Raccoon broke in but left the chickens? Or did it steal from another animal???

[BigBlueHen53]

Skunk looks more like a cat print with rounded toe prints instead of long finger like toe prints...just has claw marks past the tips where a cat wouldn't.

K thanks. So you think raccoon then?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I’ll have to try that!! We did put poison out like a month or so ago and it’s helping somewhat and is being eaten but still seeing them. I’m wondering if it’s not the chipmunks eating it instead because we haven’t seen any of those in a while.

You know to be careful with poison, right? If the mice eat it and then run off anywhere to die where the chickens can get them, the chickens will die too...

 

[nao57]

Does it have to be a raccoon?

If everything looks really secure...

I've heard of some farms having huge rat problems. But I don't know for sure if a rat would go after chicken eggs, but maybe they would?

If you have a dog around, does it smell anything around there that doesn't belong (assuming its safe to have the dog sniffing around the chicken cages without problems might also be a blunder)?

 

[nao57]

I have heard that DIY bucket traps work great on mice and rats. I have not had to try it yet as we have enough barn cats to keep the mouse and rat population down.

Those bucket traps are fun to watch.
Free rat drowning videos on youtube!
Do you have a dog or cat to have guard this place?

 

[nao57]

Oh wow what a smart coon!!!

Glad you got it!!! That’s what I was afraid of, that it might go after the chickens next, so I’ll be taking better measures to secure it for sure.


Oh wow!! I would have freaked!! We had a raccoon a while ago reaching through the fence at night eating all the chicken feed. A big, fat one too and not afraid of us at all!! So we put hardware cloth around that corner and it stopped him. Then I eventually moved the food inside the coop. Then the rats were getting it for a while but I think they stopped. But can’t win!! Hahah

I wonder if you can scare racoons off by doing something like noise makers; cans on strings that get triggered when you mess with doors or get on their cages etc?

 

[Folly's place]

Rats eat eggs and will kill chickens, as will opossums, skunks, and of course raccoons.
And you will never eliminate a rat colony with traps of any sort, it does take poison in bait stations.
I'd never find watching anyone drown entertaining!!!
Mary

 

[Hknisley]

When we finally caught him, he had egg yolk on his face.

Had egg on his face? Lol He sure did!

 

[ShrekDawg]

I caught 2 raccoons in my run. That sucker ran under the gap in my door like u could run under a volleyball net. 2-3" gap like the matrix. I couldn't even slide a fist under the gate but he didn't even slow down.
Might have something to do with the first round I put into him.
One of these times he is going to realize he is tired of eggs and go for something else.
You should set traps and stop it or your chickens will be gone.

Oh wow I had no idea they could fit in such small spaces!!

And yeah I’m going to but I also don’t think I’m ever going to be able to eliminate them all. We live in a pretty wooded area so I’m sure there’s a lot.

But I’ve been locking them inside for now so nothing can get them.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Those bucket traps are fun to watch.
Free rat drowning videos on youtube!
Do you have a dog or cat to have guard this place?

Fun!?

And no we don’t. We do have a cat but she doesn’t go outside and when she does, she doesn’t hunt. We are thinking of getting a dog though but not a guard dog or anything.

Does it have to be a raccoon?

If everything looks really secure...

I've heard of some farms having huge rat problems. But I don't know for sure if a rat would go after chicken eggs, but maybe they would?

If you have a dog around, does it smell anything around there that doesn't belong (assuming its safe to have the dog sniffing around the chicken cages without problems might also be a blunder)?

Nah it doesn’t have to be raccoon. I’m not sure what it is hence why I’m asking haha we do have a rat problem... but I think those prints are a bit big for a rat, no!?

I wonder if you can scare racoons off by doing something like noise makers; cans on strings that get triggered when you mess with doors or get on their cages etc?

Good idea! Thanks. Might try that.

 

[ShrekDawg]

You know to be careful with poison, right? If the mice eat it and then run off anywhere to die where the chickens can get them, the chickens will die too...

Yeah, I know. And I didn’t want to use it. Especially because I didn’t want to harm other local wildlife that eat the poisoned rodents. That was my huge concern. But we didn’t really have another choice because we were having a huge problem with them. We’ve been careful though. The bait is in stations the chickens can’t get to and so far the rats haven’t gone anywhere the girls can get them. I think they go back into their hole/nest to die but I’m not really sure.

Rats eat eggs and will kill chickens, as will opossums, skunks, and of course raccoons.
And you will never eliminate a rat colony with traps of any sort, it does take poison in bait stations.
I'd never find watching anyone drown entertaining!!!
Mary

Good to know!!! Thank you!!! I think the rats are mostly just after the free food like the actual chicken food rather than the eggs or the girls but idk. Maybe they did eat some eggs.

And yeah, I read that they are smart and won’t use a trap after one is caught and that does seem to be true.

I hate using the poison because I hate killing anything or harming local wildlife but the colony was already well established so getting rid of them was going to be next to impossible. Even with the poison I still recently saw some.

And yeah exactly! Me neither!! Not really sure how watching something die is entertaining.... even it’s “just” vermin or a rodent. Still a living thing.