Stoats?

[binley100]

Does anyone know the likelihood of a stoat stealing a chook? my neighbour has had one of his taken by something that bit a small hole in the chicken wire and dragged the poor chook through it. The hole was barely big enough to get the bird through . If it was a fox it would have to be a very small one.
It's very sad because he'd rescued them from a battery farm and they'd just got used to a nice comfy life.

[Flummery]

I think it's quite likely. This is one of the reasons people advocate the use of weldmesh rather than chicken wire, which is easy to bite through.
Sorry to hear of it, I hope your neighbour's other chickens aren't too traumatised.

[binley100]

I'll pass it on about the weldmesh. He's got some more chooks reserved by the rescue people and he's in creased the defences so fingers crossed.

[Nicos]

We have an electric fence especially for bantams. It also almost guarantees rats ,stoats ,weazles etc won't get through it- the bottom 12-18" ( can't remember and it's dark now) is 5cm x 5cm...too tiny to drag out a bird...or get through without being zapped.
shortest length is 25m though

Problem is that whatever took the first one knows there are more in the 'larder'!!

[binley100]

Thinking about it I haven't seen many rabbits around lately so perhaps its ate them and now moved onto chooks. Do you think one of those cage traps might work?

[Nicos]

hmmm...are you allowed to trap certain wildlife????

[binley100]

Not sure I googled stoats and I'm sure it said they were vermin along with rats and feral pigeons. Any way even if you let it go again at least you'd know if it is a stoat . I know some of the older members on our site trap rats .