Forgot to Close the Coop Door...

[spiffwilkie]

Two nights ago I was lying in bed and heard a little noise in the yard. It was a bit windy so I didn't think much of it. About 5 minutes later I heard a sound that could best be described as a cat being strangled and then a bunch of squawking. I remembered then that I didn't shut the coop door. I jumped out of bed and grabbed the pellet gun by the back door. I went outside but couldn't see much so I called to my wife to get a lantern. In the mean-time I heard more squawking and weird sounds and could only assume that the chickens (I only have 3 at the moment) were being torn apart.
Well, when my wife brought out the lantern and I looked into the coop, I saw a raccoon up in the corner of the coop, and my chicken were all yelling at it and flying about the coop.

*WARNING* ANIMAL CARNAGE BELOW (No pics, just description)



I shot the raccoon in the head from ~2 ft away with hollow-point pellets from my 1200 fps gun. It took 3 shots before it even moved, then it scampered out of the coop, and I got it one more time. That thing must have a skull of steel. Anyhow, it ran off into the darkness and the next morning I located it still in the backyard under a bush. Thankfully it was garbage day. Saved me the hassle of digging a hole.

I was surprised that none of the chickens were injured at all. Not a drop of blood anywhere. I suppose that because the roost is several feet away from the door to the coop and entering the coop requires climbing up a trapdoor, that the chickens might have heard the raccoon and sounded the alarm. Regardless, they put up a good fight.

tl;dr: Shut the coop door!

 

[Y N dottes]

wow, that was a close call.....im glad ur birds are all right

 

[LaynaDon95]

Oh my goodness! Glad you got him taken care of! I used to not worry about locking up my chickens. I had never had a predator attack or even look like they wanted to. I live in a residential enough area and don't have to worry about too many wild animals.Well, in August I forgot to shut the coop until I was already in bed and comfy, so I just left it. I went out the next morning to find TONS of dead chickens. 5 neighborhood dogs had come and ripped my flock to shreds. I was totally devastated. The worst part wasn't even the dead ones, it was the ones that were too injured to survive that we had to kill ourseves. Oh, how I cried. Thankfully I had locked my favorite rooster and a few favorite hens in the garden to eat up squash bug and such the day before, so they survived, but so many of my other chickens were killed. Moral of the story, NEVER forget to lock up your chickens. Ever. Even when you think they are safe. But of course, you learned that already. I'm so glad your girls were okay. I wish nobody had to learn this lesson the hard way.