OMG - Racoons!!!

[Friendly_Lurker]

If you or your neighbors have birds of any type, NEVER NEVER NEVER feed raccoons. Actually, just don't feed them at all. "Extremely dangerous, kill on sight" and all that. They are evil and anyone who says they aren't has never opened their coop in the morning to find all their beloved birds headless.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

If you or your neighbors have birds of any type, NEVER NEVER NEVER feed raccoons. Actually, just don't feed them at all. "Extremely dangerous, kill on sight" and all that. They are evil and anyone who says they aren't has never opened their coop in the morning to find all their beloved birds headless.

That sounds truly horrifying!

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

That sounds truly horrifying!

Yep. Where do you live that you have never had this happen?

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

No but I scared myself! The first time I was running down a hill with rubber boots on. I don’t run due to multiple orthopedic problems. I certainly don’t run downhill through vegetation in big rubber boots! I kept hearing in my head over and over again, “Don’t fall! Don’t FALL!!!” I’m, um, maybe slightly overweight. I can’t really imagine how funny I looked running down that hill...

I know, I know. All the thinks we do for love! Love of our critters that is!

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Well, you have to consider safety of personnel as well. These are raccoons that were brought for all sorts of reasons, including abnormal behavior. There is no way to test for rabies in a live animal, and risking the lives of the volunteers willing to help these sick animals wasn’t fair either.

I see. Wonder if you'all had the room to quarantine them. I think that is what one can do when in doubt about rabies: hold the animal for a while and see how it does. Beats killing the poor sucker. Did they test them after they killed them to see if any actually had rabies? Probably not worth discussing here as it seems like a long time ago - but it may help others to know there are options for future similar cases. I think we have racoon wildlife rehabbers here in VA. Not sure what they do to protect themselves, though.

 

[sourland]

Insanity !

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Yep. Where do you live that you have never had this happen?

In the middle of Oklahoma. We have plenty of raccoons and of course they would love to eat our birds. I used to keep exotic animals in Florida, which also has tons of raccoons, and knew many fellow exotics keepers that lost animals to raccoons. I lost an escaped iguana to one also. However, when you keep exotics, like parrots and reptiles, outside, you have to use caging that is predator proof. Any loss of your small exotic animal to a predator is a failure in caging, like me accidentally letting that iguana escape. So, when I get into poultry, I approached it the same way.

Our poultry caging isn’t perfect, but we have, knock on wood, not had the caging opened by raccoons. If they do open it and we lose birds, I’ll view it as a personal failure. Our bobcats quickly showed me that our chickens and ducks weren’t going to be able to free range without supervision. Our guineas have done better, but not without loss either.

I see. Wonder if you'all had the room to quarantine them. I think that is what one can do when in doubt about rabies: hold the animal for a while and see how it does. Beats killing the poor sucker. Did they test them after they killed them to see if any actually had rabies? Probably not worth discussing here as it seems like a long time ago - but it may help others to know there are options for future similar cases. I think we have racoon wildlife rehabbers here in VA. Not sure what they do to protect themselves, though.

Yes, it was a long time ago. Probably different rehabbers do different things, plus the area is important. In Oklahoma, skunks and bats are the most likely carriers of rabies. At my old place in FL, raccoons and other suspect animals were indeed tested for rabies and were sometimes positive, with everything coordinated with county animal control and the health department. Another reason to test was if the person bringing them in had contact where a bite or scratch might have been occurred. For the guy in the video, he would have more than enough exposure to warrant post exposure rabies prophylaxis if a raccoon tested or was suspected positive.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

In the middle of Oklahoma. We have plenty of raccoons and of course they would love to eat our birds. I used to keep exotic animals in Florida, which also has tons of raccoons, and knew many fellow exotics keepers that lost animals to raccoons. I lost an escaped iguana to one also. However, when you keep exotics, like parrots and reptiles, outside, you have to use caging that is predator proof. Any loss of your small exotic animal to a predator is a failure in caging, like me accidentally letting that iguana escape. So, when I get into poultry, I approached it the same way.

Our poultry caging isn’t perfect, but we have, knock on wood, not had the caging opened by raccoons. If they do open it and we lose birds, I’ll view it as a personal failure. Our bobcats quickly showed me that our chickens and ducks weren’t going to be able to free range without supervision. Our guineas have done better, but not without loss either.

Yes, it was a long time ago. Probably different rehabbers do different things, plus the area is important. In Oklahoma, skunks and bats are the most likely carriers of rabies. At my old place in FL, raccoons and other suspect animals were indeed tested for rabies and were sometimes positive, with everything coordinated with county animal control and the health department. Another reason to test was if the person bringing them in had contact where a bite or scratch might have been occurred. For the guy in the video, he would have more than enough exposure to warrant post exposure rabies prophylaxis if a raccoon tested or was suspected positive.

I agree with you on the responsibility of caging but I shudder at the thought of a racoon getting in also - it can always happen - I would not have thought that black snake would be able to get in but it did - even with hardwire cloth on the floor and all - it must have found a crack at the coop door - the run door I built and it is metal to metal and tight - the coop door was a pre-fab coop and wood and it is warping slightly - I got two locks on it top and bottom with pad lock on one, but the snake may have squoze through the bottom somehow.

Yeah, I had the rabies shots - what a pain in the rear, literally, ha ha - we sometimes have bats in the house and I catch them and let them out and one day I had a suspicious bruise with two little puncture marks and mu arm gto sore and we went to the hospital and they highly recommended the rabies shots and my hubby wanted me to do it, so I got them, even though I don't think that little bat ever touched me. I probably just ran my arm into a board in the coop, but I could not remember.

 

[BDutch]

Feeding racoons like this is just as stupid as feeding rats if you ask me.

 

[Sydney65]

I don't hate them..pre-guinea, I could (and did) sit at the window and watch one's antics trying to reach the bird feeder for quite awhile. Then I'd put away the feeder so he'd move on. Even then, as noted, the diseases in their poo were a hazard. Since the guineas came, I still watch for them, but not w/ amusement. But I've known some to make (illegally) pets of them.