-2008, 06:37 PM

As far as I'm aware Mink will tackle most things and poultry is on the menu. I know Geese and Peacocks can be big in comparison but they may not stand a chance against Mink (if that's what it is).

Hobjob · #3 (**permalink**) 05-04-2008, 11:45 AM

The biting off of the heads and feet suggests Mink to me.

There are Mink trappers all over the country, perhaps the
local wildlife trust could advise?

ron1863 · #4 (**permalink**) 05-04-2008, 03:35 PM

I would agree that it is a Mink, as they are indiscriminate killers who don't just kill for food.

Dogghound · #5 (**permalink**) 05-04-2008, 09:23 PM

I dont think this attack sounds anything like a Mink. Fox for sure, the biting off of the heads and feet are so characteristic of foxes, mustelids dont do this so much. Foxes are renowned for surplus killings exactly the same as this Mink are not or if they are there is little reference to it. A confined hen house is never met in nature were prey can always escape so foxes hit kill mode. Mink are an alien etc and have been responsible for alot of damage to wildlife and to a lesser extent livestock but alot of negativity on a species clouds people's judgement at times. They are very efficient killers but i for one wouldnt say they just kill for the sake of it. You would be very surprised where a Fox can get.

Mink will kill anything up to the size of a large hen. Which rules out geese and peacocks, although im sure there are exeptions. They kill differently to a Fox, the heads wont be chewed/bit off they would be intact with two teeth marks in the neck.

Meta menardi · #6 (**permalink**) 05-04-2008, 10:06 PM

I have to agree with Dogghound, old foxy is... quite foxy. They have a persistence that can defeat even the most apparently effective defences, once they start to kill they are unlikely to stop, the head biting thing is very typical (not to say that it isn't seen with Mink).

jimjams · #7 (**permalink**) 06-04-2008, 08:29 PM

i have been round the pens and cannot see anywhere that a Fox could get under once he has circumnavigated the electric fence, and the fencing is over 6 foot high...

Meta menardi · #8 (**permalink**) 06-04-2008, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimjams

i have been round the pens and cannot see anywhere that a Fox could get under once he has circumnavigated the electric fence, and the fencing is over 6 foot high...

Fair enough. How are the Mink getting in?

jimjams · #9 (**permalink**) 06-04-2008, 10:15 PM

he has large chicken mesh that i reckon they could slink through... if not, what else could it be? i am stumped!!!!

Dogghound · #10 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimjams

he has large chicken mesh that i reckon they could slink through... if not, what else could it be? i am stumped!!!!

Anywhere a Fox could use to jump in? has the fence been down/not on? foxes can jump quite high distances. Definately not Mink. Only a Fox would do this, or domestic dog?

wildliferescuer · #11 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 11:21 AM

A six foot high fence is no problem at all to a Fox!

salukiwhippet · #12 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 11:51 AM

I'd say Fox. Mink kills are normally 2 puncture wounds to the neck, the head removal is very foxy. Whereabouts in the country are you? I'm a gamekeeper/pest controler and I'd happily come and have a look if you're anywhere near Swindon. Or PM me if you'd rather

ATB, James

salukiwhippet · #13 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 11:55 AM

Just a thought, could it be avian? On my last estate, I had no end of problems with a tawny owl taking the heads off pheasant poults, it stopped when the poults were about 11 weeks though, so maybe the fowl in question would be too big for a tawny?

James

witham · #14 (**permalink**) 10-04-2008, 04:15 PM

If the rats are as big and in such big numbers as you imply, they could be responsible, we lost some young pulletts that were in an old aviary flight which was completley enclosed including the roof, I found them in a huddle late one afternoon all with their heads bitten off and the only sign of entry was a hole in the ground where something had gotten in and there's been no Mink sightings in our area, Rats will go in a pack to kill something, we later found a rats nest a bit further up behind our fence so surmised it to have been them.

Tam · #15 (**permalink**) 12-04-2008, 09:09 PM

Would Stoats or weasles kill something as big?,or are there any local cats.

Dogghound · #16 (**permalink**) 14-04-2008, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tam

Would Stoats or weasles kill something as big?,or are there any local cats.

Both Weasels and Stoats wouldnt leave chewed off heads or feet they would kill the same as a Mink with a bite to the neck. And leave the body whole.

Tam · #17 (**permalink**) 15-04-2008, 10:16 AM

Yep just found this on a mammal web site,

For many years gamekeepers and poultry farmers have attempted to control Stoats. An animal getting into a shed or pen can kill every bird it holds. Such frenzied attacks are typical behaviour for many small carnivores faced with abundant 'prey'. Trapping is less intensive than it used to be (Stoats were also taken for their skins, especially when in ermine) but it appears that this had little long-term effect on numbers as natural mortality is usually quite high in Stoat populations.

Stoats are legally protected in Eire but not in the United Kingdom.

Activities: The Mammal Society