Hey, Will Raccoons Eat My Chickens?

[Growley Monster]

Just about any carnivorous or omnivorous creature LOVES to eat chickens, and especially helpless little chicks. If you are certain it is not a pet or livestock, and it is snooping around the coop, definitely shoot or trap. Coons are not exactly food of the gods, but are quite edible if you know how to prepare them, and if you are in a cold climate it should still be in its winter pelt. Waste not...

Could also be some other animal but at 50 lbs whatever it is, it can fit a lot of babies in its tummy, and many animals will kill more chicks than they can eat, just for the fun of it.

 

[SourRoses]

Racoons are a serious threat, but when it comes to predator management someone on here once gave great advice.
Leave the predators you have in place until / unless they attack. Why? Predators have territory. If they are successful they are able to defend the food resources of that territory.
If you knock off the top dog, you get an influx of lower tier predators, including hungrier coon families, and critters the coon used to run off/eat.
A resident predator is usually better behaved than itinerant ones, and a fat coon is less of a threat than a starving one.

At our previous place we had a big coon family that traipsed all over the coops at night (next to woods and big trees). It was annoying and concerning so I started trapping them off.
Well, shortly after I hear a dreadful noise at night. *ping* *screech* *ping*
I run out there and a really angry skinny coon is on the coop door with his fists imbedded in the wire and he's wrenching it back as hard as he can. The whole section of wire was bowing and snapping back with the pinging noise. He was making the screeching noise, from pain or frustration I don't know. It was a terrible racket. So I came close with my flashlight yelling at him but he wouldn't stop. I had to spray the hose on jet before he quit and left.
Then I go up to the coop and try to recreate the movement in the HW cloth panel, thinking "Is it really that loose?" Umm, No. It was solidly attached. I tried my best and could not wrench the wire away the way he was... conclusion, racoon is stronger than me.
So now I test every section when we build / repair. If it feels like it gives for me then it's likely to fail to a coon. And at this property we let the fat coons stay in place and they haven't acted determined at all.

 

[TOR]

What you can do and highly recommend is get a game camera, if chickens safe I would not worry about it.


Raccoons chew, pull, climb, dig, reach. persistant if they know there is a meal. Hungry enough will travel daylight hours to known source food.
Standard slide bolt lock not recommended, yes they will undo locks. Youtube there is video.
Slide bolt with a padlock, hasp.
I dont kill them unless I have a problem. They did loosen a board last year and lost about 20 younger birds. I use a 1 1/5 leg trap away from where chickens are. Use a bait set. I did get 3 in first 2 days, no more for 3 days I pulled traps.

 

[Birdinhand]

Racoons are a serious threat, but when it comes to predator management someone on here once gave great advice.
Leave the predators you have in place until / unless they attack. Why? Predators have territory. If they are successful they are able to defend the food resources of that territory.
If you knock off the top dog, you get an influx of lower tier predators, including hungrier coon families, and critters the coon used to run off/eat.
A resident predator is usually better behaved than itinerant ones, and a fat coon is less of a threat than a starving one.

At our previous place we had a big coon family that traipsed all over the coops at night (next to woods and big trees). It was annoying and concerning so I started trapping them off.
Well, shortly after I hear a dreadful noise at night. *ping* *screech* *ping*
I run out there and a really angry skinny coon is on the coop door with his fists imbedded in the wire and he's wrenching it back as hard as he can. The whole section of wire was bowing and snapping back with the pinging noise. He was making the screeching noise, from pain or frustration I don't know. It was a terrible racket. So I came close with my flashlight yelling at him but he wouldn't stop. I had to spray the hose on jet before he quit and left.
Then I go up to the coop and try to recreate the movement in the HW cloth panel, thinking "Is it really that loose?" Umm, No. It was solidly attached. I tried my best and could not wrench the wire away the way he was... conclusion, racoon is stronger than me.
So now I test every section when we build / repair. If it feels like it gives for me then it's likely to fail to a coon. And at this property we let the fat coons stay in place and they haven't acted determined at all.

This is an excellent post!

 

[GoosesGeeses]

Kill it.
(That may be a little harsh to just write like that, but true)

 

[GoosesGeeses]

I would say 6 year old

I've always been told that if a 4 year old can unlock it than so can a raccoon.

 

[Zenmonkey]

Chickens are delicious.

Good news, so are raccoons. They're garbage cans though, so make sure that meat is thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165F or hotter. They're also greasy, fatty animals, so some care in removing some of the fat before cooking is helpful. They go well in the slow cooker.

 

[GoosesGeeses]

They can have worms though

 

[Zenmonkey]

They can have worms though

I'd say that *can* is an understatement. You should just assume they all do. That's why you cook them to an internal of 165F or better. Really they do fairly well in the slow cooker until they resemble pulled pork.

 

[Daisy June]

Raccoons are on my NEVER IN MY YARD list. Animal control will bring and set up a trap for your unwanted guest and take it out to the woods to let it go if you call them. I consider them gross and mean. One was pooping in a golf course pool, while I was managing it (the pool), so you know who had to handle that; another killed three of my daughter's ag project chickens. Yuck.