I'm Really Sick of This...Poison Options?

[Boyd]

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careful, its usually illegal to relocate. And an average raccoon has a 15-20 mile range. He'd be back within a day or so to his old territory.

it's never fun to end a life, but sometimes it is necessary.

Thanks, we weren't aware that it is illegal? My dh said he hated to dispose of them but he knew they would be back and they were about five feet from the coop door. Thanks for the heads-up on the legality of moving them.

no problem. It isn't 100% illegal everywhere but in a lot of places... If I had the option here in michigan, I'd trap, call a wildlife rehaber or get the permit myself to relocate to a designated area. Unfortunately in Mich they are too worried about rabies and many places will put the 'coon down no matter what they tell you

My way is instant. Well from the time I see the trap is sprung till I walk to it... I justify it to myself that I am keeping my chooks safe and I am saving the critter another half a day of anxiety before the needle comes. A .22 is quicker.

 

[rufus]

Well, maybe you ought to sprinkle flour about and check the tracks the next morning. This will give you some idea of what you are dealing with. It could be a big owl.

If it is raccoon, bait the trap with marshmellows. You don't want to catch an innocent cat. You will want to handle a coon differently than a skunk.



Be real careful with poisons. Sometimes they last a long time, and you don't want your chickens picking at that stuff.

Good luck,

Rufus

 

[PortageGirl]

It does sound like a family of raccoons, except opossums will eat the guts out of em like you described, and a female will have a BUNCH of babies at a time, so if it's a family, you may have a fairly big group to deal with. Smaller ones can get into places you couldn't imagine them squeezing into, but I've seen some pretty big ones too. They're not quite as smart or clever with their paws as raccoons, but they're really quite nasty things.

They like cat food if you try to live trap them, or some raw chicken meat, nicely smelly is their preference it seems.

good luck!

I suppose large rats could do it too, but they'd have to be pretty big and be very numerous to do that much damage, so I dunno about that.

 

[Buster52]

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Female 3. Male up to 10.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

We've tried the flour method but whatever it is will NOT walk on it.

We put a 6 foot area of flour and the thing would not show up while the flour was there. After a rainstorm, you guessed it...one more chick down.

 

[SurprisingWoman]

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Place outside the pen. Use stinky bait so it is drawn to the "goodies" and the coop and chickens are totally out of mind.

 

[thewarriorchild]

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ugh I hate that!!!

 

[Boyd]

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Female 3. Male up to 10.

guess it depends on where you are. I know somebody who spray painted their trapped coons orange b4 release. took 2 days to get back and that was 15-20 miles....... And Buster, you quoted their normal daily foraging area..... They know the area much farther around..... you go beyond that their inner sense gets all fuzzy

Trust me, I am not feeding them captain, just reporting the facts.

 

[Buster52]

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The study I read said it was their "territory".

 

[Boyd]

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The study I read said it was their "territory".

yes sir. I did too, just didn't come out the same