Devastating Raccoon Attack

[citymeetscountry]

Ugh I am so sorry for your loss. We lost a duck to a Racoon over the weekend while we were out of town as well (a neighbor watched all our animals) and they came to put them up and found the Racoon with the duck. We currently have a trap set and I looked out and saw a Racoon walking between the chicken tractor and goat pen. My husband went out with no avail.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

For those without much success catching raccoons in box traps, try the Duke style dog proof foot hold traps. They are exponentially more effective.

https://www.flemingtraps.com/dp-coo...hWyuca8LsLoB61MobXljCHYZZDcUvKxIaAndFEALw_wcB

 

[Lelilamom]

For those without much success catching raccoons in box traps, try the Duke style dog proof foot hold traps. They are exponentially more effective.

https://www.flemingtraps.com/dp-coo...hWyuca8LsLoB61MobXljCHYZZDcUvKxIaAndFEALw_wcB

Thanks for the link. We set traps and got one the first night, but they figured it out the second night. We will go for these spring traps.

 

[Lelilamom]

I'm lucky. I put up electric wires around my coops and pens many years ago due to losses from predators and nothing has gotten past the hot wires. I have seen many predators out around the coops but once they learn about the hot wires they don't try again and I think they teach their young that a bird isn't worth getting zapped for. My wires are 10,000+ volts. Good luck...

What kind of wiring system are you using? Do you have three or four wires, one two inches off the ground, one 5 inches, one 10, etc. Do you put them just around the pens, or around the entire compound? I'm seriously considering electric fencing but I don't know even where to start. I have power to the coop and maybe just need wiring around the birds' enclosure?

 

[Folly's place]

@cmom has good photos of her set-up, and @Howard E and Premier1supplies.com has excellent products and advice, on their site and by phone.
Mary

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks for the link. We set traps and got one the first night, but they figured it out the second night. We will go for these spring traps.

Make sure you get the trap set tool with the traps. It makes life so much easier.

A couple years ago I set a hav-a-hart trap and a dog proof raccoon trap 20' apart from each other each with the same bait(canned mackerel) on many nights. I caught 9 raccoons in the DP trap and not a sniff of a raccoon in the box type trap.

 

[citymeetscountry]

Thanks for the link. We set traps and got one the first night, but they figured it out the second night. We will go for these spring traps.

Don’t tell me that! We got one overnight. Hoping for more success tonight (assuming there’s are more)

 

[Lavender6]

We went away on vacation and secured our 40+ chickens in their large Coop and Run we built for them last year. We came home to 13 slaughtered hens along with our incredibly brave rooster, who looks like he fought valiantly. Some quick investigation work along with an examination of the chickens indicated a Raccoon attack. We set up a game camera, locked the remaining chickens into just the coop, which is stick built with locking doors and spent a sleepless night waiting.
This morning we pulled the scandisk to see 5 raccoons scaling the 10 ft run walls. Muddy footprints show they squeezed inbetween the run roof and the coop roof, a less than 3 inch space.

We've had chickens for almost 9 years and have never had an attack like this. We are devastated. It just shows how much we have to learn.

View attachment 2746968

Oh wow. That is awful. I am a new chicken mama and that is my every night fear. This is my last thought every night before I Fall asleep from exhaustion. I feel if you seasoned chicken owners have trouble, I am an amateur so I am sure to have problems. I am even more afraid now. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[neo71665]

If you get the dukes trap look up how to modify it to be double throw. It's pretty easy.

However I suggest getting the Z trap. It's already double throw.
https://www.flemingtraps.com/ztrap-dog-proof-coon-trap-brown.html

 

[Lelilamom]

Don’t tell me that! We got one overnight. Hoping for more success tonight (assuming there’s are more)

They figured out the haveaheart traps. They got the bait out without springing the trap.