Tips on keeping weasels away?

[Ambitious_Kate]

[QUOTE=saultgirl;7891127]
Anyone have experience with weasels taking chickens during the day? Their coop is pretty secure, but the run is huge and we cannot make major changes to it this time of year.[/QUOTE]

No. Weasles don’t eat chickens. Despite what everyone tells you.

There are fisher cats who MIGHT eat chickens, but I doubt it. But they are big, huge animals. The OP has yet to describe her wt easle. Most weasles are the size of a squirrell or smaller, and no, they DONT eat chickens. Period.
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[trailpal]

I found a short-tailed weasel in our yard after we suddenly lost 8 young kittens. It was severely injured (our dog was barking at it, don’t know if the dog injured it or what) and I had my husband come shoot it to put it out of its misery.

Since it was dead, I got a good look at it and looked it up. http://wildlifeofct.com/short-tailed%20weasel%20and%20long-tailed%20weasel.html

Both the short-tailed and long-tailed weasels do kill chickens and will kill whatever’s available in the hopes of coming back to eat it the next night, at least according to this article and others I read.

[saultgirl]

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;7897186]
No. Weasles don’t eat chickens. Despite what everyone tells you.

There are fisher cats who MIGHT eat chickens, but I doubt it. But they are big, huge animals. The OP has yet to describe her wt easle. Most weasles are the size of a squirrell or smaller, and no, they DONT eat chickens. Period.
[/QUOTE]

It was absolutely not a fisher cat, but I couldn’t say if it was a short-tailed weasel or long-tailed weasel. From my research I’m pretty sure it’s not a least weasel.

I didn’t actually see it’s tail – it was peering out at me from under a pallet.

At any rate, no sign of him again this morning, just lots of coyote tracks near the barn.

[Ambitious_Kate]

Maybe I’m wrong. As far as I know, small weasles don’t eat chickens, but maybe I’m wrong. If i ever had a question I would call my department of whatever animal management with the state forest people and ask.

If they do eat chickens, then either protect yours or don’t. I still don’t believe small weasles will kill chickens.

[Fergs]

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;7897414]
Maybe I’m wrong. As far as I know, small weasles don’t eat chickens, but maybe I’m wrong. If i ever had a question I would call my department of whatever animal management with the state forest people and ask.

If they do eat chickens, then either protect yours or don’t. I still don’t believe small weasles will kill chickens.[/QUOTE]

According to one extension specialist in KS, they certainly do eat poultry. Although, interestingly, they prefer to drink blood from the head and neck as opposed to eating portions of the body and then dragging it to another location, as rats are wont to do.

http://icwdm.org/handbook/carnivor/ca_c119.pdf

Long-tailed weasels are 16" long and 12 oz.; I’d think that would be big enough to take down a small chicken. They also love to eat pocket gophers; maybe I need a weasel, too!