Homesteaders

[wyoDreamer]

I am guessing that the chicken porch will be covered with plastic to cut the wind and let light in. It will be a nice sunroom for the birds.
My coop had something similar, but we put a piece of plexi-glass in the window and don't need the plastic anymore. I think the chickens preferred the covered porch, but because of the way it was built, it made it nearly impossible to close them up at night. Coons are much more of a problem during the fall/winter months than during summer.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I do hope you catch the varmint. What did you bait it with? Cool weather here. I should be out prepping the green house for planting.

right now some coon lure and cat food/canned tuna

 

[lazy gardener]

coon lure? I need to put out a trap, see if any visitors wanna play. Found a drowned baby rat today. Gotta deal with that. Way too many places around here for rats to hole up.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

coon lure? I need to put out a trap, see if any visitors wanna play. Found a drowned baby rat today. Gotta deal with that. Way too many places around here for rats to hole up.

ya just simple trapping lure. they make all kind of lures out there (from weasel to coon to coyote to even beaver and muskrat calls)

 

[itsasmallfarm]

not sure where to put this, but winter is coming which means trapping season is soon here. this is my first season of actually trying to catch the predators (as this is only my first year and a half with chickens) where i live beaver season starts on the first of October. but am waiting till 1st of November (which is season start) for weasel season to begin to start putting out my weasel boxes. also got to prepare my dog proof coon traps as they start becoming worth something in about a week or two. (coons)

 

[CapricornFarm]

Do you use the coon meat for anything, itsasmallfarm? I used to cook it and feed it to the dogs and chickens.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Do you use the coon meat for anything, itsasmallfarm? I used to cook it and feed it to the dogs and chickens.

at the moment i just use it to feed other wild life (if a catch anything) am hoping the meat brings in coyotes (which then we will shoot as we have so many around here) i have heard of people eating coon but as my trap supplier told me they have so many parasites and bacteria in them to always where gloves when skinning them, (now i know cooking kills most if not all of those bacteria and parasites but still its not something am going to try at the moment no offense to anyone who eats coons by the way)

how ever that is not a bad idea feeding them to the chickens.

but the only meat of fur bearers am willing to try is beaver and muskrat (both as i have been told are good eating)

 

[lazy gardener]

Beaver carry some pretty severe diseases also. A fellow I know traps and does Taxidermy. got very sick from a beaver borne disease. Don't know if it's one of those forever diseases or not.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Beaver carry some pretty severe diseases also. A fellow I know traps and does Taxidermy. got very sick from a beaver borne disease. Don't know if it's one of those forever diseases or not.

that is good to know, my uncle has eaten beaver and muskrat before said you have to cook them to the right internal temp (not sure what the temp is i think its the same as chicken or pork) but if the animal had some nasty diseases before (looking at the meat or liver for any signs)

 

[CapricornFarm]

at the moment i just use it to feed other wild life (if a catch anything) am hoping the meat brings in coyotes (which then we will shoot as we have so many around here) i have heard of people eating coon but as my trap supplier told me they have so many parasites and bacteria in them to always where gloves when skinning them, (now i know cooking kills most if not all of those bacteria and parasites but still its not something am going to try at the moment no offense to anyone who eats coons by the way)

how ever that is not a bad idea feeding them to the chickens.

but the only meat of fur bearers am willing to try is beaver and muskrat (both as i have been told are good eating)

Yeah, chickens love meat scraps and it is cheap protein.