CAUGHT MY CHICKEN KILLER! *graphic*

[ChickenThunderdome]

I had a raccoon kill my two hens. Used the live trap and took him 10 miles out of town and released
Him . Haven’t caught any since
Any thoughts on raccoon proofing my coop as new chicks soon to be outside

He'll be back.

10 miles is not that far to travel and they somehow know.
Keep your guard up.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

He'll be back.

10 miles is not that far to travel and they somehow know.
Keep your guard up.

That!
Plus it isn't just a he, it is they.

 

[sealer39]

That’s for the recommendation @muddy75
I bought 4 Dukes DP traps and one of them paid off last night. My fermented chicken feed seems to be good bait for them here. The FF has been in the trap for at least a week, I’m sure it was rotten, but the coon liked it.

 

[muddy75]

since your post, we have caught 4 male raccoons and 1 opossum. of course as we were dispatching the last one (that was most suspicious as rabid) with pellet rifle, nosy neighbor reported seeing us sporting high powered rifle and a “glock” in city limits so we got a visit from local police officer the next morning.....(we were perfectly legal, but it was still a little irritating for both us and the assigned officer)

 

[FarmerBlake]

Have lost 2 chickens in the last 24 hours. Not sure what to. I have seen raccoons in the neighborhood but we also have feral cats. Our run has a roof over the top but there is a gap between the roof and the supporting wall with about 6 to 8 inches of space that is not fenced in. Only weak spot I can find in the whole setup. Will a cat or coon crawl through a space like that and get a chicken. Picking them off one by one so far. And of course, it had to be the two favorites. #*$@! predators!
We thought at first it could be a case of one hen getting a little carried away with jealousy of a nesting box and killing our "Little Red". The hen was quarantined in a separate pen where she could not get to the other chickens and we still lost a second hen. What ever it is, is killing them in the coop that is accessed only to the main run.
Any thoughts?

 

[FarmerBlake]

since your post, we have caught 4 male raccoons and 1 opossum. of course as we were dispatching the last one (that was most suspicious as rabid) with pellet rifle, nosy neighbor reported seeing us sporting high powered rifle and a “glock” in city limits so we got a visit from local police officer the next morning.....(we were perfectly legal, but it was still a little irritating for both us and the assigned officer)

We had to shoot a possum in our backyard after one of my daughters decided to take it out with a baseball bat. Unfortunately she did nothing but give it a headache as she was scared of it and would not hit it hard enough to do anything other than cause pain. My hubby had to shoot it as it was severely irritated at this point. And the dog wasn't going to let it leave the yard. Nosy neighbor was inside thank goodness. Daughter still gets teased about giving the possum a nasty headache.

 

[muddy75]

Have lost 2 chickens in the last 24 hours. Not sure what to. I have seen raccoons in the neighborhood but we also have feral cats. Our run has a roof over the top but there is a gap between the roof and the supporting wall with about 6 to 8 inches of space that is not fenced in. Only weak spot I can find in the whole setup. Will a cat or coon crawl through a space like that and get a chicken. Picking them off one by one so far. And of course, it had to be the two favorites. #*$@! predators!
We thought at first it could be a case of one hen getting a little carried away with jealousy of a nesting box and killing our "Little Red". The hen was quarantined in a separate pen where she could not get to the other chickens and we still lost a second hen. What ever it is, is killing them in the coop that is accessed only to the main run.
Any thoughts?

we initially blamed other birds in the flock for the killings and wounds.....even separated out suspects.....and then we found the holes they used to gain entrance. raccoons can open latches and can crawl through fairly small spaces....we ended up running electric fencing (2-wire) around the top perimeter in addition to DP and live traps.
raccoons can open latches and squeeze through small spaces.....you can sometimes tell which predator you are dealing with by the manner in which they were killed. (other birds will cannabilize so sometimes difficult if not discovered quickly)

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I’m all for trapping and “ridding” our properties of raccoons, but those kind of traps are inhuman and unnecessarily cruel.

sorry but they are far from inhumane, as a trapper, they cause little pain. how would i know? well i have been caught in my fair share of number 3 coil spring traps (which i use for coyotes)

a number 3 coil spring is much easier on the hand then a rat trap (which i have also gotten smacked by more then once when weasel trapping) but am pretty sure a dog proof trap is weaker then a number 3 coil spring. also the only trap that i can say really hurts is coni-bears/body grippers. as i might have been smacked by a 220 when badger trapping (thought i broke a few fingers lol)

on topic why are we calling them toe traps? pretty sure they are foot holds.
but good job on the coon.

 

[sealer39]

Have lost 2 chickens in the last 24 hours. Not sure what to. I have seen raccoons in the neighborhood but we also have feral cats. Our run has a roof over the top but there is a gap between the roof and the supporting wall with about 6 to 8 inches of space that is not fenced in. Only weak spot I can find in the whole setup. Will a cat or coon crawl through a space like that and get a chicken. Picking them off one by one so far. And of course, it had to be the two favorites. #*$@! predators!
We thought at first it could be a case of one hen getting a little carried away with jealousy of a nesting box and killing our "Little Red". The hen was quarantined in a separate pen where she could not get to the other chickens and we still lost a second hen. What ever it is, is killing them in the coop that is accessed only to the main run.
Any thoughts?

It’s been my experience with possums or raccoons, if the get in your coop, your going to lose more than one bird at a time. I had a juvenile possum kill five birds before we could get to him and we could hear when the attack started. My vote would be a feral cat but who knows. Go ahead and install a game cam and some traps to see if you can identify it and catch it.

 

[sealer39]

sorry but they are far from inhumane, as a trapper, they cause little pain. how would i know? well i have been caught in my fair share of number 3 coil spring traps (which i use for coyotes)

a number 3 coil spring is much easier on the hand then a rat trap (which i have also gotten smacked by more then once when weasel trapping) but am pretty sure a dog proof trap is weaker then a number 3 coil spring. also the only trap that i can say really hurts is coni-bears/body grippers. as i might have been smacked by a 220 when badger trapping (thought i broke a few fingers lol)

on topic why are we calling them toe traps? pretty sure they are foot holds.
but good job on the coon.

Jeez! You need to wear some steal gloves or something when your baiting! I couldn’t imagine having that Dukes DP trap snap on my finger let along anything with a stronger spring!

Sorry, I’ve got a morbid sense of humor sometimes.