Can raccoons catch chickens in the open ?

kyron4

Chirping
Apr 9, 2019
74
60
93
Northern Indiana
Had a couple chickens get picked off , thinking it was a fox but with no repeat attacks and only raccoons getting caught, I'm thinking it may have been a coon. Both attacks happened about 10 am in the morning only the wood line while birds were free rangeing in the open. Not a hawk because both were drug into thick cover and no remains other than feathers and a wing were found. Can and will a raccoon run down, catch and kill, and drag off a full size chicken ? I have had any more issues since I remove 4 raccoons about two weeks ago. Any opinions ? -Thanks
 
A raccoon could run a chicken down, although it would not be easy for the raccoon as a fresh chicken (not tired) could run faster. If the chickens got winded and tried to hide in the dense cover, then raccoons would have a much easier time. They can drag off a 7-lb rooster and even a 10-lb piglet, but they usually do not go very far.
 
Nothing left but feathers says Fox to me. Foxes are MUCH harder to trap than racoons. They are very smart and cautious. I've read many accounts from successful Fox trappers of baiting the trap with the door locked open to acclimate them to the trap. Foxes also need a longer trap than a racoon. 42" minimum length. Most traps you find in a store are 36" and won't do.
 
Had a couple chickens get picked off , thinking it was a fox but with no repeat attacks and only raccoons getting caught, I'm thinking it may have been a coon. Both attacks happened about 10 am in the morning only the wood line while birds were free rangeing in the open. Not a hawk because both were drug into thick cover and no remains other than feathers and a wing were found. Can and will a raccoon run down, catch and kill, and drag off a full size chicken ? I have had any more issues since I remove 4 raccoons about two weeks ago. Any opinions ? -Thanks
Yes! Raccoons kill chickens in the open. The last one we had it was about 4 pm two months ago. I was at least 100 feet away but ran toward it yelling thinking it would take off. The foxes do. Well it decided I was a better catch & skipped the chicken. Crazy. It took me down & bit through my jeans deep into my leg. I held it there with all my strength petrified thinking if it released it would attack me elsewhere as I was down. My boyfriend ran out and kicked it off. I went to the hospital,etc..... but this time chickens were safe. But they do take them in daylight. I have a creek running through my property and it’s a perfect set up for predators to attack.

Hospital though it must be rabid going for me. But daylight alone doesn’t mean rabid. It’s happed before.
 
Coons are generally lazy and won't run anything down. They are very fast when they want to and can do it. They will do it but only if food is really scarce and they have no other choice. If I was a betting man I'd put my money on something like a fox or bobcat.
 
My thoughts are if you found a wing it was probably not a fox. In my experience the fox comes in and just grabs the chicken alive and rolls out. I don’t know about raccoons running down chickens whereas I’ve never had that experience. I have had them break into the run and I noticed they were very messy with they’re kill. The couple times I’ve had it happen I found a random body part or two
 
I heard a small "squeak" in my run when walking in my house at 9 PM last night, and decided to check it out. A small coon had gotten in a tiny gap in the metal cloth at the roof (had to hurt itself getting past the sharp edges I left. I think it was going after the feed. I was surprised it found a weakness in the coop (which I fixed at 10 PM last night). Had that pop door been open, I'd be down a few chickens today.

That this said, ALL the coon activity I've seen here is at night...well after dark and nothing in the early morning hours. Same with foxes and skunks. Those critters should not be out during the day
 
Raccoons are almost always nighttime hunters. They are good climbers and will take birds out of tall trees when they are roosting at night. I've watched one take a turkey out of a tree at least 40 feet up.

Foxes are almost always daytime hunters. I've seen a fox run down and catch a rabbit just before dark. A rabbit can run much faster than a chicken. If a chicken has the inclination to fly, the fox will follow along beneath until she has to land.

Foxes will leave chicken wings and feathers and not much else. Sometimes you will find a gnawed carcass with nothing left but bones.
 

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