Criddle and Criddle (1925:146), quote a neighbor in the vicinity of
Treesbank, Manitoba, as recording that on October 29, 1917, "A weasel
last night made its way into our fowl-house, the door being
inadvertently left open. The weasel killed eleven fowl, some of which
were dragged into the yard. All the largest fowls were selected, the
pullets remaining untouched though they were in the majority. Next
night the weasel dug a hole beneath the building and killed a hen and
two cocks, returning for another during the day, making a total of
fourteen in all." Criddle and Criddle (1925:146) remark that the weasel
proved to be a large one, probably an old male. The same authors (_op.
cit._:147) record that at their farm at Treesbank, Manitoba, on January
31, 1925, "A Long-tailed Weasel killed three hens last night, and
rather severely bit a cock about the neck. This, or another weasel, had
been around the farm-yard for sometime (The specimen was a large
male). . . .
"In the fall of 1924, Mr. A. Cooper, a prominent poultryman of
Treesbank, observed a large weasel carrying a freshly killed rat which
it stored below ground and then returned towards the poultry-house,
causing no little apprehension to the owner. Within a short time,
however, the weasel reappeared with another rat which it hid as before.
In this way several rodents were accounted for during the afternoon,
and Mr. Cooper assures us that the weasel 'kept up the good work for
same days'.
"Being a farmer of many years' standing, Mr. Cooper has naturally lost
some poultry through the agency of weasels, but while he remarks that
'there are good as well as bad actors among weasels', he has the
practical good sense to recognize the value of an efficient ratter even
though it be a weasel.
"Our sister, Maida Criddle, writes under date of March 4, 1925:
"'There is another weasel (_longicauda_) in the fowl-house, a
well-behaved one this time. It came and took a piece of meat out of my
hand quite nicely, which it carried down a hole and then came and
sniffed all over my mitt to see if there was any more. I thought it had
been killed when I visited the farm buildings next day as there was a
strong smell of musk on the cat and in the fowl house, but the weasel
was there as cheeky as ever. It got hold of my skirt twice and tried to
pull me down its hole. I think it wanted the cloth for a bed, as it was
taking straw and other material down the burrow. The poultry were very
frightened at first, but they are getting used to the weasel's presence
now'."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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