Predator issue

[Lucius]

Hello all new to the forum.. I have been losing chickens over the past week. 6 so far. Put my game camera out Sunday evening and caught 2 large raccoons on the camera. Lost only one hen that night. Yesterday evening I fixed all possible entry points. I checked on the flock around 1030. All remaining chicken were asleep. I spotted a raccoon in the tree above coop and shot and killed it. I set two traps and called it a night.

This morning I had a raccoon trapped and my daughter wanted me to relocate this one which I did. Checked on the chickens and found two birds missing. They had been pulled into the walls and devoured. The raccoons pulled the birds out of the coop through the top and ate them. This kill was on the ground in the coop and the predator stayed in and ate. This has happened in years past but I would only lose one or two birds at most.

The predator That entered the coop I think is a mink. Reason being i I live near a creek and The scat I found suggest weasel or mink. My question is will they climb if I reinforce the walls. removing all possible cracks. The Jersey giants it killed slept on a low perch. The ones the coons got were well off the ground but near a vent. any suggestions would be great Thanks

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Many of us learn the hard way that chickens are on everyone's menu! Your coop needs to be Ft. Knox, and your run needs an upgrade also. No coop openings larger than 1/2 inch!!! Then, no food outside of the run, birds locked in their safe coop every night, and vigilance. I set live traps outside at night, and NEVER relocate varmits! Raccoons and opossums have been the worst predators here , and I shoot any that appear in my traps. Relocating is a real problem, and in Michigan is only legal on my property, or in my county on private land with landowner approval. The relocated critter will either try to make it home, die in the new location, or become a trap-wise predator of another flock. You will continue to have disasters until things are fixed. Good luck, Mary

 

[slingshotandLAR]

I know it was said but I'll say it again....

If you trap a predator, kill it.

Never ever relocate it, you may be giving someone else your problem, or worse introducing a disease into a area. It's illegal almost everywhere.

Only way to keep your birds safe is to have them completely secure

 

[Lucius]

will keep that in mind. I killed the first one and contacted fish and wildlife on the trapped coon and THEY recommended taking it to the local WMA and release it. Tried to do the right thing and not upset my daughter..Thanks for the response

 

[chickengeorgeto]

will keep that in mind. I killed the first one and contacted fish and wildlife on the trapped coon and THEY recommended taking it to the local WMA and release it. Tried to do the right thing and not upset my daughter..Thanks for the response

Because coons live in loose colonies, the one that you trapped and relocated will self-relocate right back to your chicken coop, only now with a PhD in trap avoidance.

It is also a violation of state and federal law to relocate wildlife, especially wildlife with a high likely hood of carrying rabies. Think of your daughter's safety if not of your own.

This rule was passed to help in the eradication of rabies, give it a chance to work by not reintroducing rabies into areas where it has been banished from the raccoon population.

As for what fish and game told you, my advise is to take their opinions with a HUGE grain of salt. I would be interested in knowing which state you live in if in fact you live in the USA.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

will keep that in mind. I killed the first one and contacted fish and wildlife on the trapped coon and THEY recommended taking it to the local WMA and release it. Tried to do the right thing and not upset my daughter..Thanks for the response

WOW.... That's insane...... I definitely understand why you released it. It is completely absurd that any F&W official or even the secretary that works there would recommend relocating of all things a raccoon. I use opportunities like this to educate my children, something like" we keep these chickens to provide us with food and it's our job to protect them." But I also understand everyone's situation is a little different. We live on, own and operate a fully diversified farm, it's basically our own little island. I can take a coon 1/4 mile away for dispatch. Good luck with your chickens, hopefully you won't have anymore issues with the locals.

 

[Lucius]

Actually double checked the recommendation This morning after trapping another coon. This one was put down. It was not a recommendation on the wardens part she quoted code. I reread the code and thought it was ok to kill the coon that was causing damage to my flock. The warden said that outside of a hunting season the only acceptable method of control was live trapping and relocating does not apply to red foxes Also added that relocation is an acceptable method for orphaned wild life which survives.. I do not wish to piss off the warden and must tread lightly because I have neighbors..Everyone posting so far make perfect sense and I will continue putting them down because an angry coon is no joke trying to get from the trap..


update no further chicken loses since the trapping has begun. Still finding indications a mink is present in my patch of woods so far so good..Thanks everyone for your replies

 

[Lucius]

Here is the code I found which shows being able to kill a nuisance critter. The wording is a bit confusing so I go by what the warden told me to be on the sfe side


(Penalty Section 7 Del.C. §103(d))
10.1 Incorporated Cities or Towns. Within the limits of residential or commercial areas of incorporated cities or towns, or within residential or commercial structures, the following game animals may be controlled (killed) without a permit when they are causing damage: gray squirrel, raccoon and opossum. Methods used to control said animals must be consistent with the laws of this State and the regulations of the Department and only live traps may be used (without a depredation permit) outside of established trapping seasons.



also to clarify relocation. I do not mean taking it down the road and releasing. I took this coon 15 miles up the road to a wildlife area that is 3000 acres and surrounded by wetlands.. No houses within miles