11 raccoons

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

I have a question my best friend has chickens and she is a newbie and is having problems with raccoons lately. (I have to I wonder why this is my first time in 5 years having a raccoon problem. So far I have caught 5.) So far she has caught 11, why is there so many? She has 9 chickens and (she used to have 10 one was killed by a raccoon.)

 

[Folly's place]

Because raccoons come in family groups, and have few predators most places.
If raccoon coats come back in fashion, that would change!!!
Mary

 

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

LOL! Thank you!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Not enough are getting run over by cars.

 

[Howard E]

Maybe a couple reasons.......

Seem as though there was a very successful breeding season for coons around here......and with so many around, the mothers may be hard pressed to find enough food for the now 1/2 / 3/4 grown kits (like feeding teenagers), so may be getting more desperate and thus aggressive. Using game cameras, I have documented 3 family groups......of 3, 4 and 5 kits....coming to my barn nightly. They are not killing my chickens because they can't......chicken house is too tight for that.....but they come for other stuff.......like cat food and hopefully sweet corn. Am putting a stop to both of those.

In the case of large, tasty chickens, (or any other easy source of food) if coons have any success at all....that is positive reinforcement, which means they will be back. But a chicken in particular is a big reward for not much effort on their part.

A second reason a person may be catching a lot of coons is if they are live trapping and releasing them. If that is the case, it might well be the same coons.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, 'trap and shoot' is one set, not two actions. Don't do one without the other!
Mary

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

I have a friend caught 18 raccoons (last official count a week ago). Never had a problem then lost 5 poults.

 

[sealer39]

Has anyone been clearing trees near where you live? That could have pushed them to you. I had a group move in on me last year when land was being cleared for a couple of houses. The raccoons found the chicken coops and thought they had an easy meal but they didn’t figure on me.

 

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

Yes both me and my friend are trapping and shooting.

 

[centrarchid]

The often, but not always move around in groups. They also have overlapping home ranges. I would not be surprised if they are not able to determine where another raccoon has found a major source of eats.