A racoon just broke in to the run!! 😨😨

[Barnette]

There's been evidence of a raccoon nearby for several days, so I've done a few nighttime sweeps of the chicken yard with my spotlight to make sure all is okay. Just now I was in the window with the spotlight (I have a great view of the chicken yard) and I spotted some red eyes in the quarantine run (where the blind hen and her buddy live). I gasped and ran out there with my dog and the raccoon disappeared. No chickens were harmed - the raccoon was just after the food on the ground in there, but still. Is there anything I can do without harming the raccoon?

P.S. yes, I wrote an article about this but that was more PREVENTING predators. Now one is HERE. So I need better advice then I can give myself.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

the raccoon was just after the food on the ground in there

Clean that up so he's not attracted to it.

How did it get into the run? Fix it so it's more predator-proof. Hardware cloth is way better than chicken wire, if you're not already using it. Find and fix holes. Consider electric fencing.

 

[Rdh1223]

Depends how he got in

Had one wipe out my fledgling flock in May, so I spent alot of time on this in the last month and Google says there are some scents that they don't like I believe the top one was spicy like cayenne pepper sprinkled around the coop or hot sauce, apple cider vinegar was I think second. I opted for skirting because the last racoon dug under the run.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Coons and dogs will rip right through chicken wire. Gotta use hardware cloth. Forget the pepper and other old wives tales; that coon will come back after feed or the chickens if you don't secure the coop. They can use normal latches too. Lock that door shut with a keyed lock. Coons are smart.