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.
