3 days have gone by, 3 cockerels found dead. What's happening!?-Part 2

[Hencraze24]

are raccoons pack hunters/scavengers?

 

[123RedBeard]

raccoons are nocturnal, right?

I just saw "part 2" ...

Raccoons are "opportunistits" when hungery, or looking for food for their babies ... they will eat ... and/or go out looking for food 24/7 ...

 

[ValerieJ]

Yeah im far from a criminal but i dont believe in killing animals unless you truly have to.

Yeah im far from a criminal but i dont believe in killing animals unless you truly have to.

I'm with you on that. My mousetraps are even live traps, and yes I relocate the critters a long way away from my garage (where I normally find them). LOL

 

[50-45-1]

Q

we find them outside, not in our coop. we leave the door open at night, but the coop is like 4 feet off the ground. i guess they are slow to get in the coop and get attacked at night?

im confused as to why you think a racoon can not or will not go in your coop in the middle of the night. Do door is open, right?
The coon goes in, kills a chicken while she is roosting, drags it out the OPEN door and leaves after eating his fill.
The door a chicken uses all day if left open, will be used at night by racoons, opossums, skunks, fox, weasel, rat, ferel cat, dog....just to name a few.
Maybe i will need to see a photo if your setup to understand what you are talking about.

 

[ValerieJ]

[QUOTE="OhZark Biddies, post: 21502748, member: 510204"Lol... I finally I get the criminal mindset now: a normally illegal act is not considered illegal if it’s dark out and no one sees you. [/QUOTE]
Haha!Years ago I went to traffic court to have a ticket dropped and the teacher said you really don't have to stop at stop signs or stop lights, as long as there is no other traffic around, and to keep in mind that a parked police car is considered traffic. LOL

 

[Kiki]

Another hen dead...

That's right. For all those who responded to part one (or if your new and didn't see part one) we have been having a couple of casualties in our flock. people said it was a raccoon of some sort. this morning, another hen died... It looks like a raccoon, all right. there were fresh holes in the ground. And there were droppings that didn't belong to the chickens. Our friends are giving us an animal trap-

What do we do with it if we catch it, and what do we use for bait?

(thanks for all those who commented on part 1)

If you catch it...chop its head off.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

we find them outside, not in our coop. we leave the door open at night, but the coop is like 4 feet off the ground. i guess they are slow to get in the coop and get attacked at night? raccoons are nocturnal, right?

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but to leave a coop door open at night is just plain shortsighted and an invitation to lose all one's birds. I'm surprised you didn't lose all your birds the first night.
Why don't you lock the door at dusk like all other chicken keepers do? The only thing that comes to mind is - what were you thinking?
Raccoons are everywhere and there is nothing they can't climb. They are one of the few animals that can descend a tree head first. I've seen them climb sheer walls. A door 4' off the ground is child's play for them.
Raccoons are primarily nocturnal but may be afoot all hours, especially if hungry or rabid.
Once you start locking the door at dusk, your losses will end.
I used to catch a lot of raccoons in a box type (havahart) trap. But no longer. Once they get wise to the trap they will ignore it regardless of the bait. I have since switched to duke style dog proof leg traps. They work great.
Last year, I set a box trap and a leg trap within 20' of each other. Same bait. Some nights I'd catch nothing but most nights one of the leg taps would catch a raccoon. But the entire year, I never caught a raccoon in the box trap, just the occasional cat.
Once you catch one, if you can shoot where you live, shoot it. If you aren't allowed to shoot, drown it. Fill a trash can with water and drop the trap in the water. If it is a havahart trap, a word of caution. They only work when horizontal. Once you tip it up to go into the water, it will open and the raccoon will escape - never again to be caught in a trap. You'll have to stick a rod through both ends to keep the doors closed.
Most states have a department of conservation with a trapping expert who can help with more advice. Animal control agencies usually only deal with dogs and cats - not wildlife.
Many people swear by marshmallows but I've never had luck with them. I use canned mackerel and have good luck with that.
Remember, all sorts of predators come out at dusk and most don't have any problem getting in an open door no matter how high.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

are raccoons pack hunters/scavengers?

Unless a place is overrun with raccoons, they usually only hunt in groups as family units.
Often, if you put out a game cam, it looks like a raccoon, opossum, weasel superhighway at night.

Any idea if this one could get into an open coop door 4 feet off the ground?

This video shows how they will avoid a baited trap and how powerful they are.

I've had raccoons pull the siding off of a coop to gain access. On another occasion, they chewed through the door. I only use metal doors now - locked at night.

 

[roosterhavoc]

6 letters in a search brought it up. This isn’t rocket science.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KW3AY6/?tag=backy-20
Make sure the trap is wired/anchored. You’d be surprised how many people don’t realize that.

 

[Curnow]

Q

im confused as to why you think a racoon can not or will not go in your coop in the middle of the night. Do door is open, right?
The coon goes in, kills a chicken while she is roosting, drags it out the OPEN door and leaves after eating his fill.
The door a chicken uses all day if left open, will be used at night by racoons, opossums, skunks, fox, weasel, rat, ferel cat, dog....just to name a few.
Maybe i will need to see a photo if your setup to understand what you are talking about.

I lost birds to 4 legged predators also. Traps are great for that! But I have also lost birds to a Great Horned Owl that came like clockwork. It took a game cam to it out. It went right in through the chicken's own little door. You could see the dogs on the outside of the fence and chicken house...helpless to defend the flock! After that we got an automatic chicken door. I have had no predator losses since. And yes....we dispatch them whether coon or feral cat!