Lost my chickens to raccoon what to do now?

[s-kswenson]

First of all, thank you for reading this. As stated in title, my chickens were lost to a raccoon all but one. I am thinking about selling the last chicken (silver laced wyandotte btw) and starting over with chicks. How do I take care of chicks? Are they a very significant amount of work compared to adult chickens? I am very new to this. It would be greatly appreciated if you could reply asap.
P.S. Yes, I fixed the coop so the raccoon cannot get in again.

 

[jeepguy982001]

i sent you a pm.

 

[hardychant]

I'm so sorry.

I have been having a daily go around with this coon, fortunately, right now he seems interested only in eggs. But I am so upset over this.

 

[Mrs. K]

Been there and it sucks. A coop/run combination is the best set up for me. I do let my birds out of the run most days, but lock up the run each night at dusk and if I am going to be gone, they stay locked up. Once a predator finds you, they can just be a pain.

As for raising chicks, it is not hard, you have to keep them warm and dry. They need a large container, with a heat lamp at one end of the box. This allows the chicks to go under the light if cold, and away from the light if too warm. That is how a broody hen is, the chicks venture out to explore, and come back to her to warm up.

You will need to change the water and food several times a day, as in that confined space it will get dirty quickly.

As for bedding, if you have some feed sacks or newspaper, put down several layers, and once or twice a day, just roll up the top layer and throw away.

Once they get feathers, get them outside for a bit of the day. Sunshine is good for birds.

Then at 3-4 weeks, get them in your reinforced coop/run.

This time of year, it might be difficult to get chicks locally. But contact your local poultry club or a feed store, and ask for names of people that might have some point of lay pullets for sale. More than once, I have restarted or replaced birds by doing this.

Mrs. K

 

[RonP]

This is a good time to find started pullets.
Check local listings.
Pullets are easy.

Starting with chicks, means waiting for eggs...

 

[hardychant]

N

I'm so sorry.

I have been having a daily go around with this coon, fortunately, right now he seems interested only in eggs. But I am so upset over this.

 

[hardychant]

Oh corn, I over napped twilight and when I went to the coop last night to bed down, the door had swung down so I knew there was trouble. When I opened the door (to put in a storm window) a coon came running out of the darn coop. My two hens went running with "Red" screaming. Yeti, the rooster was no where to be found (but he has hid at night in the past). I stayed and calmed the two hens before locking them up. This morning instead of hearing the usual crowing, I hesitantly went out to find white feathers all by the back door. My Yeti, I can't stand it. I'm so upset that I missed twilight. I'm going away for two weeks. I don't think these little hens will be safe. They love being out of the run. But I'm afraid even in the cage, the coons break right on in.

 

[Mrs. K]

That coon has found you, and he/she thinks they have got heaven. ugh, been there. Need to trap the coon, need to reinforce the coop/run. Coons can climb a post very easily and get in over a fence. I have heavy duty wire fencing on the outside, and chicken wire on the inside about 4 feet high, then cover the rest with just chicken wire completely over the top. I also have the outer perimeter covered with scrap chicken wire or other wire layed flat over the ground...... and that has worked for me.

Mrs K

 

[hardychant]

Thanks Mrs K,
So this may sound nuts, my fence is totally enclosed, they eat through it like its nothing. I think a second fence would be good. However I'm going away for a couple weeks and I'm worried about my chicken sitters not returning in the evening (or getting them out if lock down in the morning in the heat!) has anyone every kept check end in their house? I'm just down to 2. They seem to get along well with the cats.

 

[bobbi-j]

First of all, thank you for reading this. As stated in title, my chickens were lost to a raccoon all but one. I am thinking about selling the last chicken (silver laced wyandotte btw) and starting over with chicks. How do I take care of chicks? Are they a very significant amount of work compared to adult chickens? I am very new to this. It would be greatly appreciated if you could reply asap.
P.S. Yes, I fixed the coop so the raccoon cannot get in again.

If you sell your remaining hen, you can brood your new chicks right in the coop. That's what I do. Then they're already acclimated to the coop. I have an attached run and when they're a few weeks old I start letting them into the run during the day. They automatically go back to the coop at night. I don't try to keep things at a set temperature. I just watch my birds. If they are constantly huddled under the light, they're too cold and I lower the lights. If they're never under the lights, they are too hot. The nice thing about brooding in the coop is, they can come and go as they please from under the lights. Here is my setup:





They were jumping over the barrier within a couple of days so I just took it out and let them have the run of the coop.

Thanks Mrs K,
So this may sound nuts, my fence is totally enclosed, they eat through it like its nothing. I think a second fence would be good. However I'm going away for a couple weeks and I'm worried about my chicken sitters not returning in the evening (or getting them out if lock down in the morning in the heat!) has anyone every kept check end in their house? I'm just down to 2. They seem to get along well with the cats.

What kind of fencing do you have? I'm guessing chicken wire? I would replace or reinforce that with hardware cloth or welded wire. My run is 2x4" welded wire with hardware cloth around the bottom 24". I also have the welded wire over the top of the run. Have not had a raccoon break in yet during the night. I also have hardware cloth over the windows. If you have time to redo your fence before you leave, your chickens should be fine being locked into the coop/run while you're gone (assuming the run is attached to the coop). I would not keep chickens in my house for any length of time. Their dander makes a lot of dust, your house will stink, and do you plan on letting them have the run of the house, or locked in a room where they'd be stressed in an unfamiliar environment? Reinforce your fence, trust your chicken sitters.

Edited to add: When we're going to be gone, we keep ours locked in the coop/run area and leave the pop door open so they can be in or out as they wish. Never had a problem with that setup. Maybe you could put some electric fence around your run. That would also keep the coons at bay. I know it keeps them out of our sweet corn.