Post by Predator on Jan 26, 2004 11:18:33 GMT -5
This covers a lot-- but not all Varmint. Please feel free to give info on those not mentioned
Tips for beginners on varmint trouble
I thought this may be of some help, since there's some posts of I lost this or that & not sure what killed it questions.
Cat: Usually only 1 or 2 chicks or chickens eaten on usually by tomcats, evidence of wings & legs left behind, sometimes will kill nightly.
Coyotes: Usually seen at daylight or right before dark is their most popular feeding times, have their young in February-March & will show tempts to obtain entry into ones chicken yard.
Dog: Maimed,missing birds, wires & doors torn down on pens, will kill or maul 1 or many, sometimes takes it home & will sometimes eat the whole bird.
Fox: Will remove whole birds from the yard day & night, usually night, chicken legs can be found at fox den entries, they will travel 1/2 mile or more with the kill, usually hold the bird by the neck & throw the body over their head & take off, tough to see at times & trap.
Hawk: Bothers ranged & birds on cords, hunts during the day, swoops down & takes the whole bird, depending on how big the bird & hawk is, & you may never hear a sound out of the bird when attacked.
Mink: Usually take smaller fowl or chicks mostly, they will leave a acrid musk which can be smelled hours later.
Muskrat: Prefers pond foods but will attack chickens eating insides out leaving the rest of the carcass.
Owl: Great horned owl mainly, usually takes head off only on large chickens, small chickens taken whole mainly at night, but will hunt in the daytime, they can enter through 1 foot square openings in buildings, will also attempt to fly through a glass window upon spotting birds inside buildings with windows, will take roosting chickens from trees, headless chickens & carcass's found in the areas.
Opossum: Eats insides out on premises, will have teeth marks on the bones, & loves eggs, trap with any stinking bait.
Coons: Takes whole carcass, eats fresh kills, sometimes breast eaten only, sow with cubs will come about every night, old boar coons will make a round sometimes every other night, sometimes a sow with little ones will run birds out of the trees & kill all they can find whether eaten or not, & often you will find tracks or hair on the entry hole of the pen.
Rat: Contusions and bites on legs of chicks, dragged sometimes into tunnels usually with part of the body head & neck down in tunnel and eaten around the bone, look for tunnels going under building walls & droppings around feed pans, will sometimes come out & eat with the chickens, will travel from building to building, will pull & eat feathers from birds for protein when roosting.
A trick I have used if your not not sure whether it's a coon or possum into your birds, is lay a few eggs on the ground in the area your having trouble, if they don't take & carry the eggs away, if it's a coon they will eat the small end out of the egg & suck out the egg from the small end, if it's a possum they will eat the side out of the egg, least you know what you trouble is & the varmint that's causing it.
Tips for beginners on varmint trouble
I thought this may be of some help, since there's some posts of I lost this or that & not sure what killed it questions.
Cat: Usually only 1 or 2 chicks or chickens eaten on usually by tomcats, evidence of wings & legs left behind, sometimes will kill nightly.
Coyotes: Usually seen at daylight or right before dark is their most popular feeding times, have their young in February-March & will show tempts to obtain entry into ones chicken yard.
Dog: Maimed,missing birds, wires & doors torn down on pens, will kill or maul 1 or many, sometimes takes it home & will sometimes eat the whole bird.
Fox: Will remove whole birds from the yard day & night, usually night, chicken legs can be found at fox den entries, they will travel 1/2 mile or more with the kill, usually hold the bird by the neck & throw the body over their head & take off, tough to see at times & trap.
Hawk: Bothers ranged & birds on cords, hunts during the day, swoops down & takes the whole bird, depending on how big the bird & hawk is, & you may never hear a sound out of the bird when attacked.
Mink: Usually take smaller fowl or chicks mostly, they will leave a acrid musk which can be smelled hours later.
Muskrat: Prefers pond foods but will attack chickens eating insides out leaving the rest of the carcass.
Owl: Great horned owl mainly, usually takes head off only on large chickens, small chickens taken whole mainly at night, but will hunt in the daytime, they can enter through 1 foot square openings in buildings, will also attempt to fly through a glass window upon spotting birds inside buildings with windows, will take roosting chickens from trees, headless chickens & carcass's found in the areas.
Opossum: Eats insides out on premises, will have teeth marks on the bones, & loves eggs, trap with any stinking bait.
Coons: Takes whole carcass, eats fresh kills, sometimes breast eaten only, sow with cubs will come about every night, old boar coons will make a round sometimes every other night, sometimes a sow with little ones will run birds out of the trees & kill all they can find whether eaten or not, & often you will find tracks or hair on the entry hole of the pen.
Rat: Contusions and bites on legs of chicks, dragged sometimes into tunnels usually with part of the body head & neck down in tunnel and eaten around the bone, look for tunnels going under building walls & droppings around feed pans, will sometimes come out & eat with the chickens, will travel from building to building, will pull & eat feathers from birds for protein when roosting.
A trick I have used if your not not sure whether it's a coon or possum into your birds, is lay a few eggs on the ground in the area your having trouble, if they don't take & carry the eggs away, if it's a coon they will eat the small end out of the egg & suck out the egg from the small end, if it's a possum they will eat the side out of the egg, least you know what you trouble is & the varmint that's causing it.
I kinda like the quick injection of lead method... but hey, that's me. 