Keeping raccoons away

[SaraShannon82]

I am having a big raccoon problem. I have lost 13 chickens in four days. They have ripped boards off to get in the coop and tore the wire off. I caught one the other night when I went out to check on them. It was in the coop eating the head off of a chicken. My husband shot it. I set a trap tonight and I caught one. They have killed chickens every night for four days. I don't know what to do to keep them away? Any suggestions?

 

[scottygvsu]

Try to shore up your coop so you don't lose any more birds. That's all you can really do. After that, keep killing coons till you run out of raccoons to shoot. I shot one last night while another one and a skunk ran free. I'll be rid of those two tonight.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Sounds like you have a family of raccoons hitting your coop every night.

Try gang setting...get multiple traps and set them. Instead of catching one at a time, you'll be taking 2 or 3 each night until they are all caught or they decide to go somewhere else.

Go over your coop and make it as solid as possible to keep the raccoons from gaining entrance.

Once a family of raccoons finds a nice food source they will return each night until the food source is gone, it's the nature of that particular beast.

I'd stay away from Havahart Traps, I had a huge boar raccoon push out of a Havahart Trap. It ruined the trap, every animal I caught in that trap after that was able to push out. Havahart Traps are unreliable.

Get a good solid cage trap like the one pictured, no raccoon can push out of this design, and they'll still be there when you check the set in the morning.

Keep us posted....

 

[SaraShannon82]

Last night I caught one in a trap but my husband was sleeping so it had to stay there until he got up for work. Well it broke out of the trap. Bent the door all up that falls down and traps them. Now we have to go by more! Next time I am waking him up and having him take care of it right away. He didn't mess with the coop this time though.

 

[scottygvsu]

Get a couple of these, cage traps are unreliable as you found out. They're pet safe, and mr. Coon will be there till morning.
https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:dog proof trap

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Get a couple of these, cage traps are unreliable as you found out. They're pet safe, and mr. Coon will be there till morning.
https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:dog proof trap

I remember when "Coon Cuffs" came out on the market...I've got a dozen or so of these and used them to good effect. They have their uses and are very reliable...as long as the person using them possesses the trapping knowledge and skill to use them effectively. It's not what I would call a trap for a beginner though...

Their greatest weaknesses and limitations? They are designed only to catch raccoons (so they lack versatility), and they require skill & knowledge to properly make a set (a non-trapper will struggle to use effectively). It's a specialty trap...very good design...but still a specialty trap that is designed to catch raccoons only.

With no instruction, a person can set a cage trap and do pretty good, the principles are that simple and logical. With a little instruction on a few key points, a person with no trapping experience or knowledge can take a cage trap, and quickly learn how to tune the trap, bait the trap and bed the trap to reliably catch raccoons, skunks, opposums, mink, weasels...most any of the small predators that prey on our chickens...even the occasional fox can be caught in a cage trap.

If you've never trapped before, then buy several good quality, well designed cage traps...not a piece of junk cage trap. Raccoons will push right out of a poorly designed cage trap. Course you'll make non target catches....cats, small dogs, and birds spring to mind, just turn them loose and re-set.

If you understand how to make a set and have trapping experience...and your only predators are raccoons..."Coon Cuffs" are a perfectly reliable option...they really do work well for raccoons. And you don't have to worry about catching any non target catches, the trap design ensures only raccoons will be caught.