Raccoon in my coop!

[BoerneChickens]

I have been away for a week for work and got home just before dusk so I let the girls out for a little yard time after a week locked in their coop and run. Later, the kids and I went out to lock the girls in once it got dark. The girls were in their house on the roost and there was a big raccoon in the run headed into the coop! I ran into the garage and got a rake and ran back out and managed to scare the coon out of the coop and chased it out of the yard. All of the girls are ok but I can't believe it was such a close call! I definitely need to be more careful about getting out before dark to get the coop safely shut up tight! I'm thinking I may need to buy a live trap and get the city to come take him away if I catch him.

 

[hennylove]

Whew! So glad you averted that disaster. We lost 2 hens (half my layers) and had one injured (recovering, still not laying!) in July to a raccoon. From what I have learned they will keep coming back so get that trap and dispatch that bugger!

 

[drumstick diva]

I'd really be careful now that he is sure you have chickens there. The coons out here do not wait for dark, they are skulking around early morning and early evenings (before dark). They are crafty and very nasty critters to mess with.

 

[BoerneChickens]

Thanks for the feedback - I am going to go buy the trap tomorrow. I kept the girls in until later in the morning and put them in well before dark tonight. I really hope I can catch the coon and not have another come around. I'm wondering if I shoudl set the trap in the alley behind my house - where it came in - insteada of in my yard. But there are also quite a few cats in the neighborhood and I don't want to catch the neighbors cat instead of the coon

 

[3chimama]

We deal with a lot of raccoons here too. I also noticed they are prowling around during daylight too looking for food. They are getting braver..better get the live traps...

 

[hennylove]

We never did catch the raccoon in our live trap, even though we were certain that was the villan. We did catch cats (3x) when we had chicken for bait. I have heard that raccoons like sweets, like marshmallows or bread with jam. I don't think cats would be attracted to that. If you do get a cat you can spray it with water and hopefully it will learn to stay away from your trap. We did catch a skunk a few weeks later. It was trying to dig its way into our chicken barn. Evidently skunks like marshmallows too.

Everything I know I have learned from this forum! Thanks everybody and

 

[aprophet]

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