Expert: Jonathan Wright - 3/1/2008

Question
For the past year and a half, we have kept 4 chickens and 2 rabbits in several hutches right outside the back of the house. They are standard rabbit hutches with strong steel mesh enclosing them all.  Each animal has access to either built-in shelter areas or cardboard boxes with one side open and away from the wind (that are replaced regularly) with hay and shavings so that the animals can hide from the chill.

Yesterday we found one rabbit dead in his cardboard box, which had some chewed out parts, but was otherwise intact. The hutch was ccmpletely closed. After removing the rabbit, I noticed his neck was torn out. After looking on the internet, I thought perhaps the rabbit had some molar spurs and had clawed open his own irritated neck, which apparently can happen, and we just didn't notice because he was always burrowing in his hay.

Today we went out to find three chickens dead and one missing.  A door to one of the hutches was open, although I had closed it just last night. It is a door that could possibly have been pried open with some force (there was a spring latch on the door but it usually gives me trouble), but it was a lower hatch door, and the 1 chicken left was in the upper hatch, accessed by an 8" by 8" ramp and cutout in the 2nd story floor.

I understand how a predator could have gotten into this 2 story hutch if it managed to get into the first floor of the hutch, but what I don't understand is how a predator could kill 3 other animals in enclosed hutches where the doors were still closed. The mesh holes are 1 inch across and 2 inches high, with about 3 inches all around the cages, which are suspended over waste trays and enclosed in a wood frame. The bottoms of the cages are much finer mesh, holes no bigger than a half inch by a half inch.

There is one rabbit left. He is in a different hutch from the others, with a much finer coated steel mesh and a spring-loaded latch that would be difficult for a non-human to open.

We have dealt with fishers before when we had an open-area chicken walk several years ago, but I thought our current set up was foolproof. What kind of predator can kill 2 chickens and a rabbit without entering their cages, or what kind of predator can access animals through 1x2 inch openings? We are baffled. After a year and a half with no problems, to lose 5 animals in 24 hours is heartbreaking. Thank you so much for any guidance.

Answer
Dear Marie

Thanks for your question. I also wish to thank the authors of the websites I used.

I think the most likely culprit is a small member of the weasel family. Some weasels can become pests of poultry and other animals. They have very flexible bodies and can pass through small spaces. For example, http://countrymanpestcontrol.co.uk/other.htm#stoats says that the stoat will kill most prey with a bite to the neck. If a stoat enters a chicken run, it can kill every bird it finds there. Many other small carnivores do the same when they are faced with abundant 'prey'.

If you let me know where you live, I can tell you which species of weasels live in your area.

All the best

Jonathan