Coon in the Coop

[sadieH5836]

Tonight my husband caught a big raccoon in my girls coop. He was chased out by our dog. If he keeps comming back I guess I will trap him.He was eating the feed.Would he eat my chickens too.?

 

[flip9109]

given the chance? you can bet on it. Trap and or dispatch it. don't take any chances.

 

[Ang]

Yes, he will. We lost 4 to a coon a few weeks ago.

 

[Calebs Acre]

I have my pens built with roofs and houses for my call ducks and juvenile Sebastopols and Dewlaps. I had a 4 foot tall cage made up of two dog playpens (in a rectangle) and the "ceiling" was plastic poultry "wire" cable tied securely. It was housing juvenile call ducks. Three nights ago, one call duck "disappeared" and I thought that it had escaped, but the next night, ANOTHER duck "disappeared" and we found coon claw marks indicating that he had actually LIFTED up the cage and gone under to take the birds. I have been LIVID!!!

We staked the cage down and locked the ducks in a covered crate last night and we still see signs of the coon trying to get in and actually saw him at the cage in the middle of the night last night. So, we bought a trap today. It's $850 for a wildlife guy to come and remove him. We cannot transport them, but we can euthanize them....so, YES, they can and will eat ducks and chickens.

I was told by several people to let my adult giant dewlap toulouse geese loose in the yard with the younger birds' cages and they will take care of the coon, but the coon is a very big guy, so I don't want to take any chance with my precious big geese. The biggest dewlap is kind of a wimp.

I also got an email tonight from a friend who said that he lost 15 babies and breeding pairs of muscovies to a weasel, so be careful.

Good luck....
Nancy

 

[mmajw]

You need to set a trap now or he could clean out your flock in one night.

 

[SpottedCrow]

He'll keep coming back until the All you can Catch Buffet is cleaned out.

It was only $75 to attempt to catch MY raccoon.

 

[peruvian_princess]

Yeah I would sit and wait and shoot the varment. Once he gets a taste for flesh your babies are as good as dinner.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

YES...the racoon will bite their heads off. KILL it before you have no feathered friends!

Am still waiting outside at night to catch the one that killed my 4 week old baby chicken nesting with mamma and siblings in the holly bushes right outside my kitchen window 3 nights ago. If I had not heard it on the baby moniter no telling how many others he would have gotten!

 

[key west chick]

Last fall I kept having hens disappear. Never heard a sound. We hooked a baby monitor up and one night, heard faint cries and feather rustling. DH grabbed the 22 and shot it from my sons window.Killed the coon and my son never heard it go off!Ended up killing another one a week later. Haven't had a problem since. Yes, hubby's a great shot and son will sleep through an earthquake!!

 

[sadieH5836]

Well I got a have a heart trap from my neighbor and set it tonight after locking up the girls. I'm guessing last night we got him out of the coop before he could get to the girls.