Any guesses from this smudged print?

[Smdoty]

I have traps out for raccoons. I’m not sure how to bring them in before dark. At dusk they put themselves to bed. If I go out and say “hey you chickens, go to bed!” They just ignore me and keep free ranging until dark. Feed foes not bring them in.

 

[BreanneRN]

Maybe something special, like mealworms or watermelon..,

 

[Smdoty]

I took them some melon rinds yesterday and only about half of them turned up. They’re perfectly content to range.

 

[chickenMamee]

Ok guys, the perpetrator struck again last night. We lost two birds. One was 2-3 months old and all that was left was some feathers. The other was a 3 year old hen that was dragged a few hundred feet from the coop and left, not eaten. The only way whatever it was could have gotten in and gotten that bird out would have been through the door. I closed the door at dusk, so whatever it was got them while it was still light out.

The door is the chicken door that’s about 8”x11”. I’ve not seen any bobcats, but there is a pretty major river along the backside of my property, maybe 1/2 mile away. Where the woods end a cornfield starts and it stretches up to about 20’ from my coop, so there is plenty of cover available for predators going up and down the river.

Cornfield means coons!! Coons come out at all times of day. I have a creek on my property and I see coons at all hours. As long as there’s corn available I’d keep a really close eye on the chicken chickens.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Coons and green corn go together like poop and flies.

To train a flock of chickens to come when called, forget about calling them and instead get yourself an empty number 10 can and just barely cover the bottom of the can with good old yeller dent, shelled, feed corn. Now rattle the corn in the #10 can loudly, then flip a FEW grains to your chickens, and soon they will all come a running when they hear the corn a rattling in the tin can.

 

[deepbluesea]

I had a young raccoon follow one of my girls up the ramp and into the coop during the day. Ripped her head off and left her in there. It was hard. I locked everyone in the coop/run for a week afterward and sat out there and yelled at/swung a 2x4' at it every time it returned (twice). I hope you don't lose any more!