May have a mink or weasel problem

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squirrelhunter

squirrelhunter

Tree rat eradicater
Neighbor
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
2,054
Location
Portland,Indiana
Today between 2:30 and 3 Pm one of our 2 African Brown geese came up missing. I thought at first maybe it was setting even though we don't know what sex they are. I looked all around our property 3 or 4 times and Mrs squirrelhunter did once but neither of us saw any signs. I even drove the 4 wheeler all around the 30+ acre field behind the house and down the old railroad track. Plus I called both neighbors that have pond's too. Ron who lives 1/3 of a mile from me has lost probably a dozen ducks over the last few years and only has had signs once. The last one he lost he saw what got it and said it looked like a weasel. I'm wondering if that's what happened to mine. Hopefully it is just setting some where and shows back up but if not and I loose any more I may have to set out there with my .223 and see if I can get it.
 
Might be an otter also... I've had problems with them, they love ponds. Take a close "walking look" around those ponds. ;)

Otters are big enough to go after geese.
 
Peanut said:
Might be an otter also... I've had problems with them, they love ponds. Take a close "walking look" around those ponds. ;)

Otters are big enough to go after geese.
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We've only got 1 pond and I walk around it daily 3 or 4 times. I don't even think we have otters around here. I've never heard of any anyway. We use to trap and caught mink, muskrats,coon,fox,coyote, opossum, skunks and an occasional weasel but never otter or beaver. I guess it could be a coyote but I can't picture them coming this close to the house in brood daylight. The pond's only about 75 yards from the house and our whole property is mowed except for the 2 fence rows on the property lines.
 
I have seen coyotes in broad daylights in a suburban area. They seem to not really fear man very much. Now I don't know if a weasel, mink or what critter size would be required to attack the geese. So my questions is, do you have any trail cameras you can post a round the flock? (I was very careful on my typing there). If you are not seeing any blood trail, then something was able to carry off the carcass. The battle was probably over quickly or you or your neighbor would have heard the fights. Other than those idea, I don't have clue.
 
Peanut said:
I've seen coyotes chase cattle in broad day light. just sayin... a weasel is pretty small to be taking down a goose. It has to be something larger, imho. :)
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I was just going by the fact Ron saw 1 take his duck and the geese aren't a whole lot bigger than them,mine aren't anyway. They have longer necks but they put their heads down when confronted sometimes. It could very well be a coyote,I know there's a lot around here. I'm pretty sure that's what got my setting duck a few years ago right at the corner of the house but it was at night too though. Like I said,it could be setting somewhere too and I just couldn't see it. I'll have to see if it comes back out or if others disappear before I'll know for sure what's going on.
 
TMT Tactical said:
I have seen coyotes in broad daylights in a suburban area. They seem to not really fear man very much. Now I don't know if a weasel, mink or what critter size would be required to attack the geese. So my questions is, do you have any trail cameras you can post a round the flock? (I was very careful on my typing there). If you are not seeing any blood trail, then something was able to carry off the carcass. The battle was probably over quickly or you or your neighbor would have heard the fights. Other than those idea, I don't have clue.
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I didn't see any feathers,blood or anything and the fence didn't seem bothered,but they could've came in the side that's not fenced,which I figure they did since it's all brushy there. Out if all the ducks Ron had come up missing he only saw blood once. He lost 3 last year and there wasn't ever blood or feathers and he saw a weasel or mink take 1. He wasn't sure which it was but he thought a weasel.
No I don't have any trail cameras.
 
SH, It looks like a hunting trip is in order. No blood, no flattened brush, no feathers. I am betting on a critter with legs long enough to carry - not drag -- you bird out. I visualize a weasel or mink with shorter legs and dragging the bird away. I could also see a coyote bounding away with your bird in it's mouth. It's flip a coin time but maybe break out the 556.
 
squirrelhunter said:
I didn't see any feathers,blood or anything
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You just found your predator... ;) A fox doesn't leave any sign... They will carry their prey several hundred yards before releasing their grip. Once I found the feathers of a free ranging chicken 500 yards from where she was taken. It was a red fox in this case. Do you have any freshly plowed ground close by? A red fox (as opposed to a grey fox) has very hairy feet. The tracks will look like a small canine but the tracks look "fuzzy" "indistinct", not clear. It's because of all the hair between their foot pads. A grey fox tracks... the pads are clear... far less hair.
 
