Mink

johngalway

Talking to a guy I know from years back at the market today, used to buy ewes off me. He's into various things now, one of them is rearing ducks. Got a delivery of 200 very young ducks, I think they may have been day olds, on the Wednesday. He was at a different market on the Friday, he's got a stall. Phone rings and it's the wife, "More than half of those ducks are gone", "Can't be!, nothing can get in or out of that shed".

2x2 inch weldmesh...

Oh dear.

Final tally came to 133 killed. Mink was got at 7pm the next evening, back in the same shed. Shot by a neighbour. They shot a young mink prowling around a day later.

They've also lost a few hens lately, so we had a good chat about trapping.

fodda

Should be 1" weld mesh and chicken netting attached at bottom and dug into ground with at least 18" under the soil and then good mains energiser electric fencing up to 5-6ft.

Never understand people who try and keep poultry and think they can just make do or let them roam wild and expect nothing to happen to them, may not have been the case here as they seem to have tried with almost the right material

landkeeper

you'll never keep mink out if it really wants to get in it will ,and a juvenile can fit through a gap that a mouse can use , i worked on a disease free secure trout farm in scotland and we used to have a serious problem with them , and i learned a lot about how to catch them there , they are really clever when push comes to shove they can get into places you wouldn't believe
so keeping them away from poultry can be fun an electric fence with the bottom strand 3" off the ground will keep them back from a fence in my experience
a few well placed tunnel traps around the edge of whatever pen is used will pick up mink/rats/stoats as they work around looking for a way in