How to catch a wild ferret and how to get rid of it correctly
The ferret, like many wild predators, can wreak havoc on the owners of rabbits or birds. However, most often these animals do not suit people. Many ruined chicken coops are attributed to ferrets, although martens or foxes are the culprits. However, these small, flexible animals can enter the house, resulting in the killing of all poultry.
How to catch a wild ferret
Animals often do not control their instincts and can gut up to 80% of the chicken coop in one hunt. That is why farmers are trying to catch the animal as quickly as possible. Before you catch a ferret, you should decide on where the animal enters the house and the type of traps.
Signs of a ferret in the house
First of all, you need to determine the type of animal. Very often the hen house is ruined by a marten or an ermine; other traps must be used for them. You can distinguish animal breeds from the photo. Ferret traps are also suitable for petting: these predators are similar in build and behavior.
The ferret, like many small predators, prefers mass slaughter of birds. For him, the hunting process itself is primarily important, and not how many carcasses the animal is able to eat. The first sign of a ferret entering the house is bird behavior. If the chickens do not leave their perches, a predator made its way to them at night.
In this case, you should act immediately: the ferret can destroy all the chickens in the poultry house in several excursions. The animal kills all the birds, because it considers the room to be its own. In this way, the animal prepares for itself supplies.
Even if the hens are reintroduced into the empty house, the ferret can enter the house again.
Many farmers are wondering how to catch a ferret in a chicken coop. To do this, you can use various methods of catching medium-sized predators.
ferret traps
It should be noted right away that the ferret will not go into an empty trap or trap. To catch this smart beast, you should use bait. To this end, you can scatter bird feathers around the traps or pour animal blood over the traps.
A dead bird is ideal for the role of bait. She is laid on the ground, and traps are placed around. Even if the ferret can avoid the traps, then, dragging the prey, it will fall into the trap. The fact is that the predator usually pulls its prey, backing away.
Before setting a trap or cage, it must be carefully treated to repel human odor. For these purposes, you can use:
- coniferous broth;
- infusion of wormwood;
- manure.
If traps are installed around the perimeter of the yard, you should restrict the movement of all pets. Not only ferrets can be interested in meat, but also dogs or cats.
Before using a trap to get rid of a ferret in a chicken coop, you need to close up all the cracks and holes in the room, except for the one where the trap is.To set the trap correctly, you should watch the training video, otherwise you can violate safety procedures.
Use of pets
To get rid of ferret and weasel, many farmers use dogs and cats. Specially trained dogs are released along the perimeter of the yard on a long chain. The animal patrols the poultry houses at night, excluding possible attacks by predators.
Properly trained cats can be locked in a chicken coop overnight. They do not touch poultry, but they are good at hunting rats and ferrets.
Pets fighting ferrets
Some farmers take domestic ferret breeds to guard their chicken coops. Ferrets perfectly hunt small rodents and scare away their wild brethren. However, both cats and ferrets should not be allowed into the house where there are chickens: this can cause the awakening of the hunting instincts in animals.
Dogs are not allowed to be locked in poultry houses: in confined spaces, animals are stressed and may attack chickens.
Homemade ferret traps
You can make a device for catching ferrets with your own hands. The simplest type of trap is a regular box or bucket with a support. A piece of meat is placed in the center, preferably with a lot of blood. The animal usually knocks out the support with a careless movement when it grabs onto the bait. However, such a trap should be checked several times a day. If you don't act quickly enough, the ferret can slip away.
There is also a more advanced design for catching small predators. Usually it is used if they want to catch a ferret alive in order to tame the animal. For this trap you will need:
- a cage with a frontal door that descends vertically;
- bait;
- rope;
- external lever.
Before you get rid of a wild ferret or weasel, you need to determine from which side the animal makes its way into the chicken coop. To do this, the day before, you should sprinkle the ground around the chicken coop with ash or sand and see where the traces remain. A bleeding piece of meat is hung on one end of the rope, the other is tied to the door of the cage, after which the resulting loop is thrown over the outer lever.
