Oh boy. Big trouble..............

[ashyannehand]

They are very cute, especially when they are babies. I have had some expierience with racoons. I was eating lunch with a friend in the park and was chased away by a band of roudy racoons. They also ahve the habit of getting into garbage.

Cute now = touble later!

Good luck!

 

[Solsken Farm]

Thanks for the replies. I am well aware of their vicious nature. I actually called some folks who have rehabilitated wildlife for years. I am hoping they can get over hear. I worry about rabies, beyond just the protectiveness of mom. We've got curious goats, cats, dogs, chicksens and horses, as well as curious young kids. So this, is as my post said, to me - big trouble.

I will take a pic tonight and post it if I get one. My love of animals and my mothering instinct just made me appreciate their preciousness. On the other hand, I know it won't be long until they figure out how to get to our flock.....

 

[kees]

There are many many rehabbers you won't deal with vector species such as raccons, skunks and raccoons because these animals can kill people too. There are special licensing programs that people can undergo, but I don't think it's worth the risk.

 

[Davaroo]

Your initial post was titled: "Oh boy. Big trouble.............." A lot of "cutsie" and "awwwwww" comments have been posted and will continue. But you got it right at the outset.

If you like your chickens, then I strongly suggest the harsh approach... THE COONS GOTTA GO.

Dont be lured by New Age "live and let live" sentiments or cute little bandit eyes.

Nip it in the bud. Get 'em gone ASAP.

 

[amyquilt]

Are you close enough to a city that you can call an SPCA to trap and relocate them?

 

[farmgirlie1031]

I've trapped many coons. Our neighbor in the city fed them and then they would come get in our traps. We had to do it ourselves and be very very careful carrying a trap with a coon in it and releasing the coon. My mother was animal control in another city so she knew how to handle them but boy can a momma or a large male be mean! We had to do it ourselves as Animal Control in the city we lived in refused to deal with the lady next door with 80 cats, 20 coons, and opossums, and skunks as she kept them outdoors. They told us they could only help if she kept them indoors. So yeah, we had lots of fun trapping wildlife for awhile and moving it away from the area. We took all the cats we caught to the shelter.

Recently we found a coon in our barn. We turned the water hose on him and he's never been back. He didn't like his free shower. If that didn't work we were gonna set a trap.

 

[Eggseronious]

Momma coon was no fool, she said "lets go to Kentucky Fried"

then left them. When I was just a boy we coon hunted and I seen a big momma coon tear a big Black & Tan's face all to pieces one night.

 

[augiedranch]

Quote:
just to let you know, if you do call animal control. they wont relocate them.. its just what they say they do. but skunks, oposums and racoons are all killed. even the babies..

they are considered overpopulated, nusiance, and rabbies carriers....
just to let you know that thats what they do to them.. so if u dont want them killed. just trap them and relocate them yourselves.



(i volunteer at animal control/humane shelters)

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
just to let you know, if you do call animal control. they wont relocate them.. its just what they say they do. but skunks, oposums and racoons are all killed. even the babies..

they are considered overpopulated, nusiance, and rabbies carriers....
just to let you know that thats what they do to them.. so if u dont want them killed. just trap them and relocate them yourselves.



(i volunteer at animal control/humane shelters)

Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know. Even if they don't relocate the animals, you wouldn't be stuck with killing the "too cute" critters yourself. I was just making suggestions that I thought would sit well with the OP.

I don't care much for relocating myself. I just think it's moving the problem somewhere else and giving it to someone else. The raccoons in questions haven't done anything "yet", but they were in the barn for a reason and I bet it wasn't a good reason by our perspective. LOL

-Kim

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

My sister used to live in San Francisco, and put out cat food for the feral cats every day. One evening her dogs went out, thinking they were chasing a cat, and one of them ended up with a raccoon on her butt. Screaming and yelling, poor dog running for it's life into and then out of the garage, my sister on top of the dryer trying to whack the coon off her poor dog's bottom with a broom, the momma raccoon finally let go. Had her dog not been part chow with a very thick undercoat, she would have been seriously injured. Do not underestimate the ferociousness of a mother raccoon.