how long until racoons give up on getting into coop?

[moorembe]

I left my meat birds outside in a tractor and woke up to them gone, like no trace at all, i honestly cried. i had put in so much effort into raising them.after 2 nights raccoons found my coop and managed to open the pop door took 3 hens out of 10 and i woke up to carcasses and feathers everywhere. i figured they got into the run through the door since part of it was warped and left a small space to get through, it has been 1 year with no issues and all this was just crushing.anyway i'm keeping my laying ladies in the garage for now, i "fort knoxed" the coop, i now have a piece of wood across the pop door just to make sure nothing can get through.all my windows and doors have more than one lock, so if the raccoons happen to slide one they still wont be able to get through. so far i have watched them try, (they are a pack of 4) to enter the run and coop and for 2 nights they havent succeeded,I'm keeping a trap in the run so if any somehow manages to get in it gets trapped.

My question is how long will the raccoons keep trying until they give up.i'm willing to keep my hens for a week or more in the garage but will i ever get rid of them if they find no food? the chickens free range but they are still a bit traumatized and are not roaming as much, i get them locked in the run by dusk and once its dark carry them to the garage. I want to go back to sleeping well and not anxious of what i will find in the morning.

 

[cavemanrich]

FIRST,,,, for your losses.
You have to understand one thing. The raccoons are not mean.. BUT like all animals, do need to eat.
They may make a visit to see if there is a possibility, and then keep going further.
Like you stated,, You secured your run. "Fort Knoxed"
Reality with raccoons,, is they hunt usually after dark. Now that the days are long, I have seen them out before nightfall. Early evening.
Just do your best to keep coop, and run secure. Also do be aware they can climb, and enter from above. I don't know how your run is protected.

Fox, another predator, operates day and night.

A pack of 4,,, sounds like a mama racoon, and 3 cubs. Eventually the pack will break up and seek their own territory.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[McChooky]

My advise is use hasp locks with carabiners to secure the doors closed. Coons have limber thumbs and can open slide locks. All coons teach their babies to hunt the same places they've successfully hunted and killed prey before (your house) Even if these coons didn't have babies when they killed your chickens they'll still hunt at your house .They always return to places they've successfully killed prey before. Coons killed a lot of my my next door neighbors chickens so they check my coop every night.You need a camera to detect their activity around so you can monitor them.You also need a dog trained to protect your chickens and give alerts.Coons are afraid of dogs

 

[wrathsfarm]

If you want to, you could post pics of Fort Knox. I'm sure all of us here would be helpful to spot intrusion weak points to make sure your birds are as safe as possible.
Like someone else posted..I use these style of locks on my pop doors with a swivel board on each side.

 

[ksbkeys]

I left my meat birds outside in a tractor and woke up to them gone, like no trace at all, i honestly cried. i had put in so much effort into raising them.after 2 nights raccoons found my coop and managed to open the pop door took 3 hens out of 10 and i woke up to carcasses and feathers everywhere. i figured they got into the run through the door since part of it was warped and left a small space to get through, it has been 1 year with no issues and all this was just crushing.anyway i'm keeping my laying ladies in the garage for now, i "fort knoxed" the coop, i now have a piece of wood across the pop door just to make sure nothing can get through.all my windows and doors have more than one lock, so if the raccoons happen to slide one they still wont be able to get through. so far i have watched them try, (they are a pack of 4) to enter the run and coop and for 2 nights they havent succeeded,I'm keeping a trap in the run so if any somehow manages to get in it gets trapped.

My question is how long will the raccoons keep trying until they give up.i'm willing to keep my hens for a week or more in the garage but will i ever get rid of them if they find no food? the chickens free range but they are still a bit traumatized and are not roaming as much, i get them locked in the run by dusk and once its dark carry them to the garage. I want to go back to sleeping well and not anxious of what i will find in the morning.

You might consider putting your havahart trap outside the coop run rather than in it. This way, you will be sure to catch them. Otherwise, they will just keep coming back. Bait with peanut butter or something else with a strong smell...bacon, butter, etc.

