It is 1:31am here in California and I woke up to one of my hens clucking loudly about 2 hours ago. A raccoon had just eaten the head of her friend and she wouldn't leave it's side. I could see the raccoon, and I threw everything I could at it, but it wouldn't leave.
Of course, I could see the raccoon from our deck, but we just moved the coop (to protect them from the 100 degree heat) and I had to get in the minivan and drive around the side of the house with the headlights to really see what was really going on.
Raccoon had eaten her head off, and there was the body just sitting inside the coop. I had to get a shovel and remove the body from the coop in the hopes that maybe the other girl would get back away from the edge of the coop and be safe! (That was really really gross.) Something moved right when I picked the body up with the shovel and I threw it in the bushes and screamed and ran. Maybe the raccoon will finish it's meal and go away without eating any more heads?
Anyway, I've been checking and those beady eyes are still gleaming from the bushes. I lay in bed and can't sleep. But what can I do tonight? Can't shoot the raccoon, might hit the propane tank. I can't stay out there with the flashlight, he isn't scared of that or of buckets of sand being thrown at him. So instead I've been reading posts here and am getting more freaked out that my last 6 girls will be gone in the morning.
We lost one hen to a skunk last week and we wrapped half the coop in woven bamboo reed the next day. Skunk hasn't done any more damage, but now the raccoon has all night to do whatever he/she wants.
By the way, the coop is made of a 7 x 13 foot dog run, chain link, with a chain link roof. The girls have an elevated rabbit hutch which they use for nesting, but they roost on top of it rather than on the poles we have. I can't put up electric line because I have two small children. I really don't want to kill the local wildlife either. We are working with our private community board to get permission to build a fence around the yard, but are there any kinds of fences that keep out raccoons?
Also, has anyone tried those urine sprays to scare the raccoons away? Or the sound things that make noise that only animals can hear? Thanks for reading my rant, I'm just so worried but I don't know what else I can do before daylight...
Of course, I could see the raccoon from our deck, but we just moved the coop (to protect them from the 100 degree heat) and I had to get in the minivan and drive around the side of the house with the headlights to really see what was really going on.
Raccoon had eaten her head off, and there was the body just sitting inside the coop. I had to get a shovel and remove the body from the coop in the hopes that maybe the other girl would get back away from the edge of the coop and be safe! (That was really really gross.) Something moved right when I picked the body up with the shovel and I threw it in the bushes and screamed and ran. Maybe the raccoon will finish it's meal and go away without eating any more heads?
Anyway, I've been checking and those beady eyes are still gleaming from the bushes. I lay in bed and can't sleep. But what can I do tonight? Can't shoot the raccoon, might hit the propane tank. I can't stay out there with the flashlight, he isn't scared of that or of buckets of sand being thrown at him. So instead I've been reading posts here and am getting more freaked out that my last 6 girls will be gone in the morning.
We lost one hen to a skunk last week and we wrapped half the coop in woven bamboo reed the next day. Skunk hasn't done any more damage, but now the raccoon has all night to do whatever he/she wants.
By the way, the coop is made of a 7 x 13 foot dog run, chain link, with a chain link roof. The girls have an elevated rabbit hutch which they use for nesting, but they roost on top of it rather than on the poles we have. I can't put up electric line because I have two small children. I really don't want to kill the local wildlife either. We are working with our private community board to get permission to build a fence around the yard, but are there any kinds of fences that keep out raccoons?
Also, has anyone tried those urine sprays to scare the raccoons away? Or the sound things that make noise that only animals can hear? Thanks for reading my rant, I'm just so worried but I don't know what else I can do before daylight...
