Raccoon Attack

[Ento890]

So today I got home from work early, and was starving so quickly got something to eat before heading home. At this point it got dark and I had not closed the chicken coop yet. As soon as I got home, I went to close the coop, and as soon as I stepped outside, I heard chickens clucking (which never happens when it's dark). So I grabbed a flashlight and ran to the coop making a lot of loud noises in case something was there..... there was, a raccoon. All my hens were outside the coop running around (I have 5) except one. After the coon was over the fence, I went inside the coop to find Geiser, one of my silkies, half torn apart. Almost all of her back was de-feathered and a lot of her tissue and fat deposits are exposed. Also her comb is almost completely sliced in half. She was not bleeding bad but was in shock. So I brought her in, washed her off, washed her in betadine, lathered her with some bacitracin, and also gave her an injectable antibiotic. I also gave her some sugar water which is supposed to help her out of shock faster. I hope she makes it through the night. She seems a little lethargic, but perked up after the water.

I can't help but feel guilty about this. If I had just gone home, or even went out there 3 minutes earlier, the raccoon may not have gotten to her. I just hope she makes it, all my chickens are like my dogs...

Here is Geezer as a baby

and her this previous summer

Should I trap and relocate the raccoon far away, or will he continue to return to the coop? Does anybody have any suggestions for me to help her heal?

 

[KrisH]

If you relocate them to a new spot with water source (a nearby stream or lake), they will most likely do just fine.

as a note, we live out in the "country" not too far out, not too close in either. let me tell you, We DO NOT appreciate YOU or ANYONE relocating you problem to our area. Please DO NOT release your unwanted problems, pets, pests, snakes, dogs, raccons, possums, etc near anyone else.

We may begin relocating our troublemakers to neighborhoods where they will find plenty of garbage and household pets to eat.

Thank you

RobertH

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
Once you get it trapped, take a garden hose and fill a garbage can full of water, enough to cover the cage and drown the varmit! Done.

Evil Evil people.

 

[linben]

I had a similar thing happen to me a few nights ago. I waited too long to lock up. Luckily, I heard the ruckus and got there before there was any damage. I got the coon sort of trapped and hesitated about clubbing his head in because he looked at me sadly. My son and I were trying to think of a way to kill it...stab it, pour boiling water on it, beat him to death.....I was also afraid to get too close to him. I did not have a gun with me and I really should not shoot in the city.

However, coon was back last night to break into the green house to eat the chicken feed. He actually tore off some of the fiberglass siding. I heard it. My coop is built into the greenhouse but much more secure than the actual greenhouse( all wood). I was scared to go to sleep thinking if there was anyway for him to get to my chickens.....so, now I am mad and I am determined to catch him and dispatch. I have a 22 caliber and a high powered pellet gun. I am going to try the pellet gun first.

I am so sorry your chicken got hurt.

 

[theRazorBlade]

It's a little insane to kill all the wildlife in your area just so you can have a few eggs.

There are ways to avoid predators (automatic doors, letting birds out after predator activity is over, electric fencing), and there are ways to trap and relocate predators. Most Raccoons are perfectly healthy, and it is easy to tell just by looking at them. If you relocate them to a new spot with water source (a nearby stream or lake), they will most likely do just fine.

I just lost 7 ducks to a raccoon and while I was clearly not happy about it, I used a Havahart trap and drove it 15 miles away next to a nearby pond. I also keep a trap setup outside the fence just in case. Raccoons come back every few nights so if they don't show up the following night, it doesn't mean they won't return. Once they learn where there is food, they will come back.

You would be surprise at how inexpensive electric fencing or automatic doors can be.

If you need a trap, Amazon sells them (just search for 'Havahart Raccoon', their new single hand setup traps are really great and about $50) and will get it to you in 2-3 days. A little bit of cat food, salami, fruit, and peanut butter in a small can at the back of the trap will do the trick.

