Ha! You thought we were done with these for the year didn't you?
Well...the mink (I think), has other ideas.
I went out this morning and found FIVE of the layers dead. All of them had their necks snapped right at the base of the skull...two of them were actually missing their heads. I was not a happy chicken farmer this morning, that is for sure. This leaves me with sixteen birds, including the rooster who isn't a brave one. He just makes noise from behind the girls...
Well, towards dusk, I got the live trap out of the barn and set it in one spot where I have had two to three dead birds previously (before this morning). Then, Daddy and I got the two small snap traps set. There is a third one probably floating around the barn someplace, but since the critter that was getting into the chicken feed carried it off, we have no idea where it is. I came in and then I recalled that I was supposed to check bait ideas for mink.
Sounds like just about anything...so I raced out into the growing dark towards the spot where I had thrown the dead birds this morning. I whipped out my knife and hacked the quarters off two of the birds and then bounded across the back barnyard to the chicken area. I set the snap traps with slivers of thigh meat and then decorated the chains with feathers...I also smeared the quarters about on the ground around the traps in an feeble attempt to cover up other smells. I dumped the rest of the meat into the live trap.
I'm rather hoping to find a critter in my trap(s) tomorrow morning and no dead chickens. If it's a mink I'll be adding another hide to my collection. (I haven't finished the previous mink yet.)
Anyway, I've done all I can and now leave the outcome to Providence. In other words, I'm going to sleep tonight and not worry about things. If I'm to get the varmint, he'll be there and if I'm not, well...he won't be.
Well...the mink (I think), has other ideas.
I went out this morning and found FIVE of the layers dead. All of them had their necks snapped right at the base of the skull...two of them were actually missing their heads. I was not a happy chicken farmer this morning, that is for sure. This leaves me with sixteen birds, including the rooster who isn't a brave one. He just makes noise from behind the girls...
Well, towards dusk, I got the live trap out of the barn and set it in one spot where I have had two to three dead birds previously (before this morning). Then, Daddy and I got the two small snap traps set. There is a third one probably floating around the barn someplace, but since the critter that was getting into the chicken feed carried it off, we have no idea where it is. I came in and then I recalled that I was supposed to check bait ideas for mink.
Sounds like just about anything...so I raced out into the growing dark towards the spot where I had thrown the dead birds this morning. I whipped out my knife and hacked the quarters off two of the birds and then bounded across the back barnyard to the chicken area. I set the snap traps with slivers of thigh meat and then decorated the chains with feathers...I also smeared the quarters about on the ground around the traps in an feeble attempt to cover up other smells. I dumped the rest of the meat into the live trap.
I'm rather hoping to find a critter in my trap(s) tomorrow morning and no dead chickens. If it's a mink I'll be adding another hide to my collection. (I haven't finished the previous mink yet.)
Anyway, I've done all I can and now leave the outcome to Providence. In other words, I'm going to sleep tonight and not worry about things. If I'm to get the varmint, he'll be there and if I'm not, well...he won't be.
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