Killer Raccoons

[alldembirds]

I grew up on a a commercial chicken farm. we used to leave a hole in one of the screens with a snap trap under it all the time. the coons would see the hole while scouting and cant resist an easy entry. we would get them before they were a problem.

 

[laughingdog]

I keep collie n shepherd, n have no fences n no problems. have half maine cokn cat that'll kill small coons n possom, n send rest sizes dropping from trees or out of hiding spots so dogs can tear apart. had a rescued fiest dog that'd plow through families of coons like butter, but those lil dogs are crazy need exercising of hunting etc especially even though so small (teeth n jaws of dobe). The fiest not good for homes were cats are let loose, good with children oddly.

 

[alldembirds]

i never saw a feist before, never herd of them, looked them up and they look like pretty nice little dogs. My pitbulls keep all other animals away pretty much.

 

[alldembirds]

I keep reading about feists and they seem pretty great, I am big on squirrel hunting so it would be a good addition to my pack.

 

[Fluffnpuff]

I am at wits ins dealing with a very expensive encounter with many raccoons. Since First of May, I have lost 139 chickens and 34 ducks due to KILLER RACCOONS. I have shot a total of 14 raccoons since Mid May and thought I had the problem solved. Then in the last 2 days I lost 32 ducks. They were killed for sport by this coon. That's Right, Just one Big Raccoon has done this damage on the Ducks. Raccoons have cost me over $1000 in lost Chickens and Ducks.

Good Lord. And i thought i had raccoon problems. I kill around 10 raccoons per year but 14 in around 3 months is extreme. I'm not wise enough to offer a full proof solution. Coons are crafty critters and it's almost impossible to fortify your coop so they can't get in. The raccoons at my dad's house wiped out his small flock. They were behind a 8 foot fence and in a locked coop. The raccoons managed to get into the ventilation slits near the top of the coop. They jumped from a nearby barn to get into them. They couldn't manage to drag the chickens out as the opening was too narrow so they ate them up in the coop then slipped out.

 

[laughingdog]

Ive heard what called a "monky trap" i think, maybe part added to name.. used by mountain folk a hundred years ago back to colonizing (i use colonization loosely, being "native american" which the term seems like raping someone then calling them a slut) days in usa. Involves a short piece of log with hole drilled etc out, that is just bigger than what paw of coon should be, then taking something shiny just bigger than hole n putting in log, then seal both sides of log around so log facing up, log weighted etc down. I've heard of snares and other bait too, but other animals won't bother trap, and coons will grab shiny object then not be able to pull paw out but won't let go of object either. seen it work twice, but seems labor intensive today..

 

[alldembirds]

A wooden box with a hole drilled in the side and a nut in it. Same premise, it is what my kin used in the mountains.

 

[awashburn]

Unfortunately I've discovered raccoons are NOT nocturnal. We have a family of them near our house and we see them out in the morning, mid day, late afternoon, and of course at night. They killed one chicken in the middle of the day and will walk right up on our porch even with us standing right there. I don't own a gun so it's time to get some traps.

 

[Eluria]

Ive heard what called a "monky trap" i think, maybe part added to name.. used by mountain folk a hundred years ago back to colonizing (i use colonization loosely, being "native american" which the term seems like raping someone then calling them a slut) days in usa. Involves a short piece of log with hole drilled etc out, that is just bigger than what paw of coon should be, then taking something shiny just bigger than hole n putting in log, then seal both sides of log around so log facing up, log weighted etc down. I've heard of snares and other bait too, but other animals won't bother trap, and coons will grab shiny object then not be able to pull paw out but won't let go of object either. seen it work twice, but seems labor intensive today..

Has anybody read Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls? One of those traps was featured in that book. Glad to know it wasn't just made up for the story

Unfortunately I've discovered raccoons are NOT nocturnal. We have a family of them near our house and we see them out in the morning, mid day, late afternoon, and of course at night. They killed one chicken in the middle of the day and will walk right up on our porch even with us standing right there. I don't own a gun so it's time to get some traps.

Ok, now I am kind of terrified. I think we might have coons in our neighborhood (one of our neighbors saw one). Once the babies were grown, the plan was to let them roam in the fenced backyard during the day, and lock them up at night so the coons didn't get them. Sounds like that might still not be safe though, but I can't keep them locked up in the coop all day. Might need to look into a run of some kind

 

[awashburn]

Yeah mine were free ranging safely for a while, I mistakenly thought they'd be ok during the day until yesterday. I'm building a run but have doubts it's gonna do the job without me spending lots of money on hardware wire and something to put on the top. I'm planning to bury it, but since I'm renting this house I'm gonna have a lot to do to restore the yard when I move out next summer.