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Old 11-05-2017, 12:24 AM
HunterDave HunterDave is offline
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Default Beaver Feedbed

I was out and about today and I noticed something different at one of the beaver lodges that I trap that I thought was interesting. Instead of putting the feed bed beside the lodge like previous years, the beavers put it in the middle of the pond by what looks like a muskrat hut. The lodge is a good 100 feet away to the right in the picture. It almost looks like the beaver made a little push up for a place to breathe (weird place for a muskrat hut). The water level hasn't changed and I can't think of anything else that has.

Anyone know what might be going on here? I've never seen it before anywhere.

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Old 11-05-2017, 05:12 PM
TrapperMike TrapperMike is offline
 
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See it all the time. Rats will build a push-up on the feed pile. I’ve also seen feed piles at different areas of the pond. Good for you as you should have a easier time finding the beaver exit holes. Easier to trap.
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Old 11-07-2017, 10:51 AM
HunterDave HunterDave is offline
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Thanks. It seems odd that they'd go that far away when the water is 4 feet deep at the lodge. Maybe I found another weather predictor.....lol.

"The beaver are putting their feedbeds farther away in deeper water so it's going to be colder this winter."

I'll still trap the lodge with 330's but I'm thinking about a couple of snare sets near the feedbed.
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Old 03-26-2018, 02:53 AM
HunterDave HunterDave is offline
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The mystery is solved so I figured that I'd follow up.

Well, I guess that the water had dropped more than I thought and that's the reason why the beaver put the feedbed so far out from the lodge. I went out yesterday with a new Trapper and we put a 330 in an H frame in the one run that I knew about in behind the lodge. It was only big enough for one frame because of dirt on either side of it but there was no problem finding the run with the bubbles in the ice once we shoveled the snow off it. I wanted to put more traps in the front of the lodge but all that I was hitting was dirt with my 16" bar so that wasn't happening.

I decided to just go with the one trap at the hut and put a snare set with two dead poles either side of a green feed pole near the feedbed. Unfortunately, the ice near the feedbed was too thick for my 16" bar and I wasn't hitting any water. I decided to investigate the "muskrat hut" while we were out there and all of a sudden my entire leg busts through the ice.......it's a bloody breathing hole that the beavers made to rest up in from swimming so far out from the lodge! You might want to be aware of these because I could have easily been swimming if I was standing right on top of it.

In the end, despite not being able to put more H frames at the hut and no snare sets near the feedbed, I think that I might have myself a bit of a honeyhole with that breathing hole. I'll see......I left a present there for them.





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Old 03-26-2018, 07:52 AM
parfleche parfleche is offline
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Dave There will be two long runs from the hut to the feed bed , They put it out there because the water in the surrounding area is too shallow and likely froze to the bottom . If you find the run or runs , its a good spot to set traps in succession and far enough apart so they dont inter fear with each other .
I would forget the feed bed sets and concentrate on the run , The feed bed area is likely a mess of sticks etc. Have fun .
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Old 03-26-2018, 11:37 AM
HunterDave HunterDave is offline
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Thanks Parfleche. This lodge is not something that I've encountered before. It seems to me that the water dropped so low that the front entrance became useless and the garbage run is the only way in/out of it. If I catch a beaver in the H frame I'm going to block the run off so I'm going to have to check it daily. It's an interesting location for sure.

The fella with me noticed what looks like a ridge in the snow going out to the feedbed. Again, I've never seen anything like that but it definitely looks like the run right out there. I'll try to remember to take a couple of pictures today.

Once the ice gets a bit thinner I plan on putting out a couple of snare sets on the edge of the feedbed. There's nothing more that I can do at the lodge anyway. If the 330 at the breathing hole produces like I think that it might, maybe I'll just leave things as they are.
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Old 03-26-2018, 11:40 AM
bill9044 bill9044 is offline
 
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I've seen the same thing along the rivers the ice will be frozen right to the river bottom until the drop off. But the run stays open and is deep than the river bottom in a U shape
Good luck on those rodents

Bill
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