How to catch a ferret in a chicken coop: the best methods of control and how to repel forever

This cute animal, the hero of many cartoons, is a dangerous predator capable of destroying the entire poultry population in a short time. Smart owners must protect chickens from a predator in advance and know how to catch a dodgy and cunning ferret if they appear in the chicken coop. There are enough proven and effective ways to do this.

What you need to know about a 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 paws are stocky, short, so the body of the ferret looks squat. The animal has an oval head, a small muzzle is slightly elongated, with a dark pattern in the form of a mask.

The ferret is very mobile and active - this agile animal crawls through any gap without any problems, climbs trees, roofs of buildings, digs tunnels and burrows and swims well in the water. With its small size (up to 50 centimeters in length), this small, but very agile, smart and cunning animal is capable of destroying the entire chicken herd overnight.

He can get into any, even seemingly the strongest and most durable chicken coop. Moreover, the ferret eats only one bird, and kills the rest for the future, in reserve, so it is a doubly dangerous predator. The animal kills chickens by strangling them by gnawing their throats.

Often the traces of his stay in the poultry house are discovered by the owners only when it is already too late - the whole bird is ruthlessly killed and spoiled.

Signs of appearance

The ferret is a nocturnal, secretive predator, so it will be quite problematic to take him by surprise. 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 in case of reed cover;
• finding a chicken or an adult chicken with a gnawed throat, as well as parts of a bird: severed legs, heads, feathers and pools of blood;
• when the owner enters the chicken coop in the morning, the chickens continue to perch, behave restlessly, refuse to go down to the floor.

How to get rid of a ferret in a chicken coop?

A ferret, having settled in a chicken coop, will consider it his "legitimate" hunting grounds. Moreover, even after destroying all the birds in the chicken coop, he will come for prey again. Therefore, regular updating of 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 a wooden box with a slamming door that the ferret can easily fit into. A bait is placed inside the trap, which is a delicacy for the animal, usually a part of the bird's carcass is placed. The door adjusts to close when the ferret grabs the bait inside the cage.

They put a trap in the chicken coop at night, and in the morning they go to check if the predator has been caught. In case of success, the question arises before the person - whether to deprive the animal of life or to act more humanely? When choosing the second option, it is taken away several kilometers from the chicken coop and released, preferably in the forest.But this method of fishing has its drawbacks that you need to know before installing:

• bait attracts other animals and birds;
• ferret often chooses live prey instead of dead carcasses that act as bait;
• if the proportions of the bait are incorrectly calculated or the mechanism that closes the door fails, the animal will never come close to the trap again.

Modern technical facilities

Technological progress does not stand still, today there are devices that can easily rid the site of intruders. Ultrasonic modern repellers (like Tornado 1200) produce low-frequency sounds that are not audible to the human ear. Ferrets do not tolerate them and prefer to bypass the area protected in this way.

Light and sound scarers will help scare away the night predator.When approaching the chicken coop of the animal, 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 work autonomously, powered by rechargeable batteries.

But it is important to regularly monitor the charge level so that they are always in a “combat-ready state”.

Traps

If a tunnel is found under the wall of the chicken coop, the owners should not fill it up or close it up. Firstly, the predator will dig a new one without any problems, and secondly, the discovered tunnel is a great opportunity to bring out the ferret by catching it. Near the entrance, traps are placed in a chaotic manner. But in an empty, unprepared mechanism, a cunning ferret is unlikely to fall. 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 grabbing the victim with its teeth, the ferret moves back. Then he can 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 broth so that the ferret does not smell the human smell. The installation of the trap itself is carried out only with gloves. But even such measures do not give a full guarantee of success in capturing the dodgy animal.

Pet help

In the event of the appearance of an animal, 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 hardened, armed with sharp teeth, dodgy ferret can end in tears. Another thing is cats, accustomed to life and hunting in the yard, the so-called "rat-catchers".

They are closed for the night in a chicken coop, and in the morning they check the result of the hunt. But entrusting the protection of the poultry house to one or more dogs can be quite effective. Nimble, hunting breeds, such as the Jagdterrier, are especially good at catching ferrets.

Folk ways

In rural life, over the years of fighting a predator, several methods have been developed in order to repel or catch a ferret. Here are the main ones:

• goat skins are hung in the chicken coop, which have a specific, unpleasant, pungent smell that repels the animal;
• in places inaccessible to birds, the walls of the chicken coop are coated with tar - the ferret does not tolerate such a smell, it will bypass the poultry house;
• set up simple traps from improvised means. Place a large pot, boil-out or bucket on a wobbly support. A meat bait is placed inside, which the ferret will knock down when he tries to eat the treat, and the fallen bucket will cover him. It remains only to carefully lift and catch the animal.

It is worth noting that folk remedies acquire particular effectiveness in combination with other, more modern methods.

Can the beast be caught and tamed?

The ferret is a smart and cunning animal that can be trained over time, it is able to perform various tricks. At first, the animal must be kept in a cage, and then it will be possible to freely release it. Among other things, a domesticated ferret can scare away its wild counterparts.

How to prevent bird kills

To prevent the death of birds, it is necessary to perform a number of complex actions, consisting of the following factors:

• strengthening, preparing the chicken coop;
• establishment on the site of cats or dogs;
• garbage collection and no makeshift dumps;
• regular check for undermining;
• watching the appearance of chickens;
• installation of modern repellers.

How to avoid spawning?

The penetration of the ferret into the house can be made as difficult as possible. For this, a concrete floor is first poured, since the main method of penetration of a predator is digging. You can also make a wooden floor, but sheathe it with sheets of material that the ferret cannot gnaw through. You need to check for cracks in the walls, near the floor, and between the roof and walls.

Ventilation openings are closed 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 the entire area clean - landfills of construction and organic waste attract the animal, and it will gladly settle nearby.

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