I need help identifying this predator--VERY GRAPHIC PICS!!

[ThePolishPrincess]

I'm so sorry.

 

[The Tinman]

Do you think that discharge of a firearm with in city limits might be illegal also. Although a .22 cb long will have a hard time going through the stockcade fence. I would go for a body shot and hit it rather a head shot and miss.
Quote:
Ya gotta get a gun, even if you hafta borrow it. You need a .22 bolt action rifle. The ammo is .22 CB Shorts. In a bolt action rifle, the CB Shorts sound like a twig snapping as they are loaded with minimal gunpowder, yet are very effective on trapped predators. The shot should be to the top of the head. Don`t even think about relocating a predator as it is illegal in most areas and you would just be dumping your problem on somebody else. Good luck........Pop

 

[MaKettle]

Quote:
I thought long & hard for replying to this because I don't want to be tacky in the midst of such a tragic situation, however, I think it must be said. You say that you can't be mad at the fox because if it kills your birds, its just doing what it does but you are mad at racoons for "ruining everything", which is what we all know that they do. What you've basically done is spoon fed this racoon (or whatever predator it is) your birds by not doing the best that you could to protect them. I've read that racoons have the same kinds of manual skills as a small toddler--so, if your 5 year old can get into something, so can a raccoon. I was just so shocked to see the tape over the window...I'm sure you had the best intentions but putting tape over a window just isn't going to cut it.

I am very sorry for your loss.. the picture of the decapitated head with its eyes open was so difficult to see, which is why I feel so passionately about commenting. I too have hand raised my birds since they were 1 day old & treat them as pets...but I also feel that it is my utmost responsibility to protect them at all times and part of that means making sure that their home is safe.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss & I honestly don't mean to sound crass. The bottom line is this--you can't blame the racoon--just do your best to get rid of it.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Ya gotta get a gun, even if you hafta borrow it. You need a .22 bolt action rifle. The ammo is .22 CB Shorts. In a bolt action rifle, the CB Shorts sound like a twig snapping as they are loaded with minimal gunpowder, yet are very effective on trapped predators. The shot should be to the top of the head. Don`t even think about relocating a predator as it is illegal in most areas and you would just be dumping your problem on somebody else. Good luck........Pop


I always use a .22LR bold action rifle (though I've heard the 'short' is quieter, my gun says LR only...) and always go for the headshot. I would not risk having to take a second shot, because a body shot would not guarantee an instant kill. Even though I'm killing the raccoon I always try to make it as painless as I can for it.
I always shoot after dark so the neighbors don't see me, and shooting downward towards the raccoon so missing doesn't endanger the neighbors (though I've never missed). One shot with a .22 and most people don't realize what they've heard or where it came from. Anyone listening will be listening closer for a second shot and that will get you caught.
It's extremely hard to miss a caged raccoon's head. Just put the gun muzzle up to a hole in the cage, and wait for him to look the right direction. It gets easier the more you do it.

I *have* taken raccoons cage and all out to the sticks to do the shooting, if you need to do that you can - just wear gloves and be careful when moving the live raccoon.

 

[dawg53]

Titania. Keep in mind, where there is one coon...there are probably more.

 

[pek]

It might be a fisher-cat

 

[NateinFL]

That's beyond graphic.

 

[Sissy]

Its a coon alright I has the same problem here and
yes I got 2 more
I put out some plaster of paris
on top of the fence railing
when
they eat that and drink after.
its an open and shut case.

no more coon.
plaster of paris hardens quick as a wink.
just make sure you sweep up remains of plaster dust.
works every time.

 

[silkiechicken]

Coon as all other say and a high powered, and I mean a high powered, not a daisy red rider AIR rifle will do the trick in one shot, essentially with just a pop. Just go though the ear and look at skull shapes to know where you are going for.

 

[Titania]

thanks everyone for the ideas on how to get rid of a raccoon quietly. Oklahoma City Division of Animal Welfare will lend you a trap for a week and then they dispose of the animal for you when you return it. Or, I could drown it, etc. I don't think your suggestions were cold-hearted at all. A predator is a predator and has to be treated accordingly. (However,...a fox is more forgivable than a raccoon, I think.

Raccoons, are in my opinion, the cockroaches of the animal kingdom. They and cockroaches will be alive and well after all other species fail to exist....)

I also would like to clarify, MaKettle, that that wasn't suppose to be their home. I feel very, very responsible for the way their lives ended. The first week I got my chicks, I sat down with my neighbor to make arrangements to build a coop. He was out of a job, I needed a coop, I thought it was a win-win. I offered him $400 plus material cost and I showed him my design, which has insulation for weather & elevated off the ground and no openings for rats or snakes or wild birds to come in, etc. I read all the suggestions on making it predator proof. But, the problem is, that living in the middle of cookie-cutter suburbs, the only predators I SAW were hawks. When the chicks had to go out, I was disappointed to put them in a dog crate since the coop wasn't finished. When the chicks no longer fit in the crate, I was extremely upset to put them in my children's playhouse. I didn't want them in there, I didn't want to use the playhouse for that purpose. But, they needed more space. I thought it might be for a few more days, maybe a week, the days turned into several weeks without planning on it. I thought all I had to do was keep my chickens in the house to avoid them being picked off by hawks. That's why I put the duct tape on the windows...to keep the chickens in. It was never designed to keep raccoons out (which I didn't know at the time ate chickens). I had never seen a raccoon in my yard or any other animal besides a squirrel. That my chickens were picked off and devoured was a surprise to me...which is why I needed to figure out what the predator was. I loved my chickens and would shoo them inside the patio anytime I even saw a hawk shadow fly overhead. Had I imagined that raccoons visited my yard, had I known that they ate chickens, I promise I would not have "spoon fed" them my lovely chickens. I was naive (both in regards to predators and in my neighbor's timeliness in finishing my coop) and this is ALL MY FAULT and I know it and I accept it as an epic failure on my part; lesson learned. I have apologized to my chickens (wherever they are now) for the horrible way I made them end their lives. I didn't elaborate on this particular part of the story b/c it just didn't contribute to the information I needed to know, specifically how to rid the predator and how to proof the coop against the specific predator.

so, thanks for all the really great info & help in identifying the specific predator i need to proof against.