fighting raccoons

[EggSighted4Life]

Ditto here. Had a total massacre this past Sunday, and have spent this entire week cleaning up/rebuilding (coincidentally, I was schedule to pick up 6 new BBS Orpington pullets that same Sunday afternoon). Tore the coop & run down to the studs, and basically wrapped everything in 1/2" hardware cloth, secured with deck screws and 1 1/4" fender washers. There's also chicken wire AND concrete mesh stapled onto the inside of all walls. Overkill maybe, but I've had it with varmints eating my babies. My coop is basically one of those cheap hamster wood Trixie things - realized pretty quickly it was a POS, so I elevated it onto a square base, and then built a small 4x4ish 'run' attached to it - this whole thing became the full 'coop', I made one end into a plywood gate (opens for cleaning) that's secured with a heavy metal hasp & padlock with key. The run attaches onto one side of the 4x4, it's basically a bit bigger than 5x7 rectangle, also with a gate that gets secured with a keyed lock. The pullets are still learning their way, but I shoo them into the main coop part at dusk and then lock that door as well (it's a small gate right now, but going to change that) - I put an extra piece of plywood and some concrete blocks as barriers too. (Inside the run. Just in case).

That all said, I've been setting a havenoheart trap about 10 feet away from the coop where their path is. I know this is a family of 3 raccoons, mom and 2 little ones, and I know they've all now had a taste of my girls so I'm not ****** around. I caught one Wed nite and it met Mr. .22. Set the trap again last nite, woke up at midnight feeling funny so I went down to look. Turned on the light &saw another raccoon scramble away from the trap up a tree, hissing, and then heard something IN the trap. I was all excited, until I took a sniff.... yep. Caught me a &% skunk. ugh. Didn't even know there were any close by. This morning I relocated him a few miles down the road, though the &*% sprayed inside the trap (I covered it with 2 towels and a shower curtain before attempting to move it), so after I'd released him and went to put the trap back in the car I got a STRONG dose of eau de stank. sigh. Writing this now after I've just showered & attempting to wash clothes (the towels were a total loss, they got left by the side of the road).

I'm not sure why you relocated the skunk. They are chicken predators also. Relocation is a bad idea and is illegal in a lot of locations.

That being said, I am so sorry about all of your losses! That must have been and I imagine still feels terrible for you.

Did you get your Orpingtons? And how are they doing? Well I hope.

Good luck and best wishes!

 

[clownychick]

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure why I did either...mostly I think because I was out of ammo and also because the skunk hadn't been the one mauling the coop, plus it was a real young/small one. In hindsight, I'm an idiot (not the first time I've figured that one out either

) but after killing the raccoon yesterday, plus 3 red squirrels on the deck that were trying to get into the house via a direct vent maybe I just felt like I should be nice or something. We live in the northern woods of Vermont, so relocation is pretty common around here - beware of getting on the wrong neighbor's bad side, else you'll discover someone using YOUR house as the relocation spot! But I let him out at pond area in the woods...and probably wouldn't have gotten sprayed if I could have figured out how to prop the trap door open for him to get out without standing too close using a long stick. Last time I'll be doing that!!!

Until this week, it's been mostly an uphill battle with predators. I'm a fairly new chicken mama, but kind of started off all ***-backwards: picked up 4 rescue hens last fall (in November! Before I'd even expanded the 4x4 part) - a barred rock Big Dot, a small leghorn Henny Penny, an ameracauna Big Brown and an aracauna Cookie- who all got NASTY lice and scaly leg mites. What with the subsequent respiratory, reproductive and dog/wild predator issues (lost Cookie to an off leash dog, grrr), it was pretty much trial by fire. Earlier this month I had finally gotten my act together & properly expanded the coop, plus spent a small fortune at the avian vet getting everyone checked out, ivermectin, etc. (Big Brown had to be put down, due to malfunctioning shell gland and calcified mass in her gut), even ordered some 4 week old chicks - and then the raccoons showed up. Not to mention the fox and the hawks. So yeah, it sucked. And I was in no mood to play nice.