As soon as the predator grabs a piece of meat, the door will close under its own weight and the animal will be trapped. This method of catching animals has several disadvantages:
- The bait can attract other pets or wild animals.
- In some cases, the ferret prefers live chickens over meat.
- If the proportions of the meat are incorrectly calculated, the ferret will be able to escape and will no longer fit such a design.
In the northern regions, homemade ice traps are used to trap the predator. The materials for such a trap will practically not cost anything, and it is extremely easy to make it. To capture one ferret, you will need the following tools:
- 10 l bucket;
- bait;
- water.
A metal container is filled with water and left outside the house overnight. In the morning, an ice block is pulled out of the bucket, at the end of which a hole with a diameter of 10 cm is drilled. The tunnel should not be through. A bait is laid in the hole or bird's blood is poured. Once the ferret crawls into the trap, it will no longer be able to crawl back out.
This method is often fatal for the animal. The ferret either suffocates in a narrow passage, or dies of the cold.
Ferret scare off methods
There are several ways to scare an animal away without capturing it. To do this, you can use special electronic devices that emit signals at low frequencies. For human hearing, these sounds do not cause inconvenience, but predators tend to quickly leave such a place. The fact is that low purities animals are classified as an impending earthquake. The disadvantage of this method is the disturbance of dogs and poultry.
You can also use a light source with a motion sensor. As soon as the ferret approaches the poultry house, such a lamp can frighten off the predator.However, such a repeller cannot capture the entire perimeter around the chicken coop, so the ferret can always sneak into the blind spot. Very often, lighting devices are also equipped with sound signals to discourage predators. This method of scaring away is suitable for a summer residence or a country house, since it does not require human control.
Folk ways of dealing with a ferret
Some farmers recommend that the outside of the house be coated with tar. This method is used by private breeders and poultry farmers. However, without strengthening the foundation and roof, tar is useless: the ferret can easily dig a tunnel or penetrate a crack. There is an opinion that such material can scare off predators with its smell, but this has not been officially confirmed.
Traditional methods of dealing with a ferret
Also, poultry owners are advised to spread or hang goatskin on the wall of the barn. It is believed that the smell of these animals scares off representatives of the weasel family.
With a certain dexterity, you can catch a ferret with your own hands. To do this, use a fur coat or heavy jacket. You can also use fine mesh fishing tackle. The device is thrown over the animal, after which the ferret is pulled out by the withers. Rough gloves should be worn before contact with a wild predator: ferrets have very sharp teeth. If the animal has bitten the skin, you should immediately consult a doctor. Ferrets are carriers of many diseases.
Preventive measures
Ferrets are highly intelligent. These predators are very resourceful and cunning, so an ordinary trap will not always save chickens from the animal. Experienced farmers recommend taking into account the possibility of attack by predators even during the construction of the poultry house.
If the coop is sealed, the ferret will not be able to get to its prey. To ensure the safety of poultry, the following preventive measures should be taken:
- Strengthen walls, seal cracks and cracks with cement.
- During construction, the foundation of the shed should be poured with concrete. This is a safety measure to prevent predators from digging. The concrete base will not only protect against ferrets, but also against larger foxes and martens.
- The floor of the chicken coop must be covered with iron, covering it with boards on top.
- A fine mesh should be dug in along the perimeter of the room from the outside. In some cases, the grate can be replaced with heavy stones.
- There should be no unnecessary items in the house itself, as ferrets like to hide in a cluster of boxes or crates. If the predator does not have shelter, then he will be afraid to attack chickens.
- The door of the hen house should be tightly closed, at night the house is locked with a padlock or latch.
- The ventilation system should be 2 m above the ground. Air circulation openings are covered with grilles.
- If a ferret lifts a chicken while walking, the remaining birds should be carefully monitored.
A similar series of actions will help protect chickens, ducks and turkeys from this unpleasant predator. Before you get rid of a wild ferret, you should decide on the further fate of the animal. The animal does not have to be killed. It is enough to take it a few kilometers from home and release it into its usual living conditions. The predator will not return to the house in this case.