What is getting my chickens thru the wire?

[Beth Curran]

I'm betting on the possum.

[Rebecca G Howie]

Well looks like I also had a George Jones pestering my grow outs . Apparently he doesn’t know the girl that lives here because if he did he would’ve steered clear. Royce believe it or not my daughter killed one I believe 2 winters ago while out adventuring with her B.B. gun. Our rules are if you kill it, you have to eat it. So at 13 she skinned her fist opossum, my poor dear wife actually found a pretty good recipe off Pinterest I believe. She wrapped it in bacon and surrounded it with apples and I hate to admit it but it actually tasted good. To me it tasted just about like duck, all dark meat and if you got past what you were eating it was fairly decent 

I have given several coon and possum to folks who still eat them and get quite excited when one is available. I have heard some people will pay for the critters  , but have not found those buyers myself.   

[Dana Smith]

Hello,
We just had this problem too, and three other customers of mine, all within this late summer timeframe. Ours was the long-tail weasel. It will get into any hole or crack etc. roughly 3/4” or larger. A family of  weasel,  2 adults and up to 6 adult young,moved in after dessimating a flock a mile and a half up the road. They killed 36 of our birds at all heights on roosts and specifically in the nursery that had been boarded up due to previous nights raids. We trapped one, found the nest and shot three others. They seemed to move on after we fortified the coops but the girls have stop laying due to the trauma and loss of life around them.
We were ready for everything except weasels. Hopefully now, upu will be prepared too.

[John W Blehm]

I'm sorry for your loses.  I've had many over the decades, buy I don't think any were caused by weasels.  I did catch one (an ermine, aka short-tailed weasel) in a trap one winter.  It was inside a shed that included my chicken coop at the time.  It was pure white with a black tail.  The late Jeanne Trent, from northern Michigan, lost many birds to ermine.  Harry Shaffer, in PA, has also had experience with weasels.
As predator proof as my coops and pens are I've always figured a weasel or ermine could get in and do some damage, but I've been lucky.   

[Tailfeathers]

Sorry for your loss, Dana. There's a post from a month or two ago on here somewhere that I made where I posted a pic of the varmint that slaughtered 40 of my grow outs.  Of course, I had just sold 40 cockerels the week before so, wouldn't ya know it, most of the ones the mink got were pullets.

This is my 11th year on the place and, like John, I always knew it was probably only a matter of time before a mink, weasel, or such migrated in to the place.  I was pretty disgusted at the time but time has a way of easing that away and when I have days like today where I can take the time to look out over the property, gaze upon Three Fingers out my picture window, listen to the chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, peafowl and other critters, I realize just how blessed I am and remember that it's all part of living the life I have.

Do I ever think about hanging this all up and moving to some Development on a cul-de-sac with a 5x5' front yard and I can shake hands with the neighbor outta the window?  NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!      

[Mike Gilbert]

Royce, what is Three Fingers?   Got a photo to share?

[John W Blehm]

Royce, what is Three Fingers?   Got a photo to share?

I was thinking it is a bay (water), so I looked it up...
Three Fingers (Washington)

2nd photo

[Russ Blair]

Wow that's an impressive view

[Tailfeathers]

Those a good pics but a little closer view than what I have.  I thought I had some pics I could post but evidently I deleted or lost them somehow.  There's a video on my FB profile that shows several of the ones I was looking for though.  Here's a couple I did find.  The first is the first day of a fire last year.  The second a couple days later.

[Rebecca G Howie]

Oh my, you do have a lovely view!