Ethical dellima and we are perplexed about killing raccoons

[Mtn Laurel]

I don't like killing things, either. I love animals - have quite a few of my own - and I value life.

HOWEVER, I have a measure for all creatures. That measure is "Can this animal/reptile hurt my dog, my cat, my chickens or - most importantly - my 5 year old granddaughter playing in the back yard?"

If the answer is even remotely yes - especially to the granddaughter portion of the question - the animal crosses the Rainbow Bridge. That means that coons will go. Squirrels will stay. Copperheads go. Blacksnakes stay unless they're looking for eggs. Foxes go. Deer stay. Coyote's go.

As far as foxes and coons, much of my concern is about rabies. Normally they're nocturnal but foxes are being seen more in the day in my area due to the increase in coyote population, which is a predator for foxes. Any fox or coon messing around in my yard in the middle of the day makes me wonder if it's rabid and they have to go.

 

[Greyfox Farm]

It's been my observation that fox, especially greys, can be active during the day. We have had several healthy populations of greys over the years and they seem to operate on a schedule; if I see them in a particular area of the woods or fields at, say 3:00 today, they're likely to be there around the same time tomorrow. They have all seemed to be healthy and normal with no observable signs of rabid behaviour, they just seem to like to be active during the day. Myself, I don't worry about the rabies issue with these guys. That is unlike a lethargic coon out in the open during the day. THAT would worry me.

 

[Koipondduck]

The back plywood is not half inch thick but I have not seen any raccoon lately, I have been catching them a lot but for the last week , I have not seen a single raccoon.

Shoot, as I said one side of the coop has hardware cloth underneath and other side, the aviary area do not I have mechanised all plumbing in it. Meaning burrying a sump pump in it and then took a washier hose and made a hole through to connect it with a ball valve in the wall to make it go throdh the wall. Here is what I did

Hello, I have come up the best idea to keep my duck water clean. For the past two weeks by reading 100's of posts and putting my Koi pond knowledge together, I have come up with a fascinating idea of keeping duck water smell free for 5 days without changing water and it is working.
1) I first put int a bio filter recessed behind the coop and drilled a hole for a pipe to go up to the filter and a pipe to come down. The holes are made flushed and putty is used that electricians used to fill holes. They have lanced oil in there so no animal will go near to it.
2) I used a pump and connected pipes to the green Bio filter and the piple coming out of the bio filter, I painted a PVC pipe green so it looks like a bamboo and most friends can't tell the difference between real and the painted PVC. , It looks like a Bamboo since I i cut the tip as the bamboo off . In future, I will get a real bamboo to slide it over the corrugated pipe that is coming out of the huge green bio filter.
3) I know that some of you use bleach and some of you are opposed to it in the duck water since we ornamental fowl owners are careful of bleaching their feather color. In order to cope with that I only used one cup of bleach water with a little bit of Tetra pond water. In most natural lake, people use algae killer and since it it is fish safe, it is not harming ducks. Ducks hang out in ponds all the time.
4) Finally, I will be using unfiltered apple cider vinegar to replace bleach but I do not know where I can buy unfiltered ACV cheap.

Also, I have mechanized this system so I do not have to take a sump pump to the coop. I have burred a sump pump to the bottom of the duck pond connected it with a washer hose and used some type of balk head fitting to go through the wall to the side. There I sued first pipe thread and then connected a male/female connector to get the water out or in. In the case of getting the water out , all I do is to turn on the sump pump and it waters my lawn. Then I flip the pipe back to fill the pond . The entire thing is taking 45 minutes but I don’t have to do any thing. No hustle of opening up aviary door then fight with sump pump and pipes. This pond is sitting in ground. However, ducks are tracking muds in the pond and pebbles. I need to find a way to mud up this pond.
Please give me your input since I changed water on Monday and before I changed water today , there was not any smell in that water.

 

[Koipondduck]

well, you are right, in the beginning I everyone was jumping on me about this rapid issue but I told the same thing, these day light raccoons do not have rapid and they are very active in day light. However, I have not seen a single raccoon for the last week. I had a trap set up from yesterday but have not seen any thing that got caught.

