Lots of Raccoon’s

[Soujrnr]

We are very, very new to "chicken rustling." We've had our five girls for three weeks. I have cameras set up, and the only thing that I see consistently every night are racoons. They haven't been able to get into our coop though. I have 2x4 welded wire over it, and over the 2x4 welded wire is 1/4" hardware cloth. If they can get through BOTH layers, I'd be surprised. We also buried 1/4" hardware cloth around the entire perimeter of the coop and the run. It only extends out about 12 inches though because its all I had left. Are there any other things I can do to discourage racoons? I don't see any attempts by them to dig, nor have I seen any attempts to pull the wiring off of the coop or run. They just appear to wander around sniffing the ground but don't seem to go very close to the coop or run.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

We are very, very new to "chicken rustling." We've had our five girls for three weeks. I have cameras set up, and the only thing that I see consistently every night are racoons. They haven't been able to get into our coop though. I have 2x4 welded wire over it, and over the 2x4 welded wire is 1/4" hardware cloth. If they can get through BOTH layers, I'd be surprised. We also buried 1/4" hardware cloth around the entire perimeter of the coop and the run. It only extends out about 12 inches though because its all I had left. Are there any other things I can do to discourage racoons? I don't see any attempts by them to dig, nor have I seen any attempts to pull the wiring off of the coop or run. They just appear to wander around sniffing the ground but don't seem to go very close to the coop or run.

Bravo for making a Racoon proof environment! We actually had a bear over the weekend but in general I'm MORE concerned about Racoons. I swapped locks on my little's run (I have a big's run and a little's run.) because the door was wide open, Racoon's are that good, they can do loose little latch hooks no problem. Anyhow one of my recommendations is a flood light. It's not an end all, be all solution but it helps. I put one one the backside/woods side of my coop with curtains over the window so chickens have darkness inside. On the front of my coop I have string lights so that I can see.

 

[Chickhawk]

Bravo for making a Racoon proof environment! We actually had a bear over the weekend but in general I'm MORE concerned about Racoons. I swapped locks on my little's run (I have a big's run and a little's run.) because the door was wide open, Racoon's are that good, they can do loose little latch hooks no problem. Anyhow one of my recommendations is a flood light. It's not an end all, be all solution but it helps. I put one one the backside/woods side of my coop with curtains over the window so chickens have darkness inside. On the front of my coop I have string lights so that I can see.

Put carabiner clips on your latches, I never had a raccoon been able to open them in 15y having my coop.

 

[Isadora]

Having an outdoor dog is a huge deterrent for predators but not practical for most backyard poultry keepers.
We don't do much for deterring but we do trap and kill raccoons when they flood our yard during the Spring baby feeding season.

 

[Penpal]

Raccoons will hike ten miles to get back home. Get electric fencing. The kind for sheep is more open than the kind for poultry. Poultry fencing has smaller holes and is taller, this is what you want. It is well worth the money for the charger and the fencing.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Lots of good suggestions here. I definitely agree that 2x4 wire is a no-go. That is goat wire and is inadequate for protecting poultry.

 

[user651618]

I relocate raccoons to Valhalla, but they are kind of cute.