westie mum Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 My neighbour has just told me that he saw a weasle in his garden over the weekend. Should I be worried? My girls are in an 18 foot WIR but they do get let out daily for a few hours to free range. My neighbour said that he had looked it up and weasles don't attack chickens but from the info I've seen on the internet it says they do So I'm confused should I keep them confined to barracks or is it still ok to let them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I think some people have had problems with stoats before. Just looking on a wildlife website and, according to that, large weasels are similar in build to small stoats. Whether a small stoat (or large weasel) would be capable of attacking a chicken or whether it is just larger stoats that do so, I just don't know. The website states that as part of their diet stoats eat chickens whereas weasels eat birds. Hopefully someone more knowledgable on here can advise you better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I can imagine that a weasel might be a threat to baby chicks, but surely it would be too small for a fully grown hen would it not - even a banty hen?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I would probably be cautious. Weasels can and do catch rabbits which I would think would be more difficult to catch than a chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexhen Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I would be concerned, I was speaking to a breeder who had a goose killed by either a stoat or weasle, i think they creep up from behind and bite through the back of the neck - sometimes removing the head altogether which happened in her case, but I think that was at night when the poor goose was asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westie mum Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Thanks everyone, I'm not going to risk free ranging. They will have to moan all they like but it's for their own good that they stay in the WIR !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 I think they can also get into very small holes so make sure you've checked that they can't get in the coop or run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
