Advice needed for Raccoon problem

[OneOldTruck]

With the very wet spring we had in Ohio this year, it seems to be moving Racoons (and skunks and possums and rabbits and other vermin) around more than ususal. My dad (chicken man of all of my 42 years) always used a spotlight (which I held) and a .410 shotgun. "Persistance!" he'd say, "is key to winning this war."

 

[flnatv]

Don't know if this is doable for you, but I am curious if it works....
It is a recipe someone put up that is a coon deterrent. Might be worth a try.
I have also been reading about people using the glaring blinking eyeballs (can't remember the name of them).


https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=518931

 

[Spires6]

Thanks for the ideas. I think that part of our problem is that people always coon hunted around here until a few years ago when the price of furs dropped. Also, I used to have a German Shepherd dog who patrolled my coop. Our coop is now located outside the perimeter of our dogs electric fence due to the fact that our current German shepherd will kill chickens if the opportunity arises.
I used webbed electric fence for a few years but our neighbors dumb dog got tangled in it a few times and tore it up. I still have some fence and a solar charger so I am planning to a. secure the coop windows which is their most recent point of entry b. put the electric fence up around the coop and run and if that doesn't work I will move the coop (its on wheels) into the dog's area.
We have tried poisoning as that finally seemed to solve the problem last year. They ate it the first few nights but now ignore it. We have tried staking them out at night with guns but can't seem to get a good shot. I set a live trap with canned catfood last night with no results. We know they are still out there because we have seen and heard them and found tracks. I am also considering buying a baby monitor at a yard sale so that at least I will hear and wake up if something gets after them.

SentryFE wrote:
I keep a live trap out 24/7 and relocate them to the back of my property

That's the funniest thing I've ever heard of.

.
I'm with you Tala. I used to live trap them and couldn't bear the thought of killing them so would relocate them several miles away at either the BS camp, GS camp or 4H camp which I now know you are not supposed to do legally. Now, after they have killed off most of my flock 3 yrs in a row, I don't hesitate to kill them.​

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
That's the funniest thing I've ever heard of.

x2 Sounds like a form of perpetual motion. You have a coon feeder that gets them a free trip but it seems they always would come back smarter and with their friends.

 

[JP101010]

I have found the only way is to invest a little money in electric fencing- one single wire an inch and a half off the ground turned on at night will definitely bring results fast- i agree that if you kill one or two with a gun than thats great but there will always me more to take their place. I believe animals can sense the electric fence (hear , smell , feel current) and although at first them sensing doesn't do anything after one zap they learn really quick to associate that sense or sound of buzzing or whatever it is with the extremely unpleasant , fear provoking experience.
we had persistent raccoon's so we put our chickens in a barn with an aluminum door and the raccoon's eventually peeled the aluminum off of the door frame and killed one of our silkies. we went to the auction and for 20$ we baught a plastic bin with the wire rolls , insulators , and the charging box- cost to run 24 hours a day maybe 5-10$ more in electric per month and we have not had even one predator since

 

[colebarnhart]

Agree with the more secure coop/run ideas. Trapping and relocating is a joke, and killing will get old and both will be never ending, so go with the hardware wire, or better latches or locks on your doors (not sure how they're getting in), or the electric wire/fence idea. Someone posted a recipe for raccoons with a combination of marshmallows, peanut butter, hot cayenne pepper, and maybe something else, all mixed together and put in an aluminum pie dish. Supposedly it's a "bad" eating experience and they never return to a place where that happens.

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
A bad taste won't run likely run them off, more like they will try something else on the menu. Now if they hit a hot wire, they will hopefully hit the ground in another county with a bottle brush tail and a Phylis Diller hairdoo!

 

[clarkechick]

I am building a coop and I'm planning to enclose the run with 1/2" hardware cloth. I dont want to bury my hardware cloth, as I want to be able to move the coop - so I'm planning on creating a skirt of the galvanized cloth. Any idea how wide the skirt needs to come off of the bottom of the run?

The way I understand it these animals cant understand the concept of tunneling, so if scratching at the base of the coop doesn't work they give up.
I figured 9-12" of skirt should do the job. Also, my coop (elevated above the run) will be locked up once the ladies are in at night. Windows covered with Hardware Cloth, latches to doors will have a tricky clips.

Think this will work?

 

[Spires6]

I had invested about $700 in webbed fencing and a solar charger 2 years ago sold specifically for poultry. We have a chicken tractor we can move and I wanted them to be able to free range. It seemed to keep stuff out for the most part but did not keep my chickens in. They kept getting out. The solar charger didn't seem to pack enough punch. The neighbors dog got tangled in it and ruined parts of it. My son parked our 4 wheeler on a hill and it rolled through it and ruined some more fence. We switched to an electric charger which kept the chickens in better but several got "cooked" by it. After several months with the electric charger my kids went out to find the fence on fire. A large section melted. I got disgusted with it and switched to a small dog kennel run and let them out to free range in the afternoon. I have the charger and some fencing left so am planning to secure the coop door and windows (They ripped the chicken wire off the windows to get in and broke through the original door) and put the fencing around the coop and run. For now I pack them in show cages and pull them in a wagon to my husbands shop every night and put them back in the coop each morning. And I'm going to keep on killing as many as I can...

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
Sounds great, now you'll have them sitting in the yard hungry and scratching their heads

and the chickens blowing raspberries at them