Raccoon ?... for those w/experience

[akanalynn]

There is a very large raccoon roaming our neighborhood...
I feel safe except for... How much of diggers are they, really... I have a very small pen (for just a couple girls) what would be the easiest way to secure the bottom... Its hardware cloth on a frame... I've seen the wire laid under the perimeter, but as this is in our small urban backyard, I want to kill as little grass as possible... Ideas?

 

[coffeelady3]

I put a foot long skirt of hardware cloth around the bottom of my run, and have it staked down. I'm hoping that will do the trick. I also left the ends 'pokey' to make digging an even less inviting option.

 

[go-veggie]

A raccoon killed one of our turtles and severly injured another around 3am a couple months ago by lifting the chicken wire up and off of our little pond set up. It was a gruesome sight and there were little wet raccoon footprints all over in the area of the pond. I just happened to be up real late that night and I found the scene within minutes of it happening when I went to say good night to them. Because of that incident, we take the whole predator thing very serious now that we have chickens. (they are 2 months old and it's our first time having them) We made a chicken tractor for our small flock that is also open on the bottom so they can put their feet on the ground without wire in the way, however, when it gets dark out, they go up in the attached hutch and I close the door on it. So even if a raccoon or whatever dug their way in, the chickens are behind a door in their hutch. I also tarp 1/2 of it at night too... It's easy because the chickens go in the hucth part at night anyway...I think they like that they can roost in there and I think they know it's safer there. I love the whole chicken tractor idea! We just move it every day or two so we can keep them on fresh grass and keep our grass from getting destroyed. I know this was a long one, but I hope I've helped a little.

 

[Calebs Acre]

We have a HUGE coon who started coming into the stockade-fenced area of our yard to steal juvenile call ducks, one by one. He was digging under a metal bottomless cage. So, we went to Lowe's and purchased these fence clips that are long u-shaped pieces of wire that you can use to secure the wire into the ground without using a pole. Once I put these on the bottom of my fencing, the coon couldn't get in.

If it wasn't 1:40AM, I'd go look at what these pins/wires are called. I bought them in lawn and garden near the chicken wire and poultry/deer netting.

Good luck...I hate that coon in my yard!!

 

[bluey]

I would suggest being as proactive as possible by either trapping the raccoon with a Havahart trap or my preferred method, shooting it or both!

Raccoons are incredibly smart animals and after so many visits will probably figure out a way to get your girls, especially if he's hungry. It sounds like he's eating well but I wouldn't want to take that chance.

Go on the offensive. Defense is great (hardware cloth) but it helps if you can reduce the amount of predators as well. Good luck!!!