 

[centrarchid]

Good morning duck enthusiasts (chicken lovers too). This morning we woke to find our ducks to have one less member in the flock. No blood, no feathers...just gone. He is too young to fly so we figure a coon got him. Besides, the side of the coop was pryed open (no, it is not a bear. Seattle doesn't have a sizable bear population. Not of the animal variety anyways...)
Our newest edition, Beaker, is missing with no sign of struggle or blood...is it possible that a raccoon could just snatch a bird and walk on out? This is the second occurrence for us where the coop gets invaded and a duck is missing with no sign of struggle.
Possum have been an issue for us in the past. They leave a bloody mess though. We trapped 11 of them this past summer.
My question is...do raccoons leave no trace? If they leave a mess most of the time, perhaps my predator problem is of the human variety. That is a whole other issue...

Coon would generally leave a feather pile. A coyote might force its way in if coop design is too light.

 

[piddowstix]

I just had a raccoon raid my chicken run, killing my namesake hen, Piddowstix. It happened about 2:30 am when I awoke to screaming. It was a moonlit night, so I could see the trail without a flashlight until I got to their pen. I was unprepared for the carnage, and poor little Piddowstix, who had been through so much throughout her life lay in the corner of the pen shuddering her last.
Rather than let her death go for naught, I used her little, torn body as bait in a live trap to catch the culprit, leaving the trap at the sight of the kill.
The next morning I went down to find a raccoon in the trap with Piddowstix.
I will decline to say what I did with the animal except that I spared his life due to the fact that it was my fault and he was following his nature.
It was my fault because I had not built a secure house for them. (I had been forced to move the chicken pen due to neighbor complaints.)
I have many obligations which caused me to put off my responsibilities of building a secure pen and house. My beloved girl paid the ultimate price.
I would like to address the people who quote unsubstantiated statistics about rabies at the risk of alienating myself from some of my friends here at "Backyard Chickens".....
Check out the stats on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) where it shows a statistical analysis of human rabies from March 15, 1995 to August 31, 2011, showed only one (1) case of raccoon to human transmission of rabies. (which occurred March 13, 2003 in Virginia) It was documented as "unknown exposure" (which causes one to wonder if they actually knew that it WAS a raccoon)
Conversely, the CDC states that many times these identifications of the offender was by conjecture alone.
That being said, I must reinforce my henhouse and run, and I suggest anyone who is experiencing the same to do so also.
Instead of trying to wipe out all wildlife in the area, (I live on a river where wildlife flourish) or nursing a hatred for creatures who will take advantage of an easy meal due to human irresponsibility, build a suitable pen and house or hire someone to do it for you. Simply put; BE SMARTER THAN THE RACCOON! (or other predator) Aren't humans the "superior" species after all?

 

[okieprime]

TSC has animal traps. Buy one and then go get a jar of peanut butter and some saltine crackers. Set the trap a little ways away from your coop. Check it in the morning for a coon. What you do with it is up to you.. I have a friend who loves to go coon hunting and he lets me bring it out to his house and takes it down to the creek. Also I have loaded them up in the pickup and released them far from my house..

I lost seven chicks in two nights! Bought a trap and have not lost one since. By the way I have caught 8 coons in two months so this works for me. Good luck and may your chickens have a good nights sleep. Larry

 

[wyandotte freak]

It's not your fault. That is the way it is with predators. You can go on for months or maybe even years without problems, then all of the sudden. The best we can do is try to keep the pens a coops as predator proof as possible. Don't beat yourself up about it.

 

[aprophet]

I have painted them to show the land owner when they returned it was the same one the pink paint they use to mark job sites works well I had relocated the coon 25-30 miles away as you drive it may have only been 12-15 miles walking straight fairly straight hwys though the problem with relocated animals is they usually die from lack of food and fighting with the animal that already occupies the territory where you release it that and you can spread disease by relocating distemper, rabies, parvo etc