Best bait for livetrap...

[checkitnice]

Something tried to pull one of my hens through the run - it's pretty gruesome. I'm going to set a livetrap in a few minutes, but what would you use to bait it? I've got pretty much anything available, including the better part of a hen.

We're surrounded by beanfield, with a woods just across the field and across the street. We did catch a feral cat a few months ago in the livetrap and disposed of it, and DH said he heard some coyotes recently. I'm just stumped.

[Terri]

I have had good results with dry catfood. I just set the trap and sprinkled it around inside, making sure to get some of it near the back. If he can get the food without going inside he will, but since he will want every delicious bite he sooner or later will probably go in and walk around in there as he eats: sooner or later he will trip the lever.

The first thing I caught was my son's cat, but the beauty of a live trap is he was only ticked off. And I never caught him again as he is not stupid. I have caught several coons and possums!

If you have no catfood then I would use a piece of chicken, as you regrettably have one now!

[DaleK]

Sardines work good for a lot of animals

[checkitnice]

I think we caught the cat with an old can of sardines, as I can't find them in the cupboard. I did use a can of tuna and a chicken wing. I'll let you know what I catch.

[bja105]

With dry cat food, I caught cats, raccoons, and possums.
Sardines worked on raccoons.

[Ozarks Tom]

Sounds like a raccoon, I've always use a cob of corn wired to the trip lever. Make sure he can't tip the trap over and escape.

[mink]

Use a peanut and jam sandwich most likely you have a racoon

[Lady89]

wet cat/ dog food and honey can get almost any thing but if u still have the hen u may want to try using that first the smell may pull whatever it was in, after all we already know it likes chicken

[SueMc]

I always use dry cat food but someone on her said you can catch coons and possums with twinkies or something like that.
The cats won't be interested.

[Fire-Man]

If something is after my chickens----I use a chicken as Live bait. If you got problems and you are going to raise chickens you might as well "bite the bullet" and buy a big trap with a live bait cage. Take care of the trap and it will last a life time. If it cost $200, thats only $10 per year for the next 20 years.

I have caught MANY Bobcats(could be what got to yours), dogs, raccoons etc and have never lost a live chicken using it as bait.

Also if you got chickens that roost next to a hole, wire, etc that a animal can reach through and get a hold on it------you need to put up a shield where this can not happen---if you want it open---use hardware cloth etc. Good Luck!

[12vman]

We caught 4 coons in the last week using marshmallows. They love 'um! No worries about trapping cats. Sometimes a possum will wander in but it's not often..

[rags57078]

Use part of that chicken and make sure they can not reach over the pan and grab it , you can also put it under the trap and stake the trap down so they can't roll it . If you have cats you can use grape jelly . I have been trapping for going on 40 years now

[o&itw]

If you know it's a coon, fresh sweet corn is by far the best bait. If it is a cat or weasel or something similar, then you will need some kind of meat as they won't usually be attracted to marshmallows, penut butter, or corn.

Btw, something that happens occasionally; people bait a trap for a coon, when it wasn't a coon that caused the trouble. They catch a coon or a possum, and then their chickens get hit again because it was somthing else in the first place. Even if it was a coon and you catch it, this time of year it may be a mother with kits and they may still come back knowing there is an easy food source.

So whatever you catch, you might want to rebait the trap and set it out again just in case.

Cats are about as bad as anything for reaching through wire and "snagging" a chicken with their claws.

[7thswan]

I caught a coon last night with eggs ,in a live trap. It had eluded me for about a week now. I put about 10 nasty eggs that a hen had abanonded. 2 eggs did not work and the 10-well he went and made a pig out of himself and finaly stepped on the trigger.

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by o&itw

So whatever you catch, you might want to rebait the trap and set it out again just in case.

I agree----I caught 13 raccoons/possums in a little over a week with the trap right beside by chicken yard wire. (one was a possum with 7 babies)

Originally Posted by o&itw

Cats are about as bad as anything for reaching through wire and "snagging" a chicken with their claws.

Very True---happen more than once!!!

[Danaus29]

I've caught 2 coons, a squirrel, and a groundhog in the past couple weeks with an empty trap. Just set it alongside the run. They'll walk right in.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

bigger traps if your having problems with them finding the pan in a live trap a larger coon can reach the back without getting the pan , you can also make the pan bigger with some tin

size large or extra large

that ans you can place bait in the top back corner , wire it in , with any trap you want to make them work for the bait , a soup can wired to the inside back of the trap will make them get all the way to the back and reach in to get the bait you want to get them to dance on the pan not just pass over it

pass thrus also work like 2 door traps or even one door traps , they do tend to walk edges especially opossum , but most animals do it

I was talking with the bulk store owner he keeps unbaited pass thru type live traps one on each side of his building the wood chuck and ground squirrel like to try and move in and dig around his slab foundation he gets a bunch of them this way ,
he said he gets opossum in some small traps for ground squirrel they wedge them selves in tight themselves in , guess their don't do reverse well and keep pushing on

[highlands]

If you do live trap then please do not practice catch and release. Don't dump your problems on other people's lands, state forests, federal forests, road sides, etc. If you don't want it then other people don't want it too. It is actually illegal to catch and release most places. Spreads problems, disease, etc. If you catch it and it is the target, then kill it.

[Ziptie]

Just caught another coon yesterday with cat food. We have to securely tie down the traps around here or the coons just flip them over.

[slingshot]

I've spent a lot of time working out how to make a live trap effective.....

If you force the animals to go into it it's much more effective. Back it up against something and then put something else in front of it creating a hole or tunnel. In trapping this is called a cubby. It's important for the trap to be pinned or staked in place because a raccoon will pick it up and try to dump it out.

Bait is also important, I only use sweets or meat, no pet food. If you have cats you will catch them. Most live traps have an adjustable pan tension, ie: lever all the way in the hook or half way. Set it at half, you don't want it so light it fires when they are trying to get in, but light enough they will trip it before they get out. Cooked sausage is the best bait I have used to date.

So if you have an issue at the coop, set the trap so it looks like a way in. Use a zip tie or two and secure it to the side or pin it with a rock or whatever and make sure you but something against the back of the trap so they can't get to it, they will then walk around to the front and go in.

I've caught more animals by my livestock trailer than by my coops. It's not that far away, but the critters feel safe because they can get under it. I set it between the garbage cans and the trailer with one can at the back. It's very effective.

Lastly, like Walter said don't relocate animals ever! It's illegal and dangerous, I use a live trap so I can take the animals away before dispatch because I don't want the blood or fluids by my animals or children. You never know what a animal is carrying.