If your first impulse is to shoot first and ask questions later, please move on to another thread...thanks!
Last week, in broad daylight, we found two little baby raccoons, cute as buttons, a little less than half the size of my small, female cat, hanging onto our front yard board fence (we're in the country, and have @ 3 acres fenced w/horse fence in front and field fence in back). Our dog had alerted us to them. But she's a lover, not a fighter, so she didn't go after them, and I was happy about that. My chickens were out and about, paying absolutely no attention to them. We pushed them off the fence with a push broom, and they scurried across the gravel drive and down into a wooded gulley. Okay...fine.
Fast forward to last night...we're in bed and the dog (in the house) gives a couple of barks. At about the same time, our motion sensor light (aimed down into the run of our coop) comes on, filtering in through our bedroom window. DH and I both jump up and head out to the coop. We see nothing, but I figure something (maybe raccoon or possum) ran across the top of our covered run, and the motion sensor caught it. I check on the girls and they're just fine, looking like "What the heck you guys doing out here at this hour?" We head back inside, but our dog wants to stay out on the porch. We'd just hit the bedroom again when the dog begins barking a bit threateningly, so we head back out. I call her over and encourage her to sniff out what she was barking at. She starts sniffing and circling the car parked back there. I can't see anything under the car, but DH finds a baby raccoon hiding up under the tire/fender well. He asks what I want to do, and I tell him to leave it, as the girls are secure. Well, at least we know what it was...
So now our quandry...the babies don't bother me. Our run is pretty secure, and the girls are always shut inside their coop at night. Plus, even if they weren't, I doubt coons this small would take on full grown chickens. I think they are attracted to the food we leave out...the girls have a feeder on their chicken porch, and sometimes other areas out on the property, sometimes there are leftover melon rinds in their run, plus we occasionally (although seldom) have catfood out on our deck for our cats. BUT, these little guys won't stay little for long, and they're smart critters that I'm sure will grow smarter with time and experience. Plus, I'm wondering if the parents are out and about on our property too, or whether these little guys are out exploring on their own...
I can trap them. But I don't really believe in relocating critters like this, because then someone else is dealing with them. And I could trap and shoot them. But Lordy that would be hard; these guys are tiny and cute. That would sit heavy on my conscience. I'm going to try sprinkling Critter Ridder around the run, and putting all food away at night. It may be coincidental, but we never had these issues when I had two dogs (lost my male golden in May). We are getting another dog soon, so the smell of TWO dogs on the property may help. Is there anything else you can think of that may help deter these little guys??? Gosh, I just really don't want to have to shoot them...
This was the pic I posted last week when I thought they were just visiting, not moving in...
Last week, in broad daylight, we found two little baby raccoons, cute as buttons, a little less than half the size of my small, female cat, hanging onto our front yard board fence (we're in the country, and have @ 3 acres fenced w/horse fence in front and field fence in back). Our dog had alerted us to them. But she's a lover, not a fighter, so she didn't go after them, and I was happy about that. My chickens were out and about, paying absolutely no attention to them. We pushed them off the fence with a push broom, and they scurried across the gravel drive and down into a wooded gulley. Okay...fine.
Fast forward to last night...we're in bed and the dog (in the house) gives a couple of barks. At about the same time, our motion sensor light (aimed down into the run of our coop) comes on, filtering in through our bedroom window. DH and I both jump up and head out to the coop. We see nothing, but I figure something (maybe raccoon or possum) ran across the top of our covered run, and the motion sensor caught it. I check on the girls and they're just fine, looking like "What the heck you guys doing out here at this hour?" We head back inside, but our dog wants to stay out on the porch. We'd just hit the bedroom again when the dog begins barking a bit threateningly, so we head back out. I call her over and encourage her to sniff out what she was barking at. She starts sniffing and circling the car parked back there. I can't see anything under the car, but DH finds a baby raccoon hiding up under the tire/fender well. He asks what I want to do, and I tell him to leave it, as the girls are secure. Well, at least we know what it was...
So now our quandry...the babies don't bother me. Our run is pretty secure, and the girls are always shut inside their coop at night. Plus, even if they weren't, I doubt coons this small would take on full grown chickens. I think they are attracted to the food we leave out...the girls have a feeder on their chicken porch, and sometimes other areas out on the property, sometimes there are leftover melon rinds in their run, plus we occasionally (although seldom) have catfood out on our deck for our cats. BUT, these little guys won't stay little for long, and they're smart critters that I'm sure will grow smarter with time and experience. Plus, I'm wondering if the parents are out and about on our property too, or whether these little guys are out exploring on their own...
I can trap them. But I don't really believe in relocating critters like this, because then someone else is dealing with them. And I could trap and shoot them. But Lordy that would be hard; these guys are tiny and cute. That would sit heavy on my conscience. I'm going to try sprinkling Critter Ridder around the run, and putting all food away at night. It may be coincidental, but we never had these issues when I had two dogs (lost my male golden in May). We are getting another dog soon, so the smell of TWO dogs on the property may help. Is there anything else you can think of that may help deter these little guys??? Gosh, I just really don't want to have to shoot them...
This was the pic I posted last week when I thought they were just visiting, not moving in...