We live in a very rural location so relocating animals caught in our havahart trap is fairly simple. Out of consideration, we always strive to never release an animal near another house.

You may inadvertently catch a skunk...YouTube has great info about how to release one safely. (I had that happen to me once and managed NOT to get sprayed.)

When you are finished with your trap, wash it thoroughly with a bleach water solution. Also, always wash your hands after handling the trap.

 

[moorembe]

If you want to, you could post pics of Fort Knox. I'm sure all of us here would be helpful to spot intrusion weak points to make sure your birds are as safe as possible.
Like someone else posted..I use these style of locks on my pop doors with a swivel board on each side.
View attachment 3882920
View attachment 3882922

Here is a picture of the coop, i have hardware cloth, a roof on the run.i fixed the run door where the wood was warped and thats how they managed to get in.they have been climbing up to try and get through the holes i have in the coop for air circulation but there is a mesh.i can see the foot prints and its really dirty too.i have less that an inch between the roof metal sheets and wood would they get through there?

 

[moorembe]

You might consider putting your havahart trap outside the coop run rather than in it. This way, you will be sure to catch them. Otherwise, they will just keep coming back. Bait with peanut butter or something else with a strong smell...bacon, butter, etc.

We live in a very rural location so relocating animals caught in our havahart trap is fairly simple. Out of consideration, we always strive to never release an animal near another house.

You may inadvertently catch a skunk...YouTube has great info about how to release one safely. (I had that happen to me once and managed NOT to get sprayed.)

When you are finished with your trap, wash it thoroughly with a bleach water solution. Also, always wash your hands after handling the trap.

I wanted to test out the coop just to make sure they cant get in but i will put it outside now. thank you.

 

[moorembe]

My advise is use hasp locks with carabiners to secure the doors closed. Coons have limber thumbs and can open slide locks. All coons teach their babies to hunt the same places they've successfully hunted and killed prey before (your house) Even if these coons didn't have babies when they killed your chickens they'll still hunt at your house .They always return to places they've successfully killed prey before. Coons killed a lot of my my next door neighbors chickens so they check my coop every night.You need a camera to detect their activity around so you can monitor them.You also need a dog trained to protect your chickens and give alerts.Coons are afraid of dogs

i ordered a camera, will get it a few days so i will monitor and see. we plan on getting a dog in the future though.its not in the cards any time soon but i know that will ease my mind.

 

[moorembe]

FIRST,,,, for your losses.
You have to understand one thing. The raccoons are not mean.. BUT like all animals, do need to eat.
They may make a visit to see if there is a possibility, and then keep going further.
Like you stated,, You secured your run. "Fort Knoxed"
Reality with raccoons,, is they hunt usually after dark. Now that the days are long, I have seen them out before nightfall. Early evening.
Just do your best to keep coop, and run secure. Also do be aware they can climb, and enter from above. I don't know how your run is protected.

Fox, another predator, operates day and night.

A pack of 4,,, sounds like a mama racoon, and 3 cubs. Eventually the pack will break up and seek their own territory.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

my run has a roof.i secure them in the run now before it gets dark.its been really trying to climb to get a way through but for the past 2 days hasnt managed.i'm hoping they will give up.

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry for your losses, and it's how many of us have learned, the very hard way, that our chickens need to be safer.
I'm concerned about the hardware cloth attachments in your pictures. Ours are fence staples, with boards screwed into the framing over that.

Also, automatic pop doors are an issue; critters soon learn the schedule, and are ready! We vary the times when our birds go outside of their safe coop and run, and when they are locked in.
Live traps are great, BUT in many states there are laws regulating what can be released, and where. For very good reasons!!!
Raccoons, skunks, and foxes are major carriers of rabies, and also, releasing a trap wise chicken killer does not improve habitats anywhere. Look up what you can legally do where you live!
Here, we only trap if we will shoot if it's one of those species.
Mary