Raccoon Apocalypse

[clayboy]

I am overrun with raccoons. In the past 9 months I have trapped or shot 17 coons. Is there something that can be used around the pen to repel raccoons? I have lost 7 chickens so far.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Electric fencing.

 

[Howard E]

The answer is yes.

Where are you located......in general terms (state, region, etc) and where are you located with respect to coon habitat? In town? Next to woods? Creek or river or ??? In short, where are all the coons coming from?

What is your coop setup? Pictures? How did the coons manage to get to your birds to killl them?

 

[clayboy]

Tree in middle of chicken pen that coons came down. Place in fence where they dug under buried fence. There is coulee (creek) right behind pen that coons travel on. Located in South Louisiana, Lafayette. I am locking up coop at night presently and this has prevented any attacks.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Keep locking them up and trapping and shooting. Turn pelts in for cash. Invest the cash in better perimeter defenses.

 

[David61]

You need a yard dog.

 

[cottontail farm]

Land mines.
Only half joking. One season we killed 15 of the devils, with one of them being about 25lbs. I feel your frustration. Keep havahearts in the run and keep them baited with marshmallows every single night.
Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[jcoz]

I just posted in another thread about these a-holes. I shot 16 in 2018, 8 in 2019, and haven't seen any yet this year. I'm fortunate to be living in a neighborhood where almost no one has be part of it for less than 30 years. We did get new neighbors two years ago, but they are adapting nicely . It's basically - "Hey, I heard you shooting at something last night. Did you get it?" The only effective method I've found for these distemper carrying pests is extreme prejudice.

 

[Howard E]

Tree in middle of chicken pen that coons came down. Place in fence where they dug under buried fence. There is coulee (creek) right behind pen that coons travel on. Located in South Louisiana, Lafayette. I am locking up coop at night presently and this has prevented any attacks.

You seem to have answered your own question, but if it's not obvious, perhaps an explanation will help.

Besides the OP, out of 7 responses so far, two others have also attempted to solve the problem by trapping and shooting and yet their problem persists. Trapping and shooting is a temp solution, but works about the same as dipping water with a sieve. There are going to be leaks. And whatever you trap and shoot will be replaced. The good news is if you enjoy trapping and skinning coons, this will work out well for you. Live chickens seem to be the ultimate bait.

So locking up the coop has solved the problem? Confirming that physical barriers that nothing gets past works. Coons can be stacked 3 deep and climbing over each other, and if they can't get in, can't reach in, no chickens will be lost.

As for that tree........does anybody but me remember the ghost coon from "Where the Red Fern Grows"? Coons live in the trees and interlocking tree limbs are a highway of travel for them. Go up one and come down the tree inside the coop. Not saying the tree has to go, but if there is a pathway through the canopy, coons will use it. You may need to move the run or pen.......and it has to be a secure 3D cube. Floor, sides and top. A full physical barrier. Its that simple.

 

[Howard E]

PS: A horizontal apron will solve the digging under the fence problem.