I hate raccoons

[NHN]

I just moved to a place I actually used to live that became available again. it is on 2 acres shared with another house. I knew we had raccoons and foxes as they used to be all over my porch at night. My neighbors all had their chickens killed by coons so I never wanted to get any. But at the last house I lived in I did get 4 hens.

I knew I was in for a fight moving here and I have them temporarily housed in a chick N Barn and run in my back yard. I have 2 ft of skirting all around and pavers on top of that. Last night I woke up hearing a thud and then the most horrific noise you can imagine.

Without a second thought I was up and running to the back yard in my bare feet and pajamas. They were screeching so loud I thought something must be in the coop with them so I unlatched it to look. They were all huddled in a pile. At this point my flashlight decided to die. In retrospect, if a coon had been in there it could have been bad, but I did not even think about it, I reacted. I probably would have killed it with my bare hands.

My hens are very shook up but all ok. The one place I did not think about was the top of the barn where the vents are. It is right across from the roost. The wire is big enough for a coon to reach in and just grab them right off the roost. Dumbest design I have ever seen. The only thing I can think of to do today is move the roost down so they cannot be reached from the vents. I am in the process of building a more secure coop and i will be stringing electric wire around, but in the meantime i need to keep them safe. Any suggestions? In my opinion this barn should not be marketed as safe as it's NOT! The only reason they are alive is because I was out there so fast.

Did I mention I HATE raccoons!

 

[NHN]

Here is a picture of the barn, you can see the vents

 

[Getaway Gal]

Can you nail hardware cloth across the vents?

 

[fordmommy]

You could put them in a large dog kennel in the house at night. Say the basement or garage until you get your new, secure coop done.


You know! I just had a thought. Do you have a garage? Just put up a roost in there and let them be in there until you get the new coop done. I would put down news paper and stuff to catch the poop. But just do that, at night. Then they will be safe at night. And put them back in the morning wherever you usaully keep them.

Would that work?

 

[Soccer Mom]

I had trouble with a coon coming in my vents also. Coons would drop from the trees onto the roof and go in the vents. We nailed hardware cloth over the vents and have hot wired the roof. They predation stopped.

ETA: Oh, and those hatches that lift up need to be securely latched with something coons can undo, like D-ring latches.

 

[NHN]

I don't have a garage. I almost brought them in to the basement though last night. But i had nothing to put them in. I think I will nail hardware cloth over and move the roost down. I have no doubt they will be back tonight. I will also be trying to trap them soon but there are several.

 

[NHN]

Speaking of hot wiring, the grounding pole I bought is like 8 ft long. Do I have to pound all of it down into the ground? Can I just wrap the wire around or do I need a clamp?

What did you attach it to the roof with?

 

[Mahonri]

Hardware cloth across the vents.

 

[Soccer Mom]

Here is a pic of my coop. You can see the yellow insulators around the roof. I don't think it's necessary to pound it all the way into the ground and we just wrapped it. I don't think we used a clamp. I'll double check and take some better pics of the system for you. DH is hot wire king. I just do what he tells me. (NOT that I would admit that in front of him.)

 

[chickencoop31320]

Quote:
Exactly what I was going to suggest!

But instead of nailing it, I would use screws and washers to secure it to the wood so the coons can't push it out.

Good luck.