One of the ducks was making an alarm call. I went towards their covered play yard and saw what looked like a dark brown ferret departing but going towards the other enclosure where chickens are. I kept moving towards it and it went out to the pasture. Fowl are locked in for the night but do I need to be worried about it as a predator?
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Mink are vicious predators. Animal Rights activists released mink from a fur farm in East Anglia, in England, and the effect on local wild life was a disaster, birds and water-living mammals.
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I just about spotted a stout. 
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I would be.
When I had a mustelid (never got a visual to confirm between mink and weasel) it learned my routine and would come at 6:45, after I had let everyone out and gone to work. Murderous little monstersā¦
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Isnāt there a man on youtube who hunts rats with a mink?
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Weasels exist and are native animals in our environment. American Mink are one of these family, which also includes Long-tailed and Short-tailed weasel and the endangered Black-footed ferret.
Many animals released from mink farm do not do well as they have no native hunting or survival skills. some do survive in the environment
not all mink are released animals. They are native predators and if you are keeping poultry you should be protecting them already
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Where are you roughly, OP?
Weasels are an established extant species in NA (assuming here that is where you are). They have a very distinct ālopeā when they run. In NA there are several different kinds - lesser/short tailed weasel, long tailed weasel, marten, and fisher. The fisher is the largest and is limited to the northern range of NA; the long tailed weasel is ubiquitous in most parts of NA. It sounds like you saw a smaller one, which was probably a long tailed weasel.
This time of year, the lesser & long tailed weasel should be transitioning back to a brown coat if you are somewhere with wnters - but I have seen white as late as May before.
They are predators. They can fit through most chicken wire and even some hardware cloth. Best thing to prevent predation is to keep food at a minimum (they are usually attracted to chickens because of easier quarry like rats), lock up the chickens at night, and you can also place owl decoys around the farm to keep them at bay.
A cat or dog presence can sometimes help as well.
They are around our farm, but have coexisted with us for a long time. They, like the snakes and coyotes, help keep the wood rat population down. I see their tracks in the snow in the winter and they are definitely about. Our chickens are locked up before dusk a converted stall. I would be more worried about small birds like bantams or chicks. Since you are locking up at night you are already practicing good hen keeping 
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If itās a mink, it will look you in the eye when cornered, and you will be slightly worried that it may go for your jugular. They have āno fearā. Mink have a little white spot on their chest, and beady little eyes. Yes, they will chew the head off a live chicken, if they can gain access. Even though a chicken is bigger than they are. If you have one coming around, make SURE your chicken run is mink proof, which is difficult because they can fit through a very small hole to get in. And once they have found a source of easy meat, they will stick around and continue to raid the larder regularly. Good luck!
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Thanks all. I am in Western New York. Guess Iāll be getting some pretend owls.
A radio might help too in keeping weasels away. They tend to be quite shy.
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This might be worth a try. We did it when a skunk took up residence. Tried everything else; this worked overnight.
OP, I like your poem.
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depending on the size it could also have been a fisher cat. Large mink type, its a weasel. Fishers will eat everything in its territory, which is about a circular mile or two. They will live under a shed or little used barn, and eat the racoons, the skunks, the possums, squirrels, cats, dogs, anything about its size or smaller. You can often tell when a Fisher has moved into the neighborhood, when the skunks and raccoons dissapear, mostly because they will leave the area when the Fisher moves in. I saw several in the suburbs of Schenectedy visiting my dad around 2010, so they are definitely in new york. Fishers are a mahogany brown, long tale, and you almost think they are a cat from a distance until you see them hump around as they move like a weasel.
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Thank you.
Guess I will leave the radio on in the barn. Country station or classical?
Talk radio if possible!
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My dad hunted rats with a ferret when he was a kid. We used to have the occasional mink around here (southwest Arkansas). One took up residence under our grain bins when I was a kid. My dad liked it because it kept the rats down.
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Iād move out myself with that as well!
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Iāve lived in MD almost my whole life and saw my first mink recently in the woods. Went home and looked it up, and found that they are common but avoid being seen for the most part (are mainly nocturnal). I was surprised that in 40 years of actively being in the woods and near streams, that was the first one Iāve ever seen.
The things that set it apart from others in the weasel family were its size, color, and the fact that it emitted a strong odor when the dogs chased it.
https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/Pages/plants_wildlife/Mink.aspx
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Put a very bright light on in the chicken coop at night, and walk around the outside, look for anywhere you can see light shining through, and repair it. Weasels / mink can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter, and theyāll kill your entire flock in one night.
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Donāt have poultry, but I have a weasel in my wood pile- we are on nodding terms now, and he sits and watches me fill my basket before popping back into his crack. This winter he is an ermine, all white except for his beady black eyes and the black tip of his tail. Very sweet looking, tho I know he isnāt really.
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