This cute animal, the hero of many cartoons, is a dangerous predator capable of destroying the entire population of poultry in a short time. Smart owners should protect chickens from predators in advance and know how to catch a resourceful and cunning ferret if it appears in the chicken coop. There are enough proven and effective methods for this.
What you need to know about the predator
This is a mammal belonging to the Kunya family.The body is elongated, covered with thick, soft, short fur (from light, beige to dark brown). It ends with a fluffy tail, up to 20-25 centimeters long. The legs are stocky and short, so the ferret's body looks squat. The animal has an oval head, a small muzzle slightly elongated, with a dark pattern in the shape of a mask.
The ferret is very mobile and active - this dexterous animal easily crawls into any crack, climbs trees, roofs of buildings, digs tunnels and holes and swims well in water. With its small size (up to 50 centimeters in length), this small but very agile, intelligent and cunning animal is capable of destroying an entire chicken flock overnight.
He can get into any chicken coop, even the strongest and most durable one. Moreover, the ferret eats only one bird, and kills the rest for future use, in reserve, so he is a doubly dangerous predator. The animal kills chickens by strangling them and gnawing their throats.
Often traces of his presence in the poultry house are discovered by the owners only when it is already too late - all the birds are mercilessly killed and spoiled.
Signs of appearance
The ferret is a nocturnal, secretive predator, so catching it by surprise will be quite problematic. Therefore, it is necessary to know and take into account the signs of its appearance, otherwise in just a few days you can find all the chickens dead.
Signs of appearance:
- detection of a narrow tunnel under the wall of the chicken coop or a hole in the roof if covered with reeds;
- finding a chicken or adult chicken with a gnawed throat, as well as parts of the bird: severed paws, heads, feathers and pools of blood;
- When the owner enters the chicken coop in the morning, the chickens continue to be on the roost, behave restlessly, and refuse to go down to the floor.
How to get rid of a ferret in a chicken coop?
The ferret, having settled in the chicken coop, will consider it its “legal” hunting grounds. Moreover, even after destroying all the birds in the chicken coop, he will come for prey again. Therefore, regularly updating the bird population will not help - everything will happen again.
The only correct way out is to capture and destroy the predator.
Homemade traps
You can fight the animal by making effective traps yourself. You will need a steel cage or wooden box with a slamming door that your ferret can easily fit into. Bait is placed inside the trap, which is a delicacy for the animal; usually a part of a bird carcass is placed. The door is adjusted so that it slams shut the moment the ferret grabs the bait inside the cage.
The trap is placed in the chicken coop overnight, and in the morning they go to check whether a predator has been caught. If successful, a person is faced with the question: should he take the animal’s life or act more humanely? If the second option is chosen, he is taken several kilometers from the chicken coop and released, preferably in the forest. But this method of fishing has its disadvantages that you need to know before installation:
- the bait attracts other animals and birds;
- the ferret often chooses live prey instead of dead carcasses, which act as bait;
- If you incorrectly calculate the proportions of the bait or there is a malfunction of the mechanism that slams the door, then the animal will never come close to the trap again.
Modern technical means
Technological progress does not stand still; today there are devices that can easily rid an area of uninvited guests. Ultrasonic modern repellers (like Tornado 1200) produce low-frequency sounds that are inaudible to the human ear. Ferrets cannot tolerate them and prefer to avoid the area thus protected.
Light and sound repellers will help scare away the nocturnal predator. When an animal approaches the chicken coop, they begin to blink brightly and make unpleasant, loud sounds. And a cautious ferret will consider it necessary not to approach a structure protected in this way. They operate autonomously, powered by rechargeable batteries.
But it is important to regularly monitor the charge level so that they are always in “combat-ready condition.”
Traps
If a tunnel is discovered under the wall of the chicken coop, the owners should not fill it up or seal it. Firstly, the predator will dig a new one without any problems, and secondly, the discovered tunnel is an excellent opportunity to remove the ferret by catching it. Traps are placed in a chaotic manner near the entrance. But the cunning ferret is unlikely to get caught in an empty, unprepared mechanism. In order to interest the predator, a dead bird is placed nearby, and the trap itself is sprinkled with blood and sprinkled with feathers.
It is necessary to set traps taking into account the hunting habits of the animal - usually, having grabbed the victim with its teeth, the ferret backs away. Then he may fall into one of the pre-set traps along his route.
It is important to pre-lubricate the mechanism with fresh manure or douse it with spruce decoction so that the ferret does not smell the human scent. The installation of the trap itself is carried out only with gloves. But even such measures do not provide a complete guarantee of success in capturing the resourceful animal.
Pet Help
If an animal appears, pets – cats and dogs – can come to the rescue. But at the same time, it is important to remember that for an affectionate and domestic cat, a battle with a seasoned, resourceful ferret armed with sharp teeth can end in failure.Another thing is cats, accustomed to living and hunting in the yard, the so-called “ratcatchers”.
They are locked in a chicken coop for the night, and the results of the hunt are checked in the morning. But entrusting the protection of the poultry house to one or several dogs can be quite effective. Nimble hunting breeds, such as the Jagdterrier, are especially good at catching ferrets.
Traditional methods
In rural life, over the years of fighting against predators, several methods have been developed to ward off or catch a ferret. Here are the main ones:
- goat skins are hung in the chicken coop, which have a specific, unpleasant, pungent odor that repels the animal;
- in places inaccessible to birds, the walls of the chicken coop are coated with tar - the ferret cannot tolerate such a smell, he will avoid the poultry house;
- They set up simple traps using available materials. Place a large saucepan, boiler or bucket on a shaky support. A meat bait is placed inside, which the ferret will knock down when it tries to eat the treat, and the fallen bucket will cover it. All that remains is to carefully lift and catch the animal.
It is worth noting that folk remedies become especially effective in combination with other, more modern, methods.
Is it possible to catch and tame an animal?
The ferret is an intelligent and cunning animal that can be trained over time and is capable of performing various tricks. At first, the animal must be kept in a cage, and then it can be released freely. Among other things, a domesticated ferret can scare away its wild counterparts.
How to prevent birds from being killed
To prevent the death of birds, it is necessary to perform a number of complex actions, consisting of the following factors:
- strengthening and preparing the chicken coop;
- establishment of cats or dogs on the site;
- garbage collection and the absence of improvised landfills;
- regular checks for the presence of tunnels;
- monitoring the appearance of chickens;
- installation of modern repellers.
How to avoid appearance?
It is possible to make it as difficult as possible for a ferret to enter the house. To do this, first pour a concrete floor, since the main method of entry for a predator is through digging. You can also make a wooden floor, but cover it with sheets of material that the ferret cannot chew through. You need to check for gaps in the walls, near the floor, and between the roof and walls.
The ventilation holes are covered with mesh, and the reliability of the roof is also checked. If the owners do not have the opportunity to make a strong floor, then the poultry house is fenced with a fine mesh, burying it half a meter into the ground.
It is worth keeping an eye on the cleanliness of the entire area - dumps of construction and organic waste attract the animal, and it will gladly settle nearby.
