Raccoon problem... HOW DO I GET RID OF THIS HORRIBLE CREATURE.

[orrm1234]

Once you get a trap called 'Have a Heart' they easily fall for it but you need to coax it in the trap. This is done with a 1 dollar cheapeast can of sardines. They love it. Don't open the can all the way just an inch or 2 and the will come from many miles away. I have eliminated them with this method and believe me once I trap my chicken killers the last thing I have is ' a heart' for this chicken killer creature. All I can say is that I dispose of it permantely. Don't tell anyone or call any official county animal person. They are useless and you never want official attention.

 

[Cass]

I love all animals IN THEIR PLACE and their place is not my back yard. If they come into my yard and take my livestock I am legally allowed to kill it (and will). The law gives me the right to kill an predator in my yard, if it is interfering with my livestock. Sorry that hurts your sensablities, but it is the law of the land. (where I live anyway, other states may not have the same laws)

The natural thing for wild animals to do is seek food IN THE WILD...my yard is mowed, landscaped and full of buildings....it is not their natural habitat, so they need to be and will be killed on sight in my yard. (They are welcome to eat anything they find in the 35 acre forever wild area behind my house)

My neighbor shot a coyote less than 1/4 acre from his back door. He has chickens and 2 young girls on his property. Are you saying that he doesn't have the right to shoot a predator in his yard because he chooses to have prey animals on the property?

Edited to correct a typo

 

[jgmk55]

We have three coops and a barn where some of our chickens like to stay at night (with the ducks). We can close all the chickens up at night and we do. We have a lot of coons and possums around here, along with coyotes and fox. We lost a couple of hens to a fox last year during the daytime while we were less than 50 feet away. We finally shot the fox - turns out it was sick (not rabies thank goodness) with the mange and one of goats got the mange from the fox being in the pasture. My husband and I decided we needed more protection for the all the livestock (chickens, ducks, goats, sheep) and decided to get livestock guardian dogs - maremmas. We got two, one was 20 weeks old and the other 12 weeks old. They are now 10 months old and 8 months old and are doing an amazing job protecting 'their stock'. They live in the goat and sheep barn/pastures but patrol all the fencing. They have gotten quite a few possums and have scared off many other animals at night - we can tell when they are barking at something in the distance and when they are warning off something up close and personal! When the weather allows (most of the year) we spend most of the daylight hours outside working and since we have gotten the LGDs we have not seen a fox, coyote, coon or possum. I'm sure they are around, just not coming close enough to kill our animals.

 

[kosherchick]

From the guidelines for the Predators and Pests forum:

*Although some ways are not considered ideal to some, it serves the purpose of removing the offending predator. If you have an idea or a helpful comment, please do reply. If it is a sarcastic comment about the disposal or capture of a predator, please keep your thoughts to yourself. We are not here to judge one another on methods or ways and means.​

 

[Tony O]

Quote:
They can share our planet elsewhere. They want to share my chickens, they DIE!!!

If they are re-located anywhere within 50 miles, they have been known to return. If they don't, then you have added to someone else's predator problem. DON'T DO THAT! I don't care what time of the year it is, I WILL do whatever it takes to protect my birds. If the mother coons have babies, they can starve without mother coon, (that many less to worry about later) cause they don't live long enough to make it off my chicken's home. No free meal here for them. It's also in-humane the way they kill chickens. I've lost way to many birds to have any sympathy for raccoons. Nuff said!

 

[Tony O]

I have wised up to reality. Those murdering varmints need to be killed, not re-located. If you have chickens, it is your responsibility to protect them, NOT feed them to the coons. In re-locating them, they will either return to your birds, or cause havoc with another poultry owner. That just ain't right.

