Chicken attacked by raccoon

[NateNate20]

My chickens were attacked by raccoons last night, and one of them, a golden sex link, suffered huge feather loss.I didn't see any visible damage, but I worried about the same happening tonight. What should I do?? I'm pretty scared that one day the raccoons will succeed and eat one of our chickens. We are planning to buy a fence.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

Do you know where the raccoon's get in? You should go over your entire coop and predator proof it has much as possible. Also what are the laws concerning moving raccoons? Here in VA (at least where I live) we are not aloud to capture a raccoon and release it some place other then where I caught it. So my options are to let it continue attacking and killing my flock or trap it and kill it. I had to get rid of 3 raccoons that way, because they will keep coming back. So you'll need to make sure your coop is safe and try and exterminate the predators.

 

[centrarchid]

Setup a live-trap today in location you suspect raccoon goes buy to get at birds. Also shore up perimeter of pen. Show a picture of setup.

 

[azygous]

When you have chickens and live in an area rife with predators, you may as well have a sign up saying "Meat Market".

People will get chickens and think, it's been six months now and nothing has tried to nab one of my flock. Home free! Not so fast. It takes time for predators to discover the new source of food in their territory. They are creatures of habit, and it generally requires some environmental stressor to cause an animal to wander into new territory, but it's inevitable one of them will show up at your place sooner or later.

It's crucial to the safety of your flock to predator-proof both run and coop. Learn about all of the animals in your area that eat meat. Even if you live in the city, there are predators that will be happy to take advantage of a free meal at your chickens' expense. From below soil level to the top of the walls of run and coop, predators will search for access. It's your job to deny them.

Expecting a simple fence to protect your flock is wishful thinking. Last week here on this forum I pointed out foxes are excellent and agile climbers and the reaction was one of complete surprise. Even where there are no bobcats, coyotes, and foxes, you will find raccoons, possums, and skunks. They are all great at finding a way over, around, and under fences. A covered run with a skirting of hardware cloth buried into the soil angling outward is the only way to keep your chickens safe.

If you have raccoons, the best way is to trap them and kill them. It sounds heartless, but capture and release will do absolutely no good. They will only return since they now know where the free lunch is.

By the way, KFC original recipe is the supreme raccoon bait.

 

[NateNate20]

Setup a live-trap today in location you suspect raccoon goes buy to get at birds. Also shore up perimeter of pen. Show a picture of setup.

We set up a trap, but it's only catching mice.I will get some pic tomorrow. The raccoon has been trying to get in. In almost succeeded.

 

[NateNate20]

I got pictures of the trap. It's hard to photograph the whole coop in the dark.

 

[NateNate20]

I used to have a small fence made of plastic netting surrounding the yard. The raccoon probably got in from a hole in the fence. It's pretty flimsy.

 

[Edward Charette]

Raccoons being territorial will make rounds of their territory checking for easy meals. So take care of your remaining chickens. I hope the attacked one is doing fine. Make sure the victim is eating and drinking. I once availed the services of wildife removal services, a1 checkmate http://removethewild.com/services/ to get rid of a destructive raccoon in my backyard. Make sure to predator proof your pen/coop area and check out for places or holes where predator could get in. Using welded wire or hardware cloth would be wise. Above all get the raccoon trapped at the earliest. Try seeking help from local fish and wildlife office in trapping. As for the your golden link check for bruises, wounds or infection. If infected soak wound in warm water with epsom salts. Good luck, keep us posted