FOR F#CK SAKE!!

declan1980

a f##king dirty b##tard of a mink got into my pheasant pen last night and killed 6 birds on me. all thats left is a cock and a hen.
they were all adult birds that had been reared from poults since last august. some were going to be released and some kept for breeding stock. but now i have to start all over again.
f##king sickened

Eddie B

You sure it was a mink? How did he mannage to get into the pen?

declan1980

Eddie B wrote: »

You sure it was a mink? How did he mannage to get into the pen?

all the birds had teeth marks on the back of their necks. he managed to dig in at a corner where the birds had been scratching at the clay on the inside

Eddie B

Cant rule out Pine Marten, or Stoat! Nothing as sickening as finding a whole pen of birds wiped out over night!

declan1980

Eddie B wrote: »

Cant rule out Pine Marten, or Stoat! Nothing as sickening as finding a whole pen of birds wiped out over night!

well hopefully whatever it was will come back and go into the mink trap i'm going to set over there. at least the father had let off about 6 birds already over the last couple of weeks

fodda

And then what?

Eddie B

Yea good chance he'll come back if there's still birds in the pen!
I find fish heads to be the best bait, but tend to go off fast in this weather!

Birdnuts

Eddie B wrote: »

Cant rule out Pine Marten, or Stoat! Nothing as sickening as finding a whole pen of birds wiped out over night!

AFAIK mink are more nocturnal and even more slippery when it comes to this kind of thing, they can literally fit through the eye of a needle - as someone who has kept poultry and outdoor cage birds, I know from bitter experience:(

PS: In the lastest edition of Irish Birds , the rare breeding bird section covering 2009 highlights the immense damage mink have done to the numbers of breeding waders and wildfowl on many lakes and Turloughts in the West of Ireland since the 80's:(

declan1980

Eddie B wrote: »

Yea good chance he'll come back if there's still birds in the pen!
I find fish heads to be the best bait, but tend to go off fast in this weather!

i was gonna try leaving a bit of pheasant breast that he didn't eat in the cage, maybe he might go into it after that

Birdnuts

declan1980 wrote: »

i was gonna try leaving a bit of pheasant breast that he didn't eat in the cage, maybe he might go into it after that

Another possbility is a feral polecat/ferret (though probably less likely then a mink) - they are about too!! - I saw 2 on the edge of the Curragh a few years back(2008)

Eddie B

declan1980 wrote: »

i was gonna try leaving a bit of pheasant breast that he didn't eat in the cage, maybe he might go into it after that

That might work, but a nice smelly trout head would be better (in my opinion)!
Any of your mates into fishing? Their surely out in this good weather!

declan1980

Eddie B wrote: »

That might work, but a nice smelly trout head would be better (in my opinion)!
Any of your mates into fishing? Their surely out in this good weather!

i know one or two guys i could ask alright. would i be better off leaving it beside the pen or down beside the river thats about 150 yards from the pen?

landkeeper

if it took them off the roost with a single bite my money would be on a pine marten , allthough you'll probably never know unless you catch him, just remember they are protected by law allthough in my opinion it's time that was reviewed. they are destructive little sods and cause mayhem in a pheasant pen of chicken run and it's near impossible to keep them out i was chatting to an old boy the other weekend who had one chew through the roof of his chicken shed and kill over 40 rare breed fowl eat one then curl up and sleep of it's dinner it was still there when he opened the door in the morning

Half-cocked

Tinned sardines in ketchup are great mink bait if you can't get fresh mackeral or trout.

declan1980

fodda wrote: »

And then what?

i'll dispatch it in a humane manner

declan1980

ok, the mink cage is set with some left over salmon the mother had and i filled in the hole where he got in. i guess now its just a matter of wait and see

Birdnuts

landkeeper wrote: »

if it took them off the roost with a single bite my money would be on a pine marten , allthough you'll probably never know unless you catch him, just remember they are protected by law allthough in my opinion it's time that was reviewed. they are destructive little sods and cause mayhem in a pheasant pen of chicken run and it's near impossible to keep them out i was chatting to an old boy the other weekend who had one chew through the roof of his chicken shed and kill over 40 rare breed fowl eat one then curl up and sleep of it's dinner it was still there when he opened the door in the morning

To be fair they also take plenty of vermin too - like grey squirrels, rats and even mink!!

