Weasels may even line up the chickens in a row. Weasels are expert killers. They kill not only for food but also for sport. As a result, you may see a massacre in your chicken coop. Weasels usually prefer smaller animals to chickens. However, if a weasel is more hungry than normal or is having trouble finding food, they will eat your chickens. This can happen when a mamma weasel has many babies to feed or in the winter when another game is rarer.
In other instances, weasels may find your chicken coop and the motion of your chickens activates their killer instincts. A weasel can kill adult chickens easily and will often leave the whole chicken untouched.
Weasels eat primarily mice, voles, and rats. However, weasels also eat birds, including chickens, frogs, and shrews. They will eat chipmunks, fish and even insects. Weasels have to eat about half their body weight in meat every day. They are ferocious killers and instinct makes them kill anything that looks like prey.
Most everything that moves looks like prey to a weasel. Weasels will attack animals up to 10 times its size and is often successful because of its cunning and brutal killing methods.
Because weasels evolved in colder climates, they will kill and save extra meet for another day. Sometimes, in the winter, they pull meat to little caches near their den and feast during cold weather without leaving the den. In North America, there are three types of weasels: the long-tailed weasel, the short-tailed weasel, and the least weasel. All weasels are long and slender. Their legs are short so it often looks like their bodies are touching the ground.
Weasels have fur with red or brown upper bodies and white stomachs. Some weasels turn completely white in the winter. Weasel tails have a coal black tip of their tail. The long-tailed weasel has a territory that spreads from Canada, across the United States, and down into the northern parts of South America. Long-tailed weasels can measure up to 24 inches long.
They will molt into a white fur in the winter. The short-tailed weasel is also called a stoat. It is the only weasel found in Ireland. Short-tailed weasels measure up to 13 long. Least weasels are found throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The least weasel can be as small as a mouse but is still a ruthless killer. It is seldom seen. It measures only 7 to 8 inches long. Least weasels weigh only 1 or 2 ounces.
It is usually brown with a white underbelly but does change to a completely white coat in the winter. There are many other predators that you should be aware of and protect your chickens from.
At least some of these predators are found everywhere. They include:. Fortunately, many of the steps that you take to protect your chickens against weasels will also be effective in protecting your flock from other predators. Some weasels are endangered. The Japanese weasel and the Mountain weasel are considered endangered. Both weasels are native to Asia and parts of Europe. None of the North or South American weasels are endangered.
In the United States, many areas consider weasels a pest and many state laws allow the killing of weasels without a permit. Weasels are accomplished climbers, but they do not swim.
The mink, part of the weasel family does swim. Weasels can climb very well and are not opposed to hitching a ride and flying.
One of the clues often left behind is feathers. Foxes will often eat most of their prey at the scene and leave a lot of evidence. While large birds might leave some of their own feathers from the scramble.
Dead Chickens with Heads — Some predators will kill and eat a chicken without taking their heads off. This will typically be a dog, cat, coyote, or fox , as they are either killing for bloodlust or to eat the chicken.
Dead Chickens with Heads Missing — This is the topic of this article. To us, it seems barbaric and senseless that an owl would deliberately bite the head off of a chicken. To owls and hawks, however, they need to find a food source and the head of a chicken presents the easiest, more nutritious meal. There are a few reasons for this; one is that while swooping down from above, the head is the easiest target. Another reason is that they can then take it away and eat it in their nest while a whole chicken is too heavy.
Raccoons instinctively kill chickens by attacking their heads. Sometimes, pulling their heads is the only way to get at them through the wire of their coop too. Adult raccoons can weigh up to 20 lbs and are quite large compared to a chicken. They pose a serious threat with sharp claws and teeth, so do all you can to keep them locked out. They may look more like dogs than cats, but they move more like cats than they do dogs.
Foxes are very agile if you know you have them in your area double down on your coop security. Rats are more well-known for stealing chicken feed, eating their eggs, and sometimes attacking baby chicks. Weasel Diet Although they mainly feed on rats and insects, weasels will consume almost any meat available. Do Weasels Eat Chickens? Weasels and Chickens When a weasel enters a poultry house, it may attack an entire flock of chickens. Preventing Weasels in Chicken Coops Because they typically target coops that are easy to get into, modifying fences is the easiest way to prevent weasel and chicken problems.
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