How to get rid of a ferret in a chicken coop 

The ferret is a beautiful but dangerous animal. Having got into the chicken coop, he will not rest until he destroys the whole bird. Having found traces of his stay, you need to urgently decide how to catch a ferret in a chicken coop.

Catching a ferret is not easy. This is a smart and cautious animal belonging to the weasel family. To deal with him, you need to know his habits well.

Description of the animal

The ferret is unusually dexterous and cunning. Its long, narrow body with a bushy tail is perfectly adapted to penetrate narrow burrows. If necessary, he defends himself admirably or quickly runs away, knocking dogs off his trail with a jet of smelly liquid. He lives on the edge of the forest or on the plain. It digs a hole, but if it finds a ready one, it settles in it. Feeding on rodents, the ferret benefits, as it reduces their number. Reptiles and birds also serve as food for the animal. He even knows how to dive for fish in the river. Insects and honey from forest bees are a delicacy for him.

If the ferret is tamed at a young age, he will become an excellent guardian of the owner’s chicken coop and will not let mice or rats near him. However, no one guarantees that he will not raid the neighboring chicken coop – after all, this is someone else’s territory.

Arrangement of a chicken coop

If the ferret has not yet appeared in the vicinity of the chicken coop, it is necessary to strengthen and equip the room well so that not a single predator gets inside:

• concrete or cover the floors in the chicken coop with metal sheets;
• experienced owners strengthen the base of the chicken coop with a fine-mesh metal mesh to a depth of half a meter;
• one of the best options is to install a poultry house on high supports, while it is better to upholster the floor with iron sheets;
• mesh can be sheathed and the ceiling;
• install a secure lock on the door;
• the territory should be fenced with a metal mesh;
• around the chicken coop, you can lay out flat stones next to the net – in this place the ferret will not be able to dig;
• all cracks and holes must be sealed;
• replace old, bent boards with new ones;
• in the vicinity there should be no garbage heaps, dumped building materials, so that the ferret could not hide there.

After watching the video, you can get acquainted with the ways of arranging a chicken coop.

Aggressiveness

The ferret in the chicken coop is very aggressive. Having sneaked up unnoticed, with a sudden jump, he attacks the chicken, strangles it, and then eats it.

However, the ferret kills much more than it eats. Chickens and young hens are a delicacy for him. Traces of the ferret in the chicken coop remain in the form of strangled chickens. The survivors behave restlessly, do not get off the perch. If a ferret visited the chicken coop at night, the chickens urgently need to be saved – transferred to another place, and the room strengthened.

Catching an animal

The ferret goes hunting at night. In order to catch him, you need to be well prepared. Put on thick mittens on your hands to protect your hands from his sharp teeth. You can throw an old thick coat on the animal. Wrap it up and put it in a cage. Further, the best way out is to take the ferret caught in the chicken coop further into the forest and release it into the wild. If, while catching the animal, he still managed to bite his hand, you need to pinch his nose and stick a piece of wood into his jaw.

You can catch a ferret in a chicken coop and with a trap. But at the same time, it should be remembered that the animal will not approach him if he feels a human smell on him. Therefore, the trap must be processed in one of the following ways:

• boil with spruce needles;
• smear with manure;
• hold in slaked lime.

If there are already digs around the chicken coop, then the trap should be placed at their exit. And bird feathers will serve as bait.

Homemade traps

You can easily make them yourself at home.

Under the emphasis, obliquely place a cardboard box, placing a piece of fresh meat there. When a ferret appears under the box, attracted by the smell of meat, it will slam shut. You can use a cage or a bucket instead of a box. However, this method does not give a full guarantee that the ferret in the chicken coop will fall into a trap. He may not hit the prop or pass the trap.

You can prepare a simple trap yourself:

• cut off both ends of a two-liter plastic bottle;
• at one end lay the bait from a piece of meat;
• a chair is placed in the path of the ferret in the chicken coop, and a bottle is placed on it so that its end with the bait is on the edge of the chair;
• in this place, an empty bucket is placed under the chair – you need to correctly calculate its position so that the ferret from the chair falls directly into the bucket;
• the lid of the bucket is fixed in such a way that at the slightest movement it closes.

Having set a trap for a ferret in the chicken coop, it remains to wait for the animal to appear. Smelling the smell of meat, the animal will covet the prey. When he grabs the bait, he will outweigh the end of the bottle with the weight of his body and fall into the substituted bucket.

After that, you need to take the ferret away from the farm and release it into the wild.

You can also put a bucket with a chicken carcass in the chicken coop. Place a few traps around it. Even if the animal can avoid traps on the way to the bait, moving back with the prey, it will still fall into the trap.

Modern technical means

One of the modern ways to deal with a ferret in a chicken coop is scarer lights that react to any movement. They are installed next to the chicken coop. When an animal appears, the lantern reacts with light and sound effects, scaring away the animal. You can also use ultrasonic repellers.

live trap

Since it is difficult to get rid of a ferret in a chicken coop using ordinary traps and traps, you can try using a live trap. It consists of:

• an elongated wooden case, equipped with a door at the end, which falls at the right moment and closes the entrance;
• guards with stops in the form of two nails driven through the lower part;
• gatehouses with a ring put on it;
• sim card passing through the hole to the ring;
• the lifting height of the door is regulated by a SIM card with a special spring;
• the back wall has a small window covered with a transparent material – plastic or plexiglass.

As bait, you can use pieces of meat, carcasses of rodents. The bait is placed at the back wall.

Moving towards it through an open passage, the ferret steps on the alert. The emphasis falls, setting the gatehouse in motion. Sim’s ring flies off, and the door falls down, blocking the entrance. What to do with a caught ferret? The best way to release in the field.

Folk ways

To get rid of a ferret in a chicken coop, some summer residents advise coating the walls of the chicken coop with tar or laying sheep or goat skins around it. Specific smells will scare away the ferret, and he will prefer to look for another territory for hunting.

You can put a dog house next to the chicken coop. Having smelled the animal, the dog will raise a noise and drive it away. It is not recommended to leave the dog in the chicken coop itself, as both she and the chickens will behave restlessly. If a dog just runs around in the yard, it will scare away the ferret, even if it does not catch it. You can leave a cat in the house for the night, but not every one of them will cope with the ferret in the chicken coop.

One of the ways to protect the chicken coop at home are geese. They sleep very sensitively and at the slightest rustle they will make a noise. Perfectly protect the poultry house and turkeys. Raising a commotion, they will scare away the little predator and discourage him from visiting the chicken coop.

Conclusion

When fighting a ferret in a chicken coop, one must remember that this is a predator, which nature has endowed with a certain instinct. It is not suitable for plant foods. The animal destroys the bird, guided by its instincts, and not by the desire to harm. So don’t kill him. It is better to take care of the chicken coop protection with strong walls and floors.