PS: In fact I remember reading a while back that in areas where they are present, Grey Squirrel numbers have dropped significantly - good news for forestry operations etc.

Birdnuts

declan1980 wrote: »

i'll dispatch it in a humane manner

I assume your saying if its a mink - if its a protected species I suggest you hand it over to the local NPWS ranger

fodda

declan1980 wrote: »

i'll dispatch it in a humane manner

Mink totally agree kill on sight..............but just so you know that Pine Martins and Stoats are totally protected by law, because i think they are rare although making a come back but only in some parts.

Remember it is still your fault that the animal what ever it was got in to your pen because you didnt protect enough.

Before some one says that you can kill because they are killing stock, well pheasants are not classed as stock (unless this has changed) and also an imported alien species so really no real justification for destroying the natural wildlife of the country do you think?

Birdnuts

fodda wrote: »

Mink totally agree kill on sight..............but just so you know that Pine Martins and Stoats are totally protected by law, because i think they are rare although making a come back but only in some parts.

?

Good point - if their(Pine Martin) numbers ever reach fox levels(which I doubt given their basic ecology!!) then the science can be looked at again, but for now they have a pretty shakey foothold in many places which justifies their total protection:)

fodda

Birdnuts wrote: »

Good point - if their(Pine Martin) numbers ever reach fox levels(which I doubt given their basic ecology!!) then the science can be looked at again, but for now they have a pretty shakey foothold in many places which justifies their total protection:)

I think both animals were trapped/hunted for their fur which caused their demise so i was told.

Both Pine Martin and Stoats are hunter killers which take and keep in check things like rats, squirrels, rabbits, mice etc so do a lot of good.

FISMA

declan1980 wrote: »

a f##king dirty b##tard of a mink got into my pheasant pen last night and killed 6 birds on me. all thats left is a cock and a hen.
they were all adult birds that had been reared from poults since last august. some were going to be released and some kept for breeding stock. but now i have to start all over again.
f##king sickened

Declan,
Have you a baby monitor, or some other kind of device that could alert you to a ruckus in the pen?

I agree with the lads that the perp may return to the scene of the crime. However, you may not have the time to wait it out.

I bet if it had difficulty getting in, it will have difficulty getting out. If you had a baby sound monitor to alert you, you would certainly be able to get to the pen before it got out.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Birdnuts

FISMA wrote: »

Declan,
Have you a baby monitor, or some other kind of device that could alert you to a ruckus in the pen?

.

Thats actually a very good idea - I'll pass it on to the bro who's been hit a few times(rare breed layers) by mink:)

bunny shooter

Don't farmers use cameras in the calving sheds too ........... save wasted journeys if there's a rukus on the baby monitor

Birdnuts

bunny shooter wrote: »

Don't farmers use cameras in the calving sheds too ........... save wasted journeys if there's a rukus on the baby monitor

And post a live stream on the net!! - it will be like channel 4's Big Brother but with even more potential to watch all kinds of birds getting it on:D;)

declan1980

Birdnuts wrote: »

I assume your saying if its a mink - if its a protected species I suggest you hand it over to the local NPWS ranger

yes, i would hand it over if it was, but i have a feeling that it was a mink, and if i do catch one it'll be an eley 7 1/2 for him

Eddie B

declan1980 wrote: »

i know one or two guys i could ask alright. would i be better off leaving it beside the pen or down beside the river thats about 150 yards from the pen?

If i were you id put a trap tight to the mesh of the pen! Mink usually work their way around the pen searching for a weak spot for easy entry!

