Raccoons

[Howard E]

Assuming a coon could not get in anywhere except to go over the top, you may be able to deter them with an electric fence around the top of your run. They make some small, light units like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FY6BNO6?psc=1

They are available at a lot of places like Lowes, HD, Menards, Ace Hardware, TSC, etc. If you have AC current available, those are cheaper. They make a snap on insulator for a chain link fence, so you would just run a single hot wire around the top of the run, including above the gate. Ground it to the run. Install it all the way around the top, turn it on and let it run 24/7.

Coon can't get through your chain link fence, so climbs the fence, hits or grabs the hot wire, gets zapped and drops off......hopefully is taught a painful lesson and leaves, never to return. Chickens are safe, no late night drama and a whole lot less worry.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Assuming a coon could not get in anywhere except to go over the top, you may be able to deter them with an electric fence around the top of your run. They make some small, light units like this:

...

There is no reason to assume this whatsoever. Predators are not going to be deterred by this either. Not saying it wouldn't help but there is no reason to draw the conclusions that you have made in this post.

 

[Howard E]

I beg to differ. Electric fences are routinely used to keep varmints like coons out of all kinds of places like gardens, and chicken coops. The only reason it wouldn't is if the fencer isn't working right or isn't hot enough to deter them.

 

[microchick]

There is no reason to assume this whatsoever. Predators are not going to be deterred by this either. Not saying it wouldn't help but there is no reason to draw the conclusions that you have made in this post.

I have to both agree and disagree with you about this.

I have my run and coop hot wired at the base about 5 inches from the ground. It does deter dogs and I'm hoping also raccoons. I know for a fact that once one of our 5 dogs makes contact with their nose on the wire that is the last time they approach the run.

Last summer I had two cockerels in a temporary coop and run behind our house where I thought they would be safe. After finding them running loose one morning, one of them with half of his tail gone, I secured their coop better, set out the game camera and this is what I saw the next day.

I eliminated two possums and 1 raccoon. The only difference between this little pen and my main coop/run is the hot wire being present. I am planning to add at least two more wires to my main run, one about a foot off the ground and the second along the top. As long as the predator isn't too large, say, bear sized, wolf sized, etc, the hot wire is going to deter predators. You can smear peanut butter on tin foil, pinch the tin foil over the hot wire and deter deer. You can also hang little pieces of bacon over the wire to lure small predators in to be zapped and warned off.

I agree that given large predators such as bear you might have to increase the amount of voltage to your set up. A normal unit might not be powerful enough. But I watch the survivor programs on TV that take place on Alaskan homesteads and they use hot wires for bear deterrent.

The unit we use is rated for cattle. Trust me. If you touch it accidentally, you will yelp, you will jump and your fingers or toes will tingle for 15 minutes afterwards.

It is worth a try.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

There are plenty of other ways to bypass an electric fence. Any number of things can cause a predator to defeat an electric fence, they can be jumped, tunneled beneath, a branch can be knocked over onto it and that is three just off the top of my head before I have even had my coffee this morning.



Edited by Staff

 

[shortgrass]

@chickenchaser09, we "assume" all sorts of things on here, its part of discussion and brainstorming to generate ideas.

I have a hotwire, my folks have hotwire. My neighbors have hotwire. We assume it works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't.

Can we agree to disagree and move on, please?

 

[ChickenChaser9]

@chickenchaser09 .....

Can we agree to disagree and move on, please?

I already said all that so aside from repeating me, what did you want to "Move on to?"

 

[shortgrass]

I already said all that so aside from repeating me, what did you want to "Move on to?"

How about back to the topic? Raccoons, I believe... Maybe what attracts them and how to prevent and/or protect your flock?

Your opinion on the electric fence is well noted; how about you enlighten us on your security? How do you suggest we keep critters out of our coops?

Something around that would be nice

 

[ChickenChaser9]

How about back to the topic? Raccoons, I believe... Maybe what attracts them and how to prevent and/or protect your flock?

Your opinion on the electric fence is well noted; how about you enlighten us on your security? How do you suggest we keep critters out of our coops?

Something around that would be nice

I already did this. What I do for security is use a walk in truckbed camper I converted into a coop. It is elevated 3 and a half feet off the ground on pallets so it is nearly impossible to access and since it has a sheet metal exterior is essentially impregnable. Of course we have had critters come sniffing aroind after our chickens and my wife makes excellent coonskin hats and gloves.

 

[shortgrass]

I already did this. What I do for security is use a walk in truckbed camper I converted into a coop. It is elevated 3 and a half feet off the ground on pallets so it is nearly impossible to access and since it has a sheet metal exterior is essentially impregnable. Of course we have had critters come sniffing aroind after our chickens and my wife makes excellent coonskin hats and gloves.

Do they stay inside the coop all day?


Let's assume you let them out of the coop...

Moving on.

I use an old camper for the turkeys, so yes, those sre great, but I had to reinforce my mesh in the vents and windows because of weasels. My coop is solid wood covered with tin with a locked door and hardware mesh over the vents. The duck hut is old pallets wrapped with wood and tin enclosed along the bottom in concrete with hardware mesh on the vents.

For outside the coop, I use a hotwire on top of 5' fencing. And I have a dog. And I don't work so I never leave the house lol. I used to free range until foxes and coons started snagging my birds and they were wreaking havoc in the garden, so I made them a 3000 sq ft run.

I've chased a coon off my front step at 5 in the evening. They're very brave around here. That one got shot on the spot. They're considered a nuisance animal here; they're not native and are invasive species, so we're almost encouraged to kill them on the spot. Especially if they're bothering the livestock. But furbearer licenses are needed here, too, if you want to go trap them for sport.