CAUGHT MY CHICKEN KILLER! *graphic*

[muddy75]

Just ordered four of them along with the setting tool. They should be here Tuesday. Can’t wait to try them. They do look like a much better design than a cage type trap.

they are definitely most efficient but somewhat “controversial” to those that don’t understand ethical hunting/trapping. I can say from experience that the raccoons in toe trap were much less “stressed” than those in live traps. we had 1 trash a live trap but the guys in the toe traps were just as calm as could be prior to “dispatch”

 

[Biddybot]

About those toe hold traps... I recently read a fairly new book about the attempts to conserve many of Africa's predators, and the biologist who wrote the book was using toe hold type traps to catch jackals as part of a study he was doing on the animals. Obviously you can't be injuring captives like this, not even a little, considering that they're released as soon as their specs are taken and they're tagged and some are fitted with transmitters, so I'd say this is pretty good evidence for the humaneness of such traps in general. It convinced me, anyway. The only problem the biologist had with his traps is that he inadvertently caught a hyena in one once. His description of what he had to go through to safely release the hyena was pretty funny...

Anyway, I feel your pain ref. your raccoon problem. I'm still having good luck with my live traps--I have three--and recently caught number 10. Last year I caught 11. A couple of trap-wise ones, but I eventually got even those by wiring the cans of bait inside the traps so they couldn't be lifted out. I like your idea of dumping the cat food OUT, though, plus adding some enticing additional 'juices'...sort of idea I was hoping to hear about in another thread. I can see how doing that would make the trap all the more aromatic and irresistible, and since I catch most of my raccoons as they're snooping around the chicken house and runs, all of which are set on a compacted gravel terrace, it really wouldn't be that messy, either...

Even the sneaky raccoons have been betraying their presence this year by muddying up the water in the chickens' communal outdoor water bowl...just a big old-fashioned ceramic dog bowl I set outside the runs that they can use when they're all out free-ranging together. Nothing but water, yet it seems most raccoons can't resist feeling around in it and 'washing their hands' nonetheless. The evidence they leave behind is as good as a game cam for me. I can't imagine what other animal would do such a thing, feel around in an open water bowl and mess it up.

 

[123RedBeard]

A "dog-proof" trap ... while it does hold its "toes" ... it is totally different than what most people think of a miniature bear trap ... it is a pipe, that the raccoon has to put it "hand" in ... it won't catch a dog ... very slight chance of a skunk ...

When using a cage trap like pictured above ... while wiring the bait in place is a good idea, it is also a good idea to hook the trap down to the ground ... a piece of re-bar bent into a "L" and placed between the wiring from top to bottom, then hammered into the ground will work, some people use a cement block, or log on top to hold it down ... if a big raccoon gets in there and starts thrashing around ... and tips it over, the door can get unlatched, and coon goes free ... or one of its buddies from outside, tis it over, same results ... a trap smart coon!

 

[mowin]

A "dog-proof" trap ... while it does hold its "toes" ... it is totally different than what most people think of a miniature bear trap ... it is a pipe, that the raccoon has to put it "hand" in ... it won't catch a dog ... very slight chance of a skunk ...

When using a cage trap like pictured above ... while wiring the bait in place is a good idea, it is also a good idea to hook the trap down to the ground ... a piece of re-bar bent into a "L" and placed between the wiring from top to bottom, then hammered into the ground will work, some people use a cement block, or log on top to hold it down ... if a big raccoon gets in there and starts thrashing around ... and tips it over, the door can get unlatched, and coon goes free ... or one of its buddies from outside, tis it over, same results ... a trap smart coon!

In the'80's, when I started coon hunting, I'd borrow a old timers coon dogs. First yr, he asked me to live trap a small coon. Well, the first two were so big, they could hardly fit in the trap, lol. Next one was a smaller, and I found the trap 8' from where it was set. Can only imagine that coon thrashing around enough to move that trap that far.

 

[cmom]

I had a raccoon kill my two hens. Used the live trap and took him 10 miles out of town and released
Him . Haven’t caught any since
Any thoughts on raccoon proofing my coop as new chicks soon to be outside

Hopefully wherever you released the coon it won't become someone else's problem. We are rural on a dead end road and people have released in our area. Once someone dropped off a gosling in my driveway.

 

[Thesweetbirdsflock]

Thanks, like I said I have ‘zero’ experience with trapping. I’ve never even heard of a toe trap. I’ll look into it and get those also.

I’m all for trapping and “ridding” our properties of raccoons, but those kind of traps are inhuman and unnecessarily cruel.

 

[mowin]

I’m all for trapping and “ridding” our properties of raccoons, but those kind of traps are inhuman and unnecessarily cruel.

I think your confusing leg hold traps with toe hold traps.

Although I disagree leg hold traps are cruel.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I had a raccoon kill my two hens. Used the live trap and took him 10 miles out of town and released
Him . Haven’t caught any since
Any thoughts on raccoon proofing my coop as new chicks soon to be outside

Wrong approach for so many reasons.
Relocating wildlife is often illegal.
Raccoons have huge ranges so even at 10 miles away, it may be right back.
If it was far enough that it doesn't know where it is and how to get back, it has to compete with native wildlife while it doesn't know where to find food and water. If it can survive, it will have to fight for survival injuring or killing others or itself.
Taking raccoons from a suburban area to a more rural area, can introduce disease to that population.
Last but not least, you are transplanting your problem to someone else's backyard.
You have also trained the raccoon to avoid box traps in the future. A raccoon only needs to escape a trap once and will never be trapped again.

 

[roosterhavoc]

They’re all called foothold traps. The DPs are foot encapsulating.
When properly set with the correct size trap and pan tension they are perfectly humane. More BS from people just repeating what they hear.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I’m all for trapping and “ridding” our properties of raccoons, but those kind of traps are inhuman and unnecessarily cruel.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/predators-and-pests-forum-please-read-here-first.5808/