It took 25 dead chickens for a family of Berthoud, Colorado, farmers to realize it had a mink problem. The attacks occurred just in time for Christmas.
From the Berthoud Recorder:
Over the course of two nights 25 of Busch’s flock of 30 chickens were
killed; some disappeared, the remaining decapitated. Nine were killed
the first night, and they suspected Major, a feral/tamed cat they have
adopted as the culprit. But the second night when 16 more of the flock
was found killed in the same manor – and Major was accounted for – the
Busch’s knew that they had a big problem.
Only after setting up a live trap did they discover a mink was to blame. They also realized mink are much more vicious than they appear.
Mink can become bold when their curiosity is aroused, and are fearless
when confronted. This little mink approached people step for step when
the trap was approached, and proved short tempered with its predicament.
It’s yet another example of why predator management is necessary. It’s not uncommon for a mink to “surplus kill” when hunting on farms. As in the Berthoud story, the mink killed many more chickens than it could possibly eat.
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this happened at my aunts farm in PA it killed 11 roosters in 1 night