You say the river's only 150 yards away, that certainly points towards mink, but i have caught and released stoats and pinemartins on the riverbank!
If you could get your hands on another couple of traps you should trap the river as well, if there's one mink on the river then there's lots on it if not being trapped, and in another while there'll be young mink on the go, and their worst than the adults when it comes to looking for an easy meal!

Now as was said earlier, if a pen is made right, then no vermine should get in, so you need to secure your pen properly!
Finally, if your using tins of sardines as bait, get the ones in sunflower oil, and not in tomato sauce!!:D

johngalway

declan1980 wrote: »

ok, the mink cage is set with some left over salmon the mother had and i filled in the hole where he got in. i guess now its just a matter of wait and see

Dig it out again. Get two halves of a block and a full one, or something similar. Put the mink cage inside your pen right where the hole is. If you've got some feathers, spread them just around the mouth of the cage. Bit of John West sardines in sunflower oil inside the mink cage. Wrap it in a black plastic bin sack. Make sure the only way minky can go is into the cage, so with the blocks you block off the two sides and top so he can only come from the hole and into the mink cage. Wait for your customer.

John had a mink get into his hen house. He has a net enclosed pen on the side of the shed, there's a block missing in the wall where the hen's get out into the enclosure. Mink got through the net and into the shed, only killed one so he got lucky. I set the cage as described above and we had the mink the next morning.

declan1980

i set the mink trap last night tight to the side of the pen with some left over salmon in it, then covered it with grass. no joy this morning:(
i'll leave it there for a while and see what happens

blackwater doc

ive killed 21 mink so far around my pen have 6 heavy duty rat traps going around the sides of it and 4 mink traps with fish heads jesus sorry to hear of your misfortune

Backfire

declan1980 wrote: »

a f##king dirty b##tard of a mink got into my pheasant pen last night and killed 6 birds on me. all thats left is a cock and a hen.
they were all adult birds that had been reared from poults since last august. some were going to be released and some kept for breeding stock. but now i have to start all over again.
f##king sickened

i know how you feel, about 8 years ago, a mink got in a window (we forgot to close one night) into a small shed we have for ducks....it killed over 20 ducks.....we had 4 alive in the morning....:(

pestcontroller

Me and a friend were shooting magpies about a month ago when i copped something out of the corner of me eye, a mink walking along the edge of a dike. I shot him, me buddy pulled him out of the water and he'll be worth six points in the vermin competition. i doubt if you'll have it as easy but best of luck gettin rid of him:)

Birdnuts

pestcontroller wrote: »

Me and a friend were shooting magpies about a month ago when i copped something out of the corner of me eye, a mink walking along the edge of a dike. I shot him, me buddy pulled him out of the water and he'll be worth six points in the vermin competition. i doubt if you'll have it as easy but best of luck gettin rid of him:)

Fair play - their needs to be a concerted effort from all interested parties around the country to eliminate this most destructive of alien invaders!!

terminator2

well if the antis didnt keep letting them out.........look at the s**t we are in now .......you dont see any of them buying mink traps or cages

Birdnuts

terminator2 wrote: »

well if the antis didnt keep letting them out.........look at the s**t we are in now .......you dont see any of them buying mink traps or cages

Don't talk to me!! - they make Jedward look like 2 intellectual giants:rolleyes:

steddyeddy

It sounds like a mink nocturnal and the position of the bite marks is indicative of a mink. It is not a pine martin so dont think of specifically hunting them as they are an endangered species.

steddyeddy

landkeeper wrote: »

if it took them off the roost with a single bite my money would be on a pine marten , allthough you'll probably never know unless you catch him, just remember they are protected by law allthough in my opinion it's time that was reviewed. they are destructive little sods and cause mayhem in a pheasant pen of chicken run and it's near impossible to keep them out i was chatting to an old boy the other weekend who had one chew through the roof of his chicken shed and kill over 40 rare breed fowl eat one then curl up and sleep of it's dinner it was still there when he opened the door in the morning

There is not a chance that law will be reviewed and rightfully so they are an endangered species if they cause trouble for the minority of the population thats unfortunate but no enough premise for said minority to affect an endangered species.