Suandpete Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 We have a range of outbuildings where the first floor was at one timeused as bedrooms for the servants, the ceiling is boarded and there is"something" which we have not yet seen living there. Wehave spent the morning breaking through the ceiling to get into theloft space and the resident was extremely angry about this - growlingand chattering at us. We have so far found the shell of a hensegg and lots of feathers - could this be a glis glis / loir /dormouse? Does anyone know if they growl when angry or scared orpossibly protecting young? I have heard it moving around duringthe morning and thought that glis glis were nocturnal. Thebuilding has a stone wall about 60cm thick and there are plenty of waysthat this animal could access the loft area through various holes andgaps. There are droppings which are old but are much largerthan those of a rat. Do other rodents co-exist withrats? We have a big live trap which we will bait up withapple - if we catch anything how far away should we take it to stop itcoming back?Back to the fray now - on with the masks and gloves! (The smell isquite horrid - they seem to have been using the old insulation, whichis probably glass fibre, for years - I'm surprised they don't die oflung disease!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixietoadstool Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Sounds like a fouine - (stone marten) to me. These look a bit like large stoats. I imagine they would growl when cornered and are certainly partial to fowl and eggs. They might also still have young to feed - so another reason for the growling. They are mainly nocturnal but maybe the young ones move around in the morning. Might be an idea to wait a while so the young have a chance of maturing before leaving mum. Chris will probably have an idea about when they will be old enough to leave home?Here is a link to a picture:http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/animal_magnetism/fouine.htmlValerie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suandpete Posted June 6, 2006 Author Share Posted June 6, 2006 We considered them - but until a couple of months ago we had chickensand I would have thought that a fouine would have finished them off -even though they were securely shut up at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Does sound like fouines, though. Maybe there were easier pickings than your chickens elsewhere, since yours were locked up securely, or they have just moved in recently?Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suandpete Posted June 6, 2006 Author Share Posted June 6, 2006 There have been odd traces before but it's only recently that we'veactually heard them moving about. I thought that fouines werenocturnal? We've been investigating a bit more this afternoon andhave found a "larder" with a number of dead birds in it. No moregrowling though - to start with the growling sounded a bit like a feralcat but then got louder and there was a kind of chattering noise aswell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted June 6, 2006 Share Posted June 6, 2006 Hope it's the former and not a visitor we had,a MINK. Why he/she had to pick our roof when there are quite a few old barns and outhouses about I don't know. After the first couple of sleepless nights,I think it was wearing lead wellies, I tried to deter it by putting wire mesh over the four roof access points.My wife and I actually sat in the car late one night and watched it rip the mesh off one corner and then lift the galvanised sheeting to get into the roof space. I had to put 3 layers nailed and wired on ,to eventually stop the persistant little B. It was a bit like being under seige. Now I have the opposite problem of worrying how my one legged robin will manage to feed it's 3 young, it's like being an expectant father,if you know what I mean.Regards. B&B St.Malo ourinns.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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