How do I keep raccoons away

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you are absolutely correct..it is our job to keep our chickens safe...my yard has 8 foot privacy fence on 3 sides and 8 foot chain link on the 4th...when my "Krewe" is forging in the yard they have at least 3 guardians watching over them...My 2 dogs and a neighborhood cat and most of the time at least 1 human (the fur guardians have run off 3 coons, 2 possums and a red tailed hawk that came in for a ground attack)....before sunset they are placed in the coop that is as predator proof as possible (the coop however would not withstand a bear attack). I do see my hens as "pets" they each have a name and personality and I know I will be devastated if/when a predator does kill one, however keeping them cooped up 24/7 would be cruel in my opinion. I spoil my girls and they spoil me. I waited over 5 years before getting my hens because my husband swore they would all die within a week because of predators.... I wish I had not waited so long because it certainly appears that the measures I have taken are working :)

Coons, Possums, coyotes and the pitt bull 2 streets over are my biggest worries...Yes the monkeys are around...and so is the bear but as long as they leave my yard alone they are welcome to co-exsist in the woods/swamp.
 
I know my coop is bear proof, it is surrounded by a large metal cage. I am not sure if raccoons can get through the chicken wire covering the cracks though, I will probably put some type of mesh as well. We also have cats, I wonder if they will help keep the raccoons away, we live in a area that would seem prone to raccoons, but we have yet to see one.
 
lukemower said:
I know my coop is bear proof, it is surrounded by a large metal cage. I am not sure if raccoons can get through the chicken wire covering the cracks though, I will probably put some type of mesh as well. We also have cats, I wonder if they will help keep the raccoons away, we live in a area that would seem prone to raccoons, but we have yet to see one.
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No expert here, but cats will not keep raccoons away. And raccoons can reach through chicken wire and grab a chicken. People have reported on this forum that a raccoon will reach in and grab a chickens head and pull it off to eat it. They are tough animals and they are numerous and wily.

Don't get me wrong. I love animals. All animals. We literally have a conservation set up here complete with assistance from the USDA/FSA. Have had foresters and biologists/bird specialists out in the past two weeks to assist with attracting more and more diverse wildlife (wild turkeys, deer, etc). But this is a wild animal who only wants to survive and is a bit of a nuisance in some areas. They will be shot here if they attempt a chicken meal here. They are smart, strong and agile. Chickens are sitting targets. Given enough time, I think even the most predator proof coop can be breached. Just because we don't see the opening, doesn't mean they won't.

We have a tremendous amount of 'coons here. They are my biggest worry. On the back of our property, on my daily walks, I see THOUSANDS (not an exaggeration) of tracks. The amount of new tracks and different sizes is staggering really. A deer camera set up recently showed several of them in one night. And this is just from one angle. I am less concerned about the red-tailed and Coopers hawks while free-ranging than I am the 'coons. And I don't have chickens yet!

Not trying to scare anyone. Maybe you'll never have an issue with it. But I say hope for the best, prepare for the worst to keep your flock safe.
 
Thank you everyone for your advice. I will look into electric fencing because raccoons have come to my coop several times. My tenant told me that she saw two going over my run. I am sure they were racoons even though her description of them looking like a rat but the size of a cat. They had been seen three times in about one week, but they might have been here more but just weren't seen. I am still need to make my run/coop more secure with the apron. Feeling scared and overwhelmed just make me so tired and could't do much. I will have to read more about electric fencing thread here on BYC and see what and where should I buy to set it up. Yes, I know about hawks and found it out the hard way. My barred rock, Roc was just 3 weeks old when she was killed by a hawk. I was just 20 feet away. I let them in a daytime temporary run that didn't have a top on. I didn't think I could put a top on the run with chicken wire, I thought it was too hard. Well it is not hard. I didn't know that throwing a bird netting on top would deter hawks. I had a bird netting that I took off from a tree and was just sitting in a corner. While I love my girls and one little bantam cochin that turns out to a rooster, I feel so overwhelmed about the whole experience. There are just so many predators out there.
 
I decided to add another layer of half inch mesh stuff to keep hands out. Now I have on the outer layer, chicken wire covering the whole thing, behind the chicken wire are large bars placed between 4 and 6 inches apart. on the other side of the bars is the back half inch mesh. on the top is a large netting made of ropes. I will be adding an extra layer of half inch mesh.
 
Wow. I've had my chicks all of two days. They are so cute, and growing unbelievably fast. And everything wants to eat them!

Hope to have their run and coop done in 2 or 3 days. We take them out and put them under a protective cage to scratch., dust bathe and forage. Hawks started circling! Yeesh.
 

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