Raccon Damage I think...what do you think? ~Graphic pics~

[JennyD]

Raccoon or gang of them, I think. We lost 2 hens last night in 2 separate attacks.(We saw them; they were not afraid of us) AFter the 1st attack we thought that the old metal broom handle barring their coop door shut would be enough but the raccoon bent it in half! A neighbor lost all 4 of her hens last night; raccoons broke the wood piece holding the latch. Both of us feel like the raccoon dynasty had been planning their attacks. Off to draw up plans for a raccoon proof coop!

 

[drumstick diva]

I would think bear also. A coon wouldn't need such a large hole to sneak inside.

 

[red golden]

Set a havahart trap with sardines if it is a coon you should catch it. After you catch it give it a 22 bullet headache.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

We have had our share of coons...We had a duck eaten trough a chain link fence (very disgusting) husband couldn't believe a raccoon could do that . SO, we put the survivors in a airline carrier (the ones with the pinch latch door) inside the enclosure and watched the coon on game cam scale the fence, tear through the chicken wire on top, then open the door and steal a duck. Our coons always take the chicken/duck with them and leave nothing but a blood and feather trail. One thing to remeber is depending on your area once they know there is food they will return almost every night to check and once you catch or kill that coon it wont be long before a new one takes over the territory.

I know they check b/c ours are locked in every night by 8:00 but one summer night we were home but I was busy and didn't get out there until 10 and had already lost a chicken. Another night we were at a rodeo and didn't get home until 2:00 am and nothing was killed so it may not be everynight but you just never know......it is WAR!!

 

[red golden]

I have had them pull my pheasants heads off years ago. I also had them kill 27 out of 56the chickens one night. But you better believe that was war . I set a steel trap in the pen and a havahart with sardines on the outside. Next day i had two coons and they died.

 

[Gallus Sapien]

Raccoon or gang of them, I think. We lost 2 hens last night in 2 separate attacks.(We saw them; they were not afraid of us) AFter the 1st attack we thought that the old metal broom handle barring their coop door shut would be enough but the raccoon bent it in half! A neighbor lost all 4 of her hens last night; raccoons broke the wood piece holding the latch. Both of us feel like the raccoon dynasty had been planning their attacks. Off to draw up plans for a raccoon proof coop!

Wow you have Coonzillas in your neck of the woods....sorry for you loss

 

[benisarooster]

Poor chicken

 

[BantamWhisperer]

So sorry for your losses!

 

[missnu01]

Sweet Jesus! What kind of awful raccoons are these? Is it possible that perhaps you could start leaving food out for the raccoons?
Here is my thinking, when I was young I lived with my grandparents, and my grandma loved to come to where I live now and visit my Great Aunt and Great Uncle that lived on top of a mountain in a large log cabin....My uncle had a pretty respectable chicken and hog keeping operation, and my Aunt was a lover of wildlife...she would leave little dishes of food out on the porch and if she saw the same critter coming and eating over and over she would start moving the dish closer and closer to the house little bit by little bit, until she would leave the backdoor open and a little bowl of scraps sitting on the kitchen table...So you might be sitting in the kitchen talking and in would walk a squirrel or raccoon and just climb right up on the table and eat whatever was in the little bowl...She had 4 squirrels and 2 raccoons that would let her hold and pet them...they walked out of the woods and into her arms...not 50 feet away were 100 chickens, and the only animal that stole chickens was a fox, and my uncle staked out the coop all night and shot the fox..the next day 2 baby foxes wandered in looking for their mom...so then my aunt had 2 foxes that she bottle fed...so....perhaps you have to make friends with the wildlife...
And I swear that story isn't internet BS...for real...she had hand trained woods creatures, and fairly safe chickens....So she drew in raccoons, but they would eat what she gave them and not go after the chickens I guess....so just an idea...maybe leave out a dish of scraps you wouldn't feed your chickens...Of course this could go terribly...but it might work?
Oddly enough we saw some bears and skunks when we first moved in...but nothing in about 2 months...It's almost like we got the chickens and it scared everything away...

 

[BantamWhisperer]

Why would you teach them to stay around? That just puts your birds in danger in my opinion. Anything that moves around here other than poultry gets shot!
Especially squirrels! I had one bite me.... Bad experience! Lol