 

[cutechick2010]

And with this sort of recommendation you kill many OTHER critters that probably have NO intention of bothering the fowl. I understand people shouldn't let6 their cats run amuk but to die this way is not sweet.(except to the human sometimes-sic)

Very true. That is why I never use a leg trap, ever. I have dogs and cats of my own, not to mention I would be horrified if I accidentally caught a neighbor's cat/dog that was innocently drawn to the bait. Using live traps, if I get a cat or one of my chickens I just open the door and let it go. If I catch the predator I was after, well a .22 is enough to take care of business.

 

[cutechick2010]

Search under "conibear" or "220 conibear" and you'll see. Basically, it's a pair of square metal frames, hinged in the middle, with a pair of springs which close the trap together VERY POWERFULLY when the trap "fires." Set properly, it will break a raccoons neck and back resulting in a very quick and humane kill.

It will do the same for your pet cat or even your ducks/poultry though too. They are not always humane either, using a snap trap for mice the other day I found the trap tripped and just a front leg in the trap. I hate using those traps even for mice, just because of things like that.

 

[Koipondduck]

No I just have a regular trap from tractor supply. I have only 3.46 acre and I do not want any thing inhumaine happen to any creatures.
I trap them and somene comes and pick it up

 

[aprophet]

I don't like killing things, either. I love animals - have quite a few of my own - and I value life.

HOWEVER, I have a measure for all creatures. That measure is "Can this animal/reptile hurt my dog, my cat, my chickens or - most importantly - my 5 year old granddaughter playing in the back yard?"

If the answer is even remotely yes - especially to the granddaughter portion of the question - the animal crosses the Rainbow Bridge. That means that coons will go. Squirrels will stay. Copperheads go. Blacksnakes stay unless they're looking for eggs. Foxes go. Deer stay. Coyote's go.

As far as foxes and coons, much of my concern is about rabies. Normally they're nocturnal but foxes are being seen more in the day in my area due to the increase in coyote population, which is a predator for foxes. Any fox or coon messing around in my yard in the middle of the day makes me wonder if it's rabid and they have to go.

preds are opportunisic more then they are nocturnal I see fox coyotes bobcat and coon constantly during the day I am in the wood in the marsh daily though so I have a lot more opportunity to see them then most

 

[cutechick2010]

I don't like killing things, either. I love animals - have quite a few of my own - and I value life.

HOWEVER, I have a measure for all creatures. That measure is "Can this animal/reptile hurt my dog, my cat, my chickens or - most importantly - my 5 year old granddaughter playing in the back yard?"

If the answer is even remotely yes - especially to the granddaughter portion of the question - the animal crosses the Rainbow Bridge. That means that coons will go. Squirrels will stay. Copperheads go. Blacksnakes stay unless they're looking for eggs. Foxes go. Deer stay. Coyote's go.

As far as foxes and coons, much of my concern is about rabies. Normally they're nocturnal but foxes are being seen more in the day in my area due to the increase in coyote population, which is a predator for foxes. Any fox or coon messing around in my yard in the middle of the day makes me wonder if it's rabid and they have to go.

There is an additional danger with raccoons as well, the raccoon roundworm. If this roundworm gets into a different host, such as people, it can migrate to the eyes or brain. If it gets in the eyes, the only option is to remove the eyes. If it gets into the brain, it can be fatal. Thankfully, it is quite rare in humans. http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/es....txt&id=&section=Wildlife Conflict Management

 

[bigoledude]

I'm not into being cruel either. However, I choose my animals life over the rights of a predator. That is not meant to be sarcastic, just how I feel. I've had great success with a type of foot-hold trap I mentioned in another post. It cannot and will not catch anyone's cat or dog. But is does a very good job of catching coons and possums. Several manufacturers make similar traps and, you can find them at any trapping supply website.

http://www.rpoutdoors.com/dudpcotr.html

I use a mixture of strawberry preserves and ground-up fish for bait. Spread a couple of dollops of this mixture around the trap to give them an idea what this fabulous treat taste like and bingo!