Mink!? But my hen scared it off?

[renay]

Yesterday afternoon I watched what I thought was a black squirrel run towards a hen and her week-old chicks. The hen poofed up and ran at the creature. The black animal backed down, ran at her again, backed down again and ran away. As it ran away from the chickens and away from the underbrush, I could tell that it was not a squirrel at all, but a weasel! Online searching makes me thinks it was a mink, but a mink would never back down from a hen... Would it?
I tried to live trap it last night, but this morning found a closed trap with missing food. I'm terrified that I'm going to lose my flock! I have 18 chicks younger than a week running around with their mothers. I feel like I need to set up camp in the yard to keep watch 24/7!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Kessel23]

Wild mink can be pretty skittish especially depending on their experiences early in life. I had a big buck mink killing my rabbits a few winters ago and he would avoid the chickens, even the silkies. Some will be much more bold and aggressive. He might not attack again but no one can say for sure.

 

[Pekin747]

The mink could be a young and not to experienced yet

 

[bobbi-j]

Wild mink can be pretty skittish especially depending on their experiences early in life. I had a big buck mink killing my rabbits a few winters ago and he would avoid the chickens, even the silkies. Some will be much more bold and aggressive. He might not attack again but no one can say for sure.

I bet it will be back. It found a bunch of tasty snacks, just waiting for it.

 

[renay]

I bet it will be back. It found a bunch of tasty snacks, just waiting for it.

That's what I'm afraid of!

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Sounds like a mink to me. Good luck with the live trap, but I am not too sure if they go for those too often. Use a bait with some fishy smell, like a can of sardines in oil. Mainly though, make sure your ladies are locked up at night.

 

[Folly's place]

It's time to have your birds locked in their safe coop and run, while you try to catch this critter. Even if you can't get him, having nothing to eat at your place will encourage him to try elsewhere. I'd keep my birds in for at least two weeks...
Mary

 

[Callender Girl]

It does sound like a mink -- not too large but really fast, and you are so lucky it ran off! I would absolutely expect it to return.

I managed to save one of four hens in a coop when I literally had to chase off the mink with a three-pronged cultivator. It returned the later the same evening to find me sitting outside with a night-vision headlamp and a shovel. I chased it off again, but it returned the next day and took one of my Indian runner drakes in broad daylight.

Lock up your babies, add hardware cloth everywhere and stay vigilant! I slept with the windows open in the dead of winter for about a week. I also unsuccessfully tried to live- trap the mink, but remembering to double check all my locks and latches, along with adding more and more hardware cloth has been more successful.

Best of luck to you!!!

 

[wildwestcoast]

I had a similar problem with a mink last year it kept returning in broad daylight. It killed a flock of 5. I waited two weeks to replace my birds and on day 2 it struck again. I baited a live trap with of one of my dead chickens. It took a couple of days but I did get it. Where I live mink is one of the most frequent predators. In my experience it will keep coming back.

 

[renay]

Two or three days after I first saw it, I found it in some farm equipment and managed 2 shots with a pellet gun in its backside. It ran off and I didn't see it again.
Every night I have been locking the chickens up tight in a space that's too small, but at least it is safe. I am building a bigger safe space but that could still take a month or so to complete.
The mink came back this morning. It is hunting rats and running right past the baby chicks (ranging from 5 days old to 5 weeks). The chickens are not afraid and are actually curious about it. (And that freaks me out even more!)
My family wants me to leave it alone because it is only hunting rats. With the rate its killing them, the mink will have the rat population decimated by the end of the day. What an efficient hunter! I saw it run through the yard and by the time I threw my boots on and ran to the coop, it had already killed a large rat and was dragging it away.
Terrifyingly efficient.