Just in case you're not a believer in daytime raids...

[swatchick]

...it happened to us today. A raccoon came out early this evening and tried to pull one of the girls through a 1" opening alongside the door to the run, separating her head from her body (it looks like she was lounging right there next to it at the time), and then half and hour after I finished cleaning up, I had to chase off a bobcat who was headed right for the coop (not that it could get in, but the poor girls certainly don't need any more stress today...). And mind you, my husband was home at the time and heard the ruckus, but by the time he got down there, it was too late. I had been deluding myself into believing that the gap wasn't really a problem since they are locked up at night and it's the ONLY gap anywhere on the lower 3 feet of the run. Poor girl....

 

[CapricornFarm]

oh dear, I am sorry about your hen. Yes, if a coon can get its paw in, it will go chicken fishing and chew off any part it grabs. Make yourself a coon skin cap;-)

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

How do they even get at the birds through the wire? You'd think the bird would have enough sense to get outta there before its head was pulled off.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Nope as much as we love our chickens they are dumb.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

yup, those are just guidelines really, but technically you said evening and not broad daylight, a hungry predator has no problem extending it's time to hunt or starting alittle early, they are all ready at twilight, believe it.
I give myself a guideline for coop / run safelty, if I can get my finger through it, it's not safe enough-goes to keeping em in as well as out. little buggers

 

[MEchickenfarmer33]

sorry for your loss. I HATE RACCOONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry again

 

[slackwater]

I had a fox grab one of my free-ranging hens right in front of me at 2 in the afternoon. It dropped her because I ran screaming after it. I shot it that night.

 

[Cats Critters]

I had a raccoon attack in the afternoon this spring (do a search or go throught my topics and you'll find it) so it can happen at anytime. Sorry about your girl

 

[Imp]

Quote:
I've had this happen as well. And I see raccoons occasionally in the middle of the day, as well as possums.

Imp

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
The first coop I built was a "tractor" type A-frame with the bottom section secured by hardware cloth. The instructions I had for it recommended making one corner solid wood panel, not ro have wire all the way around. Chickens will NOT run to the middle, center, when predators frighten them, but will all go huddle in a corner. Racoons know this, and if they work in a team (which is often the case with a mom and kits) they will frighten the chooks into a corner where they can be grabbed through wire.

Having a solid wall corner saves them from that fate.