ChattyCathy wrote:
> Dave Smith wrote:
>
>
> We don't have coyotes 'round here, (thank goodness) but the little pesks
> we have to worry about are the mongooses. These little critters can get
> through the goat fence - as I discovered to my disgust; they are as
> agile as monkeys and as slippery as snakes - and twice as smart. But
> they're so cute and are only trying to feed their young - so we don't
> try to trap/kill them, we've just 'mongoose-proofed' the coop. Seems to
> work (so far).


Coyotes are a major threat to free range fowl. Once the are in a pen
they are generally safe from them. However, we also have foxes, skunks
and weasels. Fortunately, we don't have many skunks here, but there are
some. They are more interested in the eggs, and they can burrow under a
fence. Foxes can be pretty crafty. But those damned little weasels are
small enough to get through anything, and they just love to kill. A fox
may kill a chicken and run off with it for a meal, but a weasel will
kill everything just for fun.