Kitten prints? Funny odor? Missing fish? Dead hens? Could be minks

By STEPHANIE HUGHES

Ohio certified volunteer naturalist

Imagine the utter shock of finding my six wonderful hens in their pen dead one morning at the wherewithal of some culprit. These were my layers, held every day since birth – our pets. I had my suspicions, but I texted two naturalist friends for thoughts. I had found a small hole, about 3 inches high that something could have gotten in to my babies.The ducks and turkeys were fine, but they told me about this terrible event for days, as they were certainly stressed. The ducks went to the pond and would not come back in. The next day one of my ducks was gone. That assured us of the culprit.

I had my husband set a trap by our woodpile, and we waited. Two days later, eureka. We had caught a female mink. My husband is a licensed and experienced trapper, but this was a first for him. If you have the same issue, you must contact a licensed trapper if control is warranted.

Minks are part of the weasel family, and this family is well represented in Ohio. Members include the least weasel, the long-tailed weasel, the short-tailed weasel, badgers (western Ohio), ferrets (tame pets), otters, and skunks. They have long bodies, short legs, webbed feet, small round ears, sharp claws and teeth. Adults weigh 1.25-3 pounds, and are 12 to 17 inches long. They are violent fighters, defending their territories to the death. Like skunks, they can spray up to a foot a repulsive nauseating scent. We think it smelled like bad body odor and cat urine. They love water – ponds, streams, lakes, rivers. They are totally at home on the water. They do not hibernate. They stay close to the den in winter.

They are nocturnal. Their diet includes birds, rodents, frogs, fish, crayfish, snakes, rabbits, and muskrats are their favorite food. They also eat chickens (along with other small poultry). They are excellent diggers and swimmers and are prized for decades for their rich winter fur. They are intelligent, elusive, and can easily outsmart even the best of humans. They are great climbers, easily scampering up trees, fences, barns, etc. They usually live 3-4 years. Minks can carry diseases, but they are excellent controls for rodent populations. So even though they are bad for us backyard chicken farmers, they do provide a great service in other ways.

The evidence of mink predation are footprints that look like kittens’ feet, a smell, digging, and by the signs of the kill, either biting the nape of the neck, or crushing the back of the skull. They typically kill more than they can eat (glutton, like the wolverine of other states). They line their kills up, or pile them up. They have been known to cache their food (store in a concealed place for later).

To learn more about these fascinating creatures, go to http://go.osu.edu/mink.