Help me understand raccoon problems and other nocturnal predator issues

[DelcoChix]

I've had two losses due to raccoons...both different 'lessons.' The first wasto my small coop, home to two bantam cochin hens, a White Sultan hen, and a Silkie hen...the coop is in a chain link dog kennel that is covered with 2"x4" fencing...totally enclosed--I thought. The kennel door is accessed by going through the outdoor run for my big girls.
Last September dd went out to let the girls out, to her horror found the Sultan and Silkie slaughtered, the two cochins gone. Set a live trap, caught a coon the next morning, and the morning after that. As smart as they are they were stupid enough to think we'd put more birds in there? They'd killed everyone the first night. Our detective skills determined that masked marauders had climbed the exterior 7' fence (yes-it's an open roofed run for daytime fun for our big girls), then pushed open the hard to open, but not latched, kennel door, and then proceeded to lift up the pop door and do their damage. Didn't think they could do that--learned otherwise. I'm one of those weirdos who likes and even admires them but not when they intrude on my enclosed property. The two we trapped are buried here.
Lesson learned...they are smart enough to test things, push doors open even if it's not easy (door slid down and was tough to latch). They are smart enough to learn to lift a door into the coop itself. Very adaptable and determined creatures...but we're smarter and can learn from our mistakes...!

Second time was a few weeks ago, different coop--two Silkies sleeping in a nestbox. I did not realize that the crappy OSB floor of the nestbox had sagged down about 2-2 1/2"...more sleuthing,
I think a greedy hand reached up into the nestbox floor and grabbed whatever they could, whicch happened to be my pretty little splash Silkie. I think she was dragged/pulled through this gap that shouldn't have been big enough for her to fit. Another learning lesson, and an innocent bird had to teach me.

Not a lot of losses to predators, but always a reminder not to get complacent....
Good luck in your search for knowledge!

PS: I still haven't put anyone back in the first coop....gunshy. And the second issue...I ripped the offensive nestbox right off, sealed it off with plywood for now. We'll be rebuilding the entire coop later this summer. Sigh.

 

[20736]

I think there are a lot of variables playing into this years rather larger raccoon problem.
First, we had a mild winter. Probably every available female was bred.
Second, nobody traps any more. Those that do don't trap 'coons. Beaver and even 'possum pay more.
And third, more beginners are acquiring chickens. A lot more people enjoy the hobby; more than ever.
When we started over 30 years ago, I had no clue that raccoons wean their young in June on stolen poultry.
Over the years, I learned what a secure coop really is. I also learned when the trapping season was and had my own little 'coon reduction program running in the watershed for about 5 years. Put a real dent in the population, which eased pressure on the coop in June.
Now, we still have 'coons, but in manageable numbers. And, we have a very strong coop and run.
Now, the raccoons just tip over my trash cans once a week, just to let me know that they are still here looking for an easy meal.
Be proactive - build strong, find ways to reduce your raccoon population that agree with your lifestyle.

 

[mike001]

Watershed...mild winter...are you in the Catskills??

I've never even seen a raccoon on my property. They've never knocked over cans. I've seen skunks, coyotes, bears, foxes, but no coons.

My neighbor shoots everything he sees, so maybe he gets rid of them for me. Or maybe they are afraid to cross the amount of open ground it would take to get to my house. Anyway, I don't really care about nocturnal predators as I said earlier. They can get into my house a lot easier than they can get into my coop, of course the consequenses will be very different for them. Hehe.