I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread! Thank you OP for starting it!
I just started raising chickens in February. I did a lot of research first, and when I built my run (coop was already here when we moved in, but I did some renovations) I made sure NOTHING could get in there to get my birds. In fact I probably did a little overkill, but oh well. Anyhoo, I have not had to deal with any predators getting my flock, but I have had issues with something getting the chick start. I posted this as the OP of a separate thread, so I won't hijack this one with the details...but wanted to say that this is what brought me to this thread. Based on what I've read, I think the reason my Ninja Raccoon has evaded capture is due to my choice of bait. Since he/she was getting into the chick start every night, that's what I used. I also did not anchor the trap, nor cover the sides, back or top with anything (other than brush to kinda camouflage it). So Ninja Coon would just reach his/her hand through the squares, grab the little plastic container of chick scratch and knock it over. As soon as I read through this entire post, I went out and put together a sort of box to enclose the back end of the trap. Added some weight to the top. Reset the trap using cat food AND marshmallows as bait (overkill? lol). Let's see if I get.
Again, thanks for this thread! Lovin' it!
My Ninja Coon (last night...I didn't camouflage since it hasn't been working anyway):
What I did after reading this thread (the bucket is filled with nails and metal I collected from the yard...previous owners were pigs):
I just started raising chickens in February. I did a lot of research first, and when I built my run (coop was already here when we moved in, but I did some renovations) I made sure NOTHING could get in there to get my birds. In fact I probably did a little overkill, but oh well. Anyhoo, I have not had to deal with any predators getting my flock, but I have had issues with something getting the chick start. I posted this as the OP of a separate thread, so I won't hijack this one with the details...but wanted to say that this is what brought me to this thread. Based on what I've read, I think the reason my Ninja Raccoon has evaded capture is due to my choice of bait. Since he/she was getting into the chick start every night, that's what I used. I also did not anchor the trap, nor cover the sides, back or top with anything (other than brush to kinda camouflage it). So Ninja Coon would just reach his/her hand through the squares, grab the little plastic container of chick scratch and knock it over. As soon as I read through this entire post, I went out and put together a sort of box to enclose the back end of the trap. Added some weight to the top. Reset the trap using cat food AND marshmallows as bait (overkill? lol). Let's see if I get.
Again, thanks for this thread! Lovin' it!
My Ninja Coon (last night...I didn't camouflage since it hasn't been working anyway):
What I did after reading this thread (the bucket is filled with nails and metal I collected from the yard...previous owners were pigs):