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Predator/Varmint control

Oh...and rechargeable batteries are not always recharged to full potential. They lose their life span.
 
Wow, thanks gentlemen!

I had heard of some issues but never had a reason to really look into it.

The batteries I have came with the light. They take forever to charge and tend to die quickly. The light uses one cell at a time. They're a little bigger than a AA battery.

I'll have to check that out RipJack. Thanks guys for the links.
 
Oh, I'll look up the fisher cat too.

Also saw some sort of mink or ferret creature the previous night.

I have an area near my target stands where I've killed things and it's also where I dump dead chickens from time to time so I guess the ground stays kinda "baited". So I see a bunch of stuff move through there.
 
I looked up the fisher cat. It's kinda weird because upon seeing it I realized it looks very similar to the ferret or mink like creature I had seen the previous night. My daughter has also seen this all brown ferret like looking thing before on a few occasions. We just guessed it to be mink which we know to be around here.

Now the fisher cat has few known or confirmed sightings in Ohio. But there are some with mention of ranging from PA to WV and into the appalachians. That puts us in between. Ohio has put them on the furbearer list but there is no hunting date. So they are around here. It could be the thing we've been seeing. The size is about right and now I'm wondering if that is among the things that has dug into our chicken pen a couple times. I've found a couple chickens killed in a kinda weird manner. I had thought maybe weasels.
 
I had Allison look at the fisher cat;
She said emphatically,

"OH MY GOODNESS THAT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE WHAT I SAW!!!"
 
We've found chickens with the heads bitten off completely and that being the only part left behind. Coyote and fox do more of a smash and grab if you will. Get in get out. I've found several holes started around the perimeter of the pen and we've been trying to figure out what it could have been.

I can't say for certain it's a fisher cat and like I said, we had thought maybe weasels.

I need to invest in trail cams but there's the word "invest" in there. Jenny was all over getting trail cams until she looked at the price. So decoys and lights were less expensive.

For what it's worth, I don't think of this as "my post". Anyone else dealing with the similar stuff is welcome to jump in.
 
Do ferrel cats count? I get them in the pasture occassionally. .22 mag handles them well. I've lost several chickens this summer. Unfortunately I can't pin down when, as I don't usually count them every night when I feed. Didn't find any remnants either. I've taken a few raccoons, and possums out over the years. The coyote problem has died down since the old railroad bed behind me has been cleared. I don't tell the neighbors that though. I let on like coyotes are still a major problem. I've not seen any birds of prey hanging out. So I really don't know what I should be hunting....

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Yep, feral cats count. I've had to deal with a few of those too.

We've had several chickens disappear. I try and look for tracks or anything left behind. Usually with fox or coyote, there will be a few feathers and then if I go looking, I often find another spot with more feathers, almost always.
 
Also the chickens stay in pasture with the other animals. Just standard field fence, the only spot low enough to be jumped over is at the gate, and my lab clears it easily. I don't know as a Fox could get a chicken through the fence, even if it could slip through itself.

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We used to free range our chickens. We'd leave the pen open and they'd come and go as they please. But that one winter, fox an coyote wiped out everything in a very short period of time. Even after closing the pen and keeping them locked up, something was getting to them anyway. I know a fox was getting to them for awhile, we had seen it several times creeping up to the pen. Now it's dead. I got that one.

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We've found chickens with the heads bitten off completely and that being the only part left behind. Coyote and fox do more of a smash and grab if you will. Get in get out. I've found several holes started around the perimeter of the pen and we've been trying to figure out what it could have been.

I can't say for certain it's a fisher cat and like I said, we had thought maybe weasels.

I need to invest in trail cams but there's the word "invest" in there. Jenny was all over getting trail cams until she looked at the price. So decoys and lights were less expensive.

For what it's worth, I don't think of this as "my post". Anyone else dealing with the similar stuff is welcome to jump in.
Hey Ross there are some really expensive cams but ive not found the need. I have had veey good service from the lower cost Moultrie models. Around 40 to 50 bucs. Its really worth it but it is an addictive hobby.
https://jet.com/product/detail/2792...&clickid=37e06329-a09a-466c-a828-22560df251ff
Dont feed the kids for a week and get you a set youll be glad you did and kids be fine for a week no problem.
 
40 to 50 ain't bad! I haven't seen anything locally that wasn't 80+!
 
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