Animal relocation.

[OhZark Biddies]

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Coyotes who were primarily a western canine are now coast to coast and from south America to the artic.

Did you happen to know that our attempts to exterminate coyotes, is part of what caused them to spread across the continent and even accelerate the spread?

Basically, they have a built in mechanism to their pack lifestyle that causes them to reproduce and disperse more, when they do their "roll call" and realize that they are being killed. I paraphrased that, so I might have it a bit off, but it's kind of interesting, see Dan Flores' book Coyote America if interested.

 

[Geena]

I think right now my neighbor is having more problems with her then anyone else. He feeds the feral cats and she likes the cat food. He shoots her with a pellet gun, but it doesn't phase her. I almost think it makes her more angry. I'm going to send a message to the trapper guy to see what he suggests. The babies are young enough that they might fall for a regular trap.

Sorry but your neighbor is an IDIOT. Leaving out cat food is a invitation to dinner for a raccoon. And shooting it multiple times with a pellet gun, that is cruel.

 

[llombardo]

Sorry but your neighbor is an IDIOT. Leaving out cat food is a invitation to dinner for a raccoon. And shooting it multiple times with a pellet gun, that is cruel.

He is registered to feed the colony, so he takes care of them. They are feral, therefore the only place to care for them is outside. He took on that responsibility when the original caretaker left them all behind. I don't like that the raccoons are as close as they are, but I don't fault him for taking care of homeless animals. So please do not call a person that is doing right by those animals left behind an idiot. He is a good person doing right by those cats. He is not trying to kill the raccoon, just trying to scare it off. I'm not even sure he shoots it or shoots at it, so it could be shoots at, since the raccoon is not phased.

 

[bobbi-j]

In this particular case, the raccoon attacked the dog not the other way around. I have one here that is about 50 pounds, comes up to my male neighbors thigh on its hind legs. I do not want my dogs near it. My female shepherd finds it in the trees all the time. The thing is just huge.

I would hope it would just stay on the other side of the fence. The dogs presence should be enough to deter it, but I do know that when its in the tree, it has a staring contest with the dog and me.

Since the average raccoon weighs 20-30 lbs (according to Google), that thing must be HUGE! (My dog has killed several large male coons - none have come close to the 50 lb. mark.) I would kill it before it creates more giant raccoons. I would not want a raccoon of any size getting close enough to me to see how high it comes up to me on its hind legs. A raccoon that is habituated to humans can be dangerous. It's still a wild animal.

 

[Geena]

He is registered to feed the colony, so he takes care of them. They are feral, therefore the only place to care for them is outside. He took on that responsibility when the original caretaker left them all behind. I don't like that the raccoons are as close as they are, but I don't fault him for taking care of homeless animals. So please do not call a person that is doing right by those animals left behind an idiot. He is a good person doing right by those cats. He is not trying to kill the raccoon, just trying to scare it off. I'm not even sure he shoots it or shoots at it, so it could be shoots at, since the raccoon is not phased.

To each his own, personally I'm against the maintaining of feral cat colonies, registered or otherwise. But I will refrain, as that's not a discussion to be had on BYC.
Whether the raccoon is phased or not isn't the issue. An animal will endure all sorts of pain and anguish to put food in it's belly, particularly one accompanied by offspring. Pellet gun wounds are painful and very likely to become infected. It's much more humane to kill an animal outright than it is to pepper it with pellets.
You need to be careful if you're going to attempt to trap the babies. Momma is not going to be a happy camper if that happens.

 

[Howard E]

On post 18, page 2 of this thread, I ended my comments with the statement "that if you trap it, you kill it, no exceptions". Apparently, some took exception to that. If you read the entire post, that comment was in reference to removal of problem animals, ones that had caused problems and were continuing to cause problems. The fault being so much with the animal as the person who built the house or coop that was not adequate to keep the animal out. So one way to look at it is that by not realizing what it takes to keep animals out, and thus allowing the animal to gain entry, that person trained the animal to come there to dine. Animals doing what animals do, it would come back and be persistent in killing more animals. So to stop the carnage, you kill that problem animal, while at the same time, setting about to improve defenses in the coop to such a degree it doesn't matter how many varmints are out and about, they don't get in. They can't get in no matter how hard they try.

