SGTChicken
In the Brooder
- Oct 30, 2015
- 11
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I have lost several birds to raccoons in recent weeks. I am in the process of building an automatic door so I don't have to walk up and down the hill to open and close the coop. I have a barn style roof on the coop. The eaves hang over the outside of the walls about 6 in. There are no trees close by but to be safe I closed each corner of the eave overhang up as there is a 3-5 in opening for ventilation between rafters. I haven't lost any birds since I began making my trips to open and close. Now for my recent issue. I went down a little later than usual, birds were still out but moving that way. I filled up the water, set my trail cam up and after they went in I closed up shop. I got back up to my house and after about 10 minutes the chickens started raising all manner of H***. I rushed back down looked in the window and didn't see anything but them huddled up. I opened the man door and there was a raccoon in the rafters. I'm thinking it was in the coop and hidden in their winter hooch. (a separate enclosure about 6ft long 2ft high and 2ft wide with a heat lamp) or behind the metal trash can used to store the food when I locked up. By the time my daughter got my raccoon eradication tool to me, it had escaped. I'm again guessing through the open eave vents. My question is, if I didn't lock it in accidentally, can a raccoon climb a 6ft sheer straight up T-111 siding wall to get to the eave openings? I could see them climbing a corner, but a straight up wall with nothing to grab?
Thanks
Thanks