 

[[email protected]]

I've probably trapped 150 coons and 50 possums in my chicken house over the years. The possums and coons both like eggs, but a big coon will go for the birds themselves. Two years ago I had one that came in during a period of blowing snow. The snow would always blow over the coon tracks so I didn't notice until I counted my birds and realized I was 4 short. I trapped with the largest Havahart trap, which had always worked before, but this guy was a monster.. tore the trap up. Then I resorted to an older method which was a wire dog kennel, nailed to the coop opening, with a drop trap door mounted on the outside. Put a trip plate on the inside and a peg through the drop door outside. I put a chicken in a small cage on the far side of the dog cage, visible to the coon, to attract him. I caught the coon, but the darn thing was so strong, it pulled the cage loose from the nails, and managed to slip outside with another bird. Lost three more birds. When the snow melted enough, I found the carcasses of the birds in various places around the property. I've never seen him again. My wife saw him one night, thought he was a small bear. My guess is he didn't get as big as he was by being stupid. But believe me, from then on I went around my coop, which is large, and tightened everything up. Then I put an automatic door on the coop, made of salvage garage door parts. I can open/close the door with a controller (real handy when the weather's nasty). The door is very secure now, and we take great care to see that it is closed right at dawn.

Re: dispatching of critters. Typically I shoot them. You can buy lo-noise 22's and they'll do nicely for small critters (except for possums -- takes a shotgun). If you shoot indoors, with the doors shut, during a noisy period of day, no one will probably notice. I hate drowning critters, but it's about the only safe thing with skunks. Skunks can't spray if they can't get their tail up, so if you can get them in a small enough trap, drowning is the best bet. If they are bigger than that, be sure to have a long rope attached to the cage, stay upwind, and drag them to a spot where you can use a rifle. If you are going to keep birds, be ready for anything. I had a mink eating my birds last winter. They are picky eaters, go after the breast meat at the base of the neck. I've also had bouts with weasels. They like to just bite the throat and drink blood. To catch them you need something bloody inside a box with the right size hole, and a rat trap screwed to the bottom of the trap. Put sprinkles of the blood around the box, but put the main attraction inside, on the other side of the rat trap. Build the box right (you can find designs on the net) and if successful you'll see their butts hanging out the hole when you check in the am. The coyotes around here are plentiful, but I think my Great Pyranees peeing on his territory has probably kept them at bay.

You can't be a softy about this. I've invested hundreds in feed and brooding and hatching only to have hens just ready to lay, and then have gone to the chicken house to find several dead birds because of predators. I have one neighbor (a newbie who lives just across the creek from me) and she thinks coons are "darling" and I'm a monster. She raises them. The closer the general population moves to me, the worse it gets. I've even invested in a high power airgun that shoots as well as a .22, and has a scope, and is pretty silent, so that I can do in critters that are preying on sweet corn and other goodies I've worked for years to grow. I've knocked coons out of trees with it. Ordinances are different about air guns. They aren't classed as "firearms." I suspect it won't be too long, and some group will pass an ordinance against my activities in our county.

There's even a hound dog that was running off with some of my expensive prize hens up the road. His owner said "oh, well, that's just how dogs are..." I told him (and we do have leash laws in our county -- which I observe) that if I saw his dog around my coop again, HE'd never see it again. You wouldn't believe the runaround I got from the sheriff, when I asked him about the laws. The sheriff's secretary said with a wink was "well, if no one knows what happened to the dog.. it's easier all around." Problem is, I feel bad about the dog... it's the owner who's really doing the wrong thing.

 

[louloubean]

i have shot my share of predators, but the best offense is truly a good defense!

build a super strong coop and run, make sure the roosts are far enough away from any caged run walls (or windows, or doors) so the furry buggers can't reach through and grab your birds.

yes, they WILL move on if they are frustrated enough, and can not get the birds. but they sure will try every trick they have, before they move on.

good luck!

 

[Wile E.]

Coons are worth $10-$15 at the fur buyer.

 

[Brownrexx]

Again:

*Although some ways are not considered ideal to some, it serves the purpose of removing the offending predator. If you have an idea or a helpful comment, please do reply. If it is a sarcastic comment about the disposal or capture of a predator, please keep your thoughts to yourself. We are not here to judge one another on methods or ways and means.

Take some personal responsibility and protect your livestock yourself, don't expect predators to "respect" your boundaries.​