Hens "chased" raccoon off the property in daylight !!!

[Hockeychick]

At about 5:30 yesterday I heard a very loud clucking coming from the yard. It was my Buff Orpington, Kitty (The Alpha)- she always gets real loud when she sees another animal. It could be a bear, duck, snake, or apparently a raccoon. By the time I got outside 2 of the Orps were walking side by side toward the raccoon, who was warily backing up. I kept yelling at the girls to come back, but they followed it until it was off the property. I grabbed a stick and ran after the thing, yelling trying to scare it off.

I don't know if the raccoon was rabid - it looked healthy and it wasn't foaming at the mouth. I did look a little thin, so perhaps hunger is what made it hunt in the daylight. They are usually nocturnal, but not always. I was really shocked that it didn't grab one of the girls. I have a total of 42, so maybe it didn't want to get pecked by 42 chickens??

So I put all of the chickens back in the run, and I will not be letting them out for a while. I am afraid it will come back. Has anyone else had an experience like this??

 

[PineappleMama]

Oh is Mr Coon afraid of the big bad kitty?

Nice to see a coon story with a happy (harm free) ending!

 

[Hockeychick]

Here she is....my great hunter! This was taken in May, I believe. She is only 22 weeks old now!

 

[ranchhand]

Love the happy ending! Yay for the girls!

Raccoons hunt during the day regularly, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong.

 

[Imp]

Great story, glad it had a happy ending.
Raccoons don't just come out at night. I frequently get them during the day.
A couple of times I've had them together in the yard, they pretty much ignore one another, although the chickens start acting nervous if the raccoons get closer than arms reach. Since I'm at work most days I wonder if they party together.

Even at night when they wake me up, they do not go near the coop, but if they could get the goldfish out of the pond we'd have problems.
Now the moral is: Carry your camera at all times

Imp- has vegetarian raccoons

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
this time of the year a lot of coons are veagan it is because of the availability of natural foods right now wild grapes,persimmons,blackberries,sweet corn they do not have to hunt where these foods are not available they hunt, they are opportunist's eating whatever is available. they do not care if it is day or night they just wait until humans cease their activities.

 

[Hockeychick]

I am new to chickens, and fairly new to the 'country'. I usually only see raccoons when they are trashing the garbage. They are super cute, though. It is good to hear that they are vegan this time of year. I am nervous about letting the birds out now. They only come out when I am home because we have lots of predators.

I had thought that chicken-raccoon meetings usually ended in disaster for the chicken(s). Maybe the raccoon just wanted to eat the food that I put out for the chickens?

I wonder what they will do when they see the bear? I only got to see 1 interaction, but fortunately the birds were in their run, and the bear didn't get too close, but Kitty was clucking like crazy at the bear. These chickens scare me - they are fearless!

 

[Khyree]

lol i would think the chickens want to eat the raccoon! thus far my girls haven't had any of those encounters but they will walk right up to and try to peck anything that comes into their yard... crows, jays, neighborhood cats, squirrels... my belt... repeatedly... apparently the omnivore inside them must taste everything at least once... if they can get their beak on it.

 

[Hockeychick]

Seriously...I think they will eat anything!! They chased and traumatized a poor bunny. If I didn't intervene, it would not have ended well. They kill mice, snakes, they chase all birds (sparrows up to crows), muskrats (thay can't chase them, but stare longingly into the pond at them), and ducks! I think if myself or my husband had the misfortune to fell unconscious in the yard, for whatever reason, they would eat us too.

 

[Slinkytoys]

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