New to BYC, just finished coop, awaiting hatchlings, raccoon ?

[roybald]

Hi,
I am brand-spanking-new to BYC and, I must say, am thrilled to come across such a cool website packed with great info & advice. I was raised with city chickens, ducks, turkeys and you name it. I live in San Diego and just built 2 chicken coops(one for my mom) with new bantam cochins & silkies hatching this week. I am pretty sure our coop design will keep predators out but we do have a raccoon the cruises through the yard about every few weeks & ravages through my pond. I am going to attach a few picks of our "coop de jour" to pick your brains on any raccoon worries or any advice on what we could add on as protection. All of the doors have locks including latches on the removable roof. We will only be having 3-4 batams but want to make sure this sneaky coon doesn't get to them somehow. This was so fun to built & even more fun to decorate. We're not even done yet. Thanks in advance!!!

Excited to join the BYC group,
Dana & family
2 crazy cats, 2 moody guinea pigs and chicken hatchlings on the way.

 

[mediazeal]

can the racoon dig under the coop?
are the latches locked with a raccoon proof lock?
I got locks with keys because folks said they could open anything else and they will dig under anything they can
the tractor is totally cute!

 

[RendonRoo]

First off welcome to BYC. Very nice looking coop. I think the little girl could use more room in there though. LOL. It's hard to say what a hungry coon can do to eat. I have read that they can figure out simple latches. I over built my run but i tried to stop any problems that could occur cause i didn't want to find a weakness after it was too late. Enjoy your chicks.

 

[Omran]

You got a very nice looking coop, but as the other has said, make sure that the coop has some kind of apron or something to prevent digging, may be consider some electric fence around it too.

 

[GardeNerd]

Hi and welcome from a little further up the freeways. Looks nice!

 

[roybald]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I will definately change 2 of my latch locks to more secure locks. I read that raccoons will not usually dig but will just try to figure out openings to manipulate. Have you had experiences where they have actually dug in? I contemplated putting a large gapped wire across the bottom to prevent any large animal digging in but wasn't sure if it was necessary. I also ordered a trap to just relocate the raccoon. I'm not into harming the wildlife that cruises through my yard but they just have to be peaceful & get along.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
That's true. However, given that you know you have a raccoon coming through regularly, how much do you want to TEST his inclination to dig (and remember raccoons are tremendously strong, so there is also the pry-the-corner-up-enough-to-slip-under option)

Probably smarter not to find out

I would not recommend wire under the run itself, though. Will make the tractor nearly impossible to move without removing chickens first, and will spoil all the chickens' fun by preventing scratching. What you want is an apron of wire lying on the ground AROUND the tractor, attached to the tractor's bottom frame and extending for a foot or two out from the base. Does that make sense? For a photo of a somewhat weenie version, see my tractor page (via personal page link at left under my name) or lots and lots and lots of other BYCers pages.

I also ordered a trap to just relocate the raccoon. I'm not into harming the wildlife that cruises through my yard but they just have to be peaceful & get along.

Wildlife are not peaceful and getting-along. It is just not the way it works. Raccoons are predators. They eat prey. Chickens are prey.

I doubt the people on whom you dump the raccoon will appreciate it. For all you know, that's where YOURS came from

Anyhow it will just be replaced by more raccoons. There's a roughly infinite supply of them out there, and when one territory opens up, another moves in. I'd suggest seriously predator-proofing the coop instead.

Good luck, have fun, cute coop

,

Pat​

 

[AHappychick]

if you dont want to put down and apron of hardware cloth you could put pavers or bricks or rocks around it that would keep them from digging under as well. I hate doing the apron (although I do) cause I always feel like ds is gonna trip over it or cut himself even though I always put the nice finished edge on the outside.

 

[SMan]

My IL have an ARK and 1x2 welded meshed the bottom and sodded over it. Just give some slack in mesh, it does make it heavier but the chicks never get low enough before more sod (clippings in summer) is added.

 

[patandchickens]

Oh, yes if this is not meant to be a moveable tractor, you can *bury* a wire floor in it, or bury an apron under turf or pavers, sure

Sorry, I just assumed from the shape it was meant to be moved around

Pat