How do I keep raccoons away

[abenardini]

I've said in other posts...but we have a significant coon population in our area (lost a TON of birds in a short time). Few things I'm doing to combat it...

* Run and coop are fully enclosed/covered with hardware cloth...never've had any breach there (knock on wood)
* Getting an electric fence (net) from Premier to allow my bird to free range (they actually aren't as expensive as I originally thought)
* Got a rooster....super-nice boy, not sure yet if he'd actually try to fight off anything yet; time will tell
* This one sounds stupid....but we had our trash cans originally on the side of the house and the coons kept coming by and ripping them apart. We now keep them stored in the garage with tied bags/covered to prevent the attractive nuisance
* Make sure any food left out for any other pets is contained; those little bandits are attracted to anything and will eat it...segue for the little jerks to go to check out the coop

 

[Caleb999]

Hi,
I live in an area overrun with raccoons. When I got my chickens, If I didn't it totally coon proof, they'd be dead the first night. When I built my run I dug a trench all the way around about a foot deep and put a board in. At the top of the trench I took 1x3 strapping that's half an inch thick, and I took inch and a half screws. I put a screw every inch or so, and if anything tries to dig it up, it can't because it would give them pain. They will try 2 or 3 times, but eventually, they will get discouraged and give up and even leave. That's what I did and it seemed to help out.
Just a suggestion.

 

[sheetmetaltom]

think ive said this before, getting old cant remember. I just rolled wire out on the ground and built my coop and run on top of it. they cant dig in then, and im to lazy to dig a trench in 2 years ive only lost 1 chicken and 0 ducks. so far. knock on wood.

 

[kwhites634]

Blooie has a lot of good suggestions for you.

A piece of fruit, a peanut butter cracker - anything can get a racoon into the trap. IMO then you have to kill the raccoon.

A good dog can keep them away from your chickens - and you will hear the dog going off at all hours of the night.

If your coop and run are secure enough -- the raccoons can climb over and never gain access. That may be the best approach. As Blooie said, when you get rid of one family of them - after time - another family of them will move into the vacated territory.

I think solar nite-eyes are somewhat helpful -- but it would probably require moving them to a new spot daily -- and yes, eventually the predators will become used to them and they will no longer work, IMO.....

Believe it or not, a plain ol' Havahart live trap will work, with or WITHOUT bait! My coop & run are situated near woods & other good den spots both on & off my property. In addition to making it as predator-proof as I could when I built it, I also leave the trap just outside the run. Whenever I see evidence of something trying to dig its way in, I bait the trap with whatever scraps I can get from the kitchen...usually tomatoes or vegetables, or lunch meat gone bad. I've caught both coon & possum since I located the run there, and, unfortunately, a skunk (a separate story unto itself). The most recent coon I've caught was just a couple weeks ago, when the trap wasn't even baited. A young, half-grown coon had decided to investigate & tripped the trigger sometime during the two previous nights.

When I trapped the first coon, my plan was to take him out of the area & release him, 'til he tried his best to get at me through the wire cage. I solved that problem in a hurry, with the help of Mr. Winchester. A .22 long to the brain at point blank range does wonders! That might offend someone's sensibilities; if it does, I'm sorry, but I'm going to protect my own.

 

[kwhites634]

No monkeys in SC that you KNOW of, anyway

 

[kwhites634]

We have a secure coop, but those **** raccoons keep coming around anyway. My dog has been waking us up every night. I fantasize about sitting by the coop with a bee bee gun waiting for them. It stresses me out to think they're trying to get my girls.

Don't even bother with a BB gun; it wouldn't even slow him down! I wouldn't even waste my time with anything less than a .22 long hollow point. If local ordinances preclude the use of a .22, get yourself the most powerful pellet rifle available (ask your local gun dealer) & learn how to shoot it.

 

[kwhites634]

I'm in Maryland

I'm also in Maryland...Frederick County.
I don't go out hunting coon, but I don't & won't tolerate them targeting my birds or stealing my deer feed. As long as they don't impact me or mine, I'll let them be. Otherwise, BOOM! Same with snakes. With woods & fields all around us, we've got plenty of both.

You on the Eastern Shore, by any chance?

 

[Mr Whippy]

I'm also in Maryland...Frederick County.
I don't go out hunting coon, but I don't & won't tolerate them targeting my birds or stealing my deer feed. As long as they don't impact me or mine, I'll let them be. Otherwise, BOOM! Same with snakes. With woods & fields all around us, we've got plenty of both.

You on the Eastern Shore, by any chance?

Northern Balto County.

 

[blackstar123]

We had faced similar problems last autumn. There were lot of raccoon's in our backyard and often dealt with lot of issues, as it keeps praying on our pets. We soon got rid of them through Hawkeye, animal and bird specialist ( www.hawkeye.ca ).They are the only licensed pest and bird and animal /wildlife control here in Toronto. I suggest, you consult them, for all your problems will be solved

 

[bekiandkevin]

We just lost our first hen. Mr. Raccoon left his calling card (a pile o'poop). What about just putting locks on the doors of the coop during the night?