fighting raccoons

[Intheswamp]

In order for sheet metal to be effective you will need to have is as a sheer wall. They will bear hug their way like human child or monkey will otherwise. The electric netting would be a quick approach although you could make so a single strand of hotwire would have similar effect with that coop.

Yes, the metal side had to be a smooth expanse of metal...it seems the person working on the fly-in coop even warned against screw heads sticking out that the coons could hang a toenail in...

Greasing a pole/post or whatever... Purple martin landlords have tried greasing the poles to their gourd racks to prevent snakes from climbing the pole....they usually end up with a greasy snake in a gourd. I would imagine a raccoon would do about the same. Some type of a flimsy, smooth baffle mounted to extend out from the bottom of the coop several inches (8-16"..???) might prevent a coon from attaining a handhold to pull itself up with....but then the baffle would probably be in the way of the chicken owner in working the coop and sharp edges injure the birds. The baffle might work just mounted to the legs. Envision a large, flimsy plate with a hole in it slipped up a coop leg and secured just beneath the coop box...a raccoon climbing up would have to reach around the plate to grab sure footing, if it gripped the edge of the plate the plate would bend under the coon's weight...it would have to be clean edged so no chance of a handhold would be there. Just thinking...

Ed

 

[cream puff]

In order for sheet metal to be effective you will need to have is as a sheer wall. They will bear hug their way like human child or monkey will otherwise. The electric netting would be a quick approach although you could make so a single strand of hotwire would have similar effect with that coop.

that's what I was thinking of doing is getting a single strand of hot wire. I have to go to the feed store today so I can rice them out and see what I can come up with.

 

[cream puff]

My ladies would jump/flap up and over a 4 foot panel every day.

yeah, mine do that too, I'm taking the panel down soon it was just a grow out pen for the chicks. I'll be wiring around the base of the coop with hot wire.

 

[cream puff]

@ Ed
the floor of the coop is too high for a racoon to reach (I looked up raccoon specs to see how high they can reach) so I'm not worried about that, I'm a bit worried they can climb the posts to get to the coop.

 

[eggnoramous]

yeah, mine do that too, I'm taking the panel down soon it was just a grow out pen for the chicks.  I'll be wiring around the base of the coop with hot wire.

I'll have to look into hot wire for the next go round with chicken ladies. It's maddening to have had my whole flock taken out by a raccoon but I think it'd be irresponsible of me to subject more chickens to that risk until I've 'taken care of' the predator issue

 

[Intheswamp]

@ Ed
the floor of the coop is too high for a racoon to reach (I looked up raccoon specs to see how high they can reach) so I'm not worried about that, I'm a bit worried they can climb the posts to get to the coop.

Then put a couple of hot wires around the bottom edge of the coop...say an inch or two below entrance height and maybe 3-4 inches below that...use regular insulators nailed straight to the coop for the top wire and stand-off insulators maybe 2-3 inches long for the lower wire. That will most likely make the coon try to duck under the lower wire that stands off a bit but then it will then run into the upper wire which is closer to the coop...maybe even run a wire vertically down the posts.

Ed

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Here's the birdering raccoon...looking all smug reaching through the hav-a-hart to eat the cat food. 3 chickens in 2 nights...any tips on how to get this a hole in the trap?? Or just keep the drop cam going and shoot him from the bedroom window when the motion notification goes off???

This is a trap savvy critter.

Put the back of the trap against a wall...or better yet...if you have them, stack hay bails around the trap to create a cubby set. The bales will back the rear of the trap, blocking this type of activity, and the opening of the trap, under those bales, becomes soooo appealing to a raccoon...they just can't resist.

If you are experienced with trapping or have a friend that possesses this specialized knowledge and it's legal in your state, I'd recommend a 5 gallon bucket set using a 220 conibear. That set is heavy medicine for a trap savvy raccoon and perfect for this situation.

In the fall when I used to trap for raccoons...the bucket set was one of my more productive sets. Of the 150-200 raccoons that I'd average each season, 80%+ would be taken in the simple bucket set using a 220 conibear.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

You won't catch that coon with the  hav-a-hart.  Buy a $13 Dukes dog proof raccoon trap, bait it with marshmallow, and you will have yourself a new coon skin cap the first night.

Drizzle a little blended sardine juice, then the marshmallow and you'll have a recipe for success.

The coon cuff trap is a great raccoon trap, but there is a technique to making the sets.

 

[speedy2020]

I got tire dealing with coon and manually open/close the chicken door every night. The simple solution are install a ChickenGuard automatic open/close coop door and motion solar light. The ChickenGuard use 4AA batteries.

 

[bruceha2000]

@ Ed
the floor of the coop is too high for a racoon to reach (I looked up raccoon specs to see how high they can reach) so I'm not worried about that, I'm a bit worried they can climb the posts to get to the coop.

A BIT worried? Coons climb trees. The one I trapped in my coop (converted horse stall) 2 hours before sunset was halfway up the post on the strike side of the open people door when I spotted it. I had gone to the barn to safely lock the girls away well before it started to get dark and the coon would come out

Good thing the girls weren't close on my heels. They usually free range until the sun gets low so they were not in any hurry to go in the barn. The coon was after an ill hen I had in a broody buster/hospital cage 4' up in the coop.

I got tire dealing with coon and manually open/close the chicken door every night. The simple solution are install a ChickenGuard automatic open/close coop door and motion solar light. The ChickenGuard use 4AA batteries.

I fail to see how that would keep the chickens safe. Details?

I DISCONNECTED my auto door the morning (3 AM) the coon found a hen we thought was lost but was brooding a clutch of non-fertile eggs in the bushes by the barn. The photo sensor on the auto door would have let the coon in after the girls went to roost since it doesn't close until it is REALLY dark or just after sunrise well before the girls come off the roosts. Either would have resulted in a massacre.