Peanut said:
You just found your predator... ;) A fox doesn't leave any sign... They will carry their prey several hundred yards before releasing their grip. Once I found the feathers of a free ranging chicken 500 yards from where she was taken. It was a red fox in this case. Do you have any freshly plowed ground close by? A red fox (as opposed to a grey fox) has very hairy feet. The tracks will look like a small canine but the tracks look "fuzzy" "indistinct", not clear. It's because of all the hair between their foot pads. A grey fox tracks... the pads are clear... far less hair.
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The field behind us is chisel plowed but it was done last fall.
 
TMT Tactical said:
SH, It looks like a hunting trip is in order. No blood, no flattened brush, no feathers. I am betting on a critter with legs long enough to carry - not drag -- you bird out. I visualize a weasel or mink with shorter legs and dragging the bird away. I could also see a coyote bounding away with your bird in it's mouth. It's flip a coin time but maybe break out the 556.
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That's what I'm going to do if any more come up missing,which if something did take it they probably will.
What's got me stumped though is why the other goose and they ducks weren't carrying on for quite awhile if a predator was around. It's like they weren't worried,unless they did while it was taking it and I didn't notice and then they knew it was too late and wasn't coming back.
 
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I too think it was something bigger than a weasel or mink. In my experiences, a weasel or mink will kill their prey and immediately disembowel it on the spot. They don't want the entrails so they get rid of those then take the carcass back to its den. I also think a weasel or mink is too small to take on a goose then be able to drag it to the den.
 
We had a bobcat stealing our chickens. No feathers or signs of a fight/struggle. We found a huge pile of feathers a 1/4 mile or so away. We knew for sure that it was a bobcat when it beat up 3 of our mastitis. They made the mistake of cornering it.
 
Terri9630 said:
We had a bobcat stealing our chickens. No feathers or signs of a fight/struggle. We found a huge pile of feathers a 1/4 mile or so away. We knew for sure that it was a bobcat when it beat up 3 of our mastitis. They made the mistake of cornering it.
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I've heard they can be awful hard on livestock,I'm glad we don't have any around here,or wolves.
 
squirrelhunter said:
I've heard they can be awful hard on livestock,I'm glad we don't have any around here,or wolves.
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We lost quite a few chickens and I wasn't worried about the horses but we moved the goats up next to my bedroom window at night. That way I could not only hear problems faster but could shoot through the window screen if necessary.
 
Mink and weasels seem to top out at chicken sized prey. They also tend to leave evidence and the evidence is usually a bit disturbing. A mink killed several of my daughter's kittens before being trapped. It decapitated them and then pushed the meat out of the skin, turning it inside out. Then it apparently licked up all the blood.

Mink are some nasty little critters...
 
You might have better luck trapping than hunting. Hunting the culprit might be a little more fun though. Maybe set up some game cameras and try and get a visual on the critter? Dont discount the coyote possibility because of daylight. I've had a coyote 2 ft from my back door at midmorning chasing the neighbors cat and small deer twice in the past week. Wife isn't a fan of me "taking care of it" and I'm trying to be respectful but if it keeps hanging around I'll ask forgiveness rather than permission.
 
I have seen coyotes mid day in a suburban area. They move quickly and seem to always be on the move. A few weeks ago I saw one along a creek where frequently there are ducks. I wondered if it was out hunting. Probably. Why else would it be out at 10:30 in the morning, or 2:00 in the afternoon?
 
Weedygarden said:
I have seen coyotes mid day in a suburban area. They move quickly and seem to always be on the move. A few weeks ago I saw one along a creek where frequently there are ducks. I wondered if it was out hunting. Probably. Why else would it be out at 10:30 in the morning, or 2:00 in the afternoon?
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I know they do some but more so at night. A couple years ago the guy that lived 2 doors over said he looked out his side window and saw a coyote grab 1 of his cats right outside of the house in the middle of the afternoon.
 
CrackbottomLouis said:
You might have better luck trapping than hunting. Hunting the culprit might be a little more fun though. Maybe set up some game cameras and try and get a visual on the critter? Dont discount the coyote possibility because of daylight. I've had a coyote 2 ft from my back door at midmorning chasing the neighbors cat and small deer twice in the past week. Wife isn't a fan of me "taking care of it" and I'm trying to be respectful but if it keeps hanging around I'll ask forgiveness rather than permission.
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I'd be scared of trapping out there because of the ducks and geese being out there. I haven't had any more trouble since that day so it would have been 2 weeks of trapping for nothing. At least with me sitting out there with the rifle,I could shoot at it before it gets close to the ducks and geese or at least scare it off.
 
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