Please help with racoon.

[bobthechicken]

I Have had a raccoon problem for about 2 years now. We didn't know it was a coon until it got our second bird. It has gotten a mix of ducks and chickens. We almost got it last Friday and it growled at me as it ran past me. I am getting very frustrated because of all the birds that I have lost and all the nights that I have spent up very late trying to get it. This raccoon is over 60 pounds so it is freaking huge and my neighbor got a video of it and it looked pregnant or nursing so that's not good. The whole point of me trying to kill it is so I don't have to go out every night and morning and lock and unlock the coop so the chickens and ducks can come and go freely and so I won't lose any more birds. I have tried normal cage traps, I believe a double ended trap, and a tubular trap that you place food in the back of and his hand trips a lever and his arm is stuck high up so he can't chew it off. I have tried everything except poison and sitting out there with a gun. My dad did hit it with a pellet gun last year and we had a terrible winter with it being zero or lower almost all the time but that still didn't get rid of it. We live in the city so we can't really discharge a firearm. any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Have you tried a snare?

 

[cafarmgirl]

The best defense I have found against raccoons is predator proofing my pens. Birds are secured at night and I have a hot wire around my pens that deters anything that comes sniffing and nosing around looking for a way in.

For most of us there is no way around having to go out and open and close coop doors, or having automatic doors. Either way the birds need to be locked up at night. If this coon is gotten rid of there will be more, or something else, to take it's place. So as long as the birds are unprotected or in a coop with an open door they will be picked off by something or other eventually.

 

[bobthechicken]

No and where would I go about setting in my yard? A snare.

 

[Huntered]

Ask around to see if there is a trapper in the area,if there is he would love to take that raccoon off your hands.

 

[Ezs Choukies]

Hello,

Don't know where you live but Animal Control or your local law enforcement may have contact information for local trappers and since coons are not domesticated Fish & Game may be able to help because of the assertive behavior your unwanted guest is exhibiting.

There is something I would try which may end your problems quickly called a Rodent Strobe, you can check them out on YouTube. I used a cheaper version of this for a rat problem and they were gone in 24 hours and haven't returned in more than a year, and they take any babies with them. Works on skunks squirrels etc so maybe on raccoons also. These are kinda pricey but luckily it's Halloween so you can pick up an adjustible rate strobe at Walmart, Rite Aid, etc set it to the longest length of time between flashes. This doesn't have to be placed where the unwanted animal lives just on a route they are going past but I would protect your chicken's and other animals from the flash.

Good luck!

 

[bobthechicken]

I live 30 minutes south of Salt lake City and the law enforcement hasn't been that much help. My dad's friend is a trapper and he tried to help us but to no avail. I will try the fish and game and that rodent strobe. Thank you.

 

[speckledhen]

The best defense I have found against raccoons is predator proofing my pens. Birds are secured at night and I have a hot wire around my pens that deters anything that comes sniffing and nosing around looking for a way in.

For most of us there is no way around having to go out and open and close coop doors, or having automatic doors. Either way the birds need to be locked up at night. If this coon is gotten rid of there will be more, or something else, to take it's place. So as long as the birds are unprotected or in a coop with an open door they will be picked off by something or other eventually.

I agree with her. It's just a daily routine that protects my birds. I live in the woods on a mountain with every predator you can imagine and have never lost a bird to one. That is because we put them inside before dark and don't let them out until after daylight. It's just what we have to do and it's not that bad of an inconvenience. If you don't, you'll have to spend lots of money in making a very expensive Fort Knox pen, and even then, it's no guarantee, since predators have all night to figure out its weak points while you sleep.Where there's one coon, there are ten. If you kill or trap that one, there will be others and if you cannot discharge a firearm (who wants to sit up all night waiting for the target anyway?), you must lock them inside every night or build that impenetrable pen.

 

[Ezs Choukies]

I totally agree with this and we tuck them in and let them out also, but we allow birds to be backyard chickens which is good for them and us and they still got picked off during the day every once and again. No more free ranging during the day unless they have their Chicken Mama (German Shepherd) standing watch.

The strobe also ended trespassers coming because of chicken feed. If you can't find the strobe and would like to try it let me know, I'll be in Salt Lake /Tooele area in October and can loan yoi mine for a week.

I agree with her. It's just a daily routine that protects my birds. I live in the woods on a mountain with every predator you can imagine and have never lost a bird to one. That is because we put them inside before dark and don't let them out until after daylight. It's just what we have to do and it's not that bad of an inconvenience. If you don't, you'll have to spend lots of money in making a very expensive Fort Knox pen, and even then, it's no guarantee, since predators have all night to figure out its weak points while you sleep.Where there's one coon, there are ten. If you kill or trap that one, there will be others and if you cannot discharge a firearm (who wants to sit up all night waiting for the target anyway?), you must lock them inside every night or build that impenetrable pen.

 

[tatertot]

play a radio all night...it deters them...coyote urine does too