My history with problem animals like this goes back several decades. We had a neighbor who kept small animals and had a coon breaking in to steal their food. So they live trapped it, and for good measure, gave it a shot of orange spray paint so they could ID it. They then hauled it 10 miles to release it back into the wild. While in town (yes, they released it near a town), they went did some shopping, had dinner and then returned home, only to find the same coon back in the trap. It beat them home.

My parents used to use live traps as a way to keep coons out of their sweet corn. They would trap 1 or 2 per night, yet still had a lot of damage to the sweet corn. So trapping a pack of problem coons isn't the answer. Bad strategy in fact. My mother warned me when I got my first flock of birds that I'd loose them to coons. I have coons, but haven't lost any birds. She did.....they wiped her out so many times she gave up and started feeding us store bought eggs. But she never did what I do now.......tight coop and yard protected by electric fence. I've explained that to her a couple times, and she admits......yes, if you are willing to go to that level, you wouldn't lose birds. I am willing and no, I don't loose birds.

And it's not for lack of trying.



As for cats and coons, would it shock you to know I also feed coons? Not on purpose, but they come around nightly to clean up what the 3 barn cats don't eat. That all takes place less than 50 yards from the chicken house, yet it matters not. They cause the birds no harm.......because they can't.

As for how to deal with problem coons, it was dealt with in this thread.....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coons-believe-it.1170361/

As for people who would shoot or shoot at wild animals to harass them, I have grave concerns about those folks. Ignorance perhaps, but I worry more about those with a mean streak who knowingly do it to cause the animal pain and suffering. Some seem to enjoy it. Some enjoy it too much. I don't have much use for that or those people.

 

[Howard E]

To paraphrase Patrick Swayze in the movie "Roadhouse", the way to deal with problem customers (in our case....varmints) is "to be nice". You always "treat them nice".........until its time to "not be nice". You'll know when that time has come.

 

[Folly's place]

My only issue with Howard's plan concerns his barn cat feeding program; my barn cat eats meals, and there's never food left out there for whoever shows up.
Other critters have to find their own meal ticket, not here!
Mary

 

[Geena]

@llombardo I apologize for calling your neighbor an idiot, perhaps it's just plain ignorance. This is a touchy subject for me as my husband was attacked and bit by a rabid fox at his office this summer. It was very scary, but he's okay after receiving the series of vaccines.
He was actually glad the fox came after him, because in a house right next door there are several young children who are always out playing in their unfenced yard. He was only bit on the foot, because he was able to kick the fox off of him and pin it down with his shoe after it launched at him from the back of a truck. I hate to think what that fox would have done to those small children.
Your neighbor is putting every person and every pet in your neighborhood at risk, by luring in wild animals, and by maintaining a colony of what is essentially an invasive species, in a residential area. To me that is selfish and irresponsible.

 

[llombardo]

@llombardo I apologize for calling your neighbor an idiot, perhaps it's just plain ignorance. This is a touchy subject for me as my husband was attacked and bit by a rabid fox at his office this summer. It was very scary, but he's okay after receiving the series of vaccines.
He was actually glad the fox came after him, because in a house right next door there are several young children who are always out playing in their unfenced yard. He was only bit on the foot, because he was able to kick the fox off of him and pin it down with his shoe after it launched at him from the back of a truck. I hate to think what that fox would have done to those small children.
Your neighbor is putting every person and every pet in your neighborhood at risk, by luring in wild animals, and by maintaining a colony of what is essentially an invasive species, in a residential area. To me that is selfish and irresponsible.

Understood. Here colonies of cats are registered and used for various rodent controls. If someone were to pick the cat up, bring it in, they would check it for a microchip and bring it right back to where it came from. They are pretty much protected.

From what I can see in my area, the balance has been disrupted with illegal hunting. People are killing off the coyotes and coyotes at the end of the day pretty much control over populations of rabbits, raccoons and oppossums. Generally speaking, if a coyote is going for a dog in a yard or even a chicken in a coop--their food source has been depleted. If you get rid of coyotes there will be more raccoons, oppossums and skunks. So while relocating might be bad, so is killing. That raccoon that was just killed was a larger animals dinner and don't think that animal isn't going to go for whatever is available(chickens) because humans are messing with the balance of nature. I have no problems with wildlife, they were here first, we took over. They consider us a nusiance. I do not want them eating my chickens and ducks and I lose sleep over this. I am out there almost daily reinforcing this or that. Just the other day I drilled a screw into my finger--that was very unpleasant, but I will be back out there today--looking for more areas that need fixing.