On the bright side, one of the 4 week olds is still around - a feisty rhode island red named Sweetie Peeps, though she's getting bullied by the Orpingtons (Gilda, Ezzy, Lydia, Nancy and Didi). But everyone is SAFE! and so far so good, except for my smelling like skunk butt. Since SP is at the bottom, she's become super human-friendly - she comes running at sight of me & jumps up onto my shoulder, gives me chicken loving pecks & purrs. The other girls are still wary, but we're all getting to know each other.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I for one have done plenty of stuff that in hind sight I wondered "why?!"

I haven't been brave enough to do rescue chickens,... yet. Usually dogs. And I have gone through a lot of the getting rid of parasites with those. So, you are brave and I know it takes persistence.

And I haven't had to put down any animals yet (predators or flock), and I do wonder how I will react. Can I ask a question? So if I don't have that small of a caliber (22) is it OK to use something larger? I was thinking pistol but are you using a rifle or pistol? Surely you can't shoot through the trap for fear of ricochet? And so are you opening the trap and aiming for a moving target? Or how do you do it? I am asking for the purpose of learning.

Human friendly chickens!

 

[Folly's place]

On relocation; very bad (and illegal) idea! On shooting varmits in a live trap; A 22 is great, and you can put the barrel right in in between the wires and hit the head pretty easily. For skunks, use a old tarp or blanket between you and the trap, toss the blanket over the trap, the carry it out to a better location, and then shoot. I wouldn't get quite that close, as in doing raccoons or possums! Big caliber ammo will wipe out a section of the trap wire, not helpful. Having a predator proof coop and run is your most important thing, and feeding only in that area helps a lot too.

Mary

 

[clownychick]

So if I don't have that small of a caliber (22) is it OK to use something larger? I was thinking pistol but are you using a rifle or pistol? Surely you can't shoot through the trap for fear of ricochet? And so are you opening the trap and aiming for a moving target? Or how do you do it? I am asking for the purpose of learning.

Like Mary said below, I don't think you'd want to use anything bigger. I have an old single shot rifle - super simple, takes one bullet in the top chamber, no cartridges or anything fancy. I'm actually a terrible shot (we have other guns for use at the local range), but again, as Mary said, the .22 fits right into the trap mesh and you can get a direct (and humane) shot to the head pretty easily. There's no way I'd be able to hit a moving target!

On relocation; very bad (and illegal) idea! On shooting varmits in a live trap; A 22 is great, and you can put the barrel right in in between the wires and hit the head pretty easily. For skunks, use a old tarp or blanket between you and the trap, toss the blanket over the trap, the carry it out to a better location, and then shoot. I wouldn't get quite that close, as in doing raccoons or possums! Big caliber ammo will wipe out a section of the trap wire, not helpful. Having a predator proof coop and run is your most important thing, and feeding only in that area helps a lot too.

Mary

Yeah, I had it covered before moving it - the problem was that I couldn't figure out how to get the door to stay propped open so it could exit without my standing there holding it up with a long stick. Pfffft. I've never actually shot a skunk - do you happen to know if they spray when they get hit? (like an auto reaction?) I'd guess yes?

As far as the new & improved predator-proofing, so far so good!!.. all girls safe, and I didn't see/hear anything creeping around last night. Debating whether to set the trap again tonight - it still stinks pretty bad, so I may just wait another couple days. I've also been taking in all the food dishes before putting them to bed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve shot a few skunks, but with a shotgun, not a .22. If you get a clean kill they do not spray.

 

[Intheswamp]

A good friend of mine was rehabbing his morther's old house and found a large pile of droppings in one room. He had no idea what was leaving them but whatever it was would go to the same spot on the floor and add to the pile. He put a large rat trap beside the pile of droppings. I can't remember what he baited it with. When he showed up the next morning there was a skunk in the trap. The trap caught him across the head and killed him...no smell. Apparently, spraying has to be an intentional act by them.

Ed

 

[slutter]

If you're going to kill the coon, as it seems most of you are nothing beats a dog proof trap and a 22 pistol little big of any kinda fish in the trap and they'll hit it for sure

 

[clownychick]

! Nice & ugh. Wouldn't want to have to peel a skunk out of a rat trap... though that said, I now have a few around the base & on the roof of the coop.

 

[Intheswamp]

@clownychick , what did you bait it with? I would think a little dab of canned cat food would work...but a piece of sardine should work great, too, then you get to eat the rest of the can.

Some crackers, a little hot sauce,...ah, the life!!!!!