raccoon proof idea?

[urbhenz]

Thanks will do. I erroneously used chicken wire. Will be scrapping this coop and starting over for the new flock!

 

[Belott]

Good. The only way to keep predators out is 1/2 inch hardware cloth; strong lumber; and solid latches and hinges. Build it solid and you won't regret it. Chicken wire has its place, but not for protecting your birds.
Good luck on your build!!

David

 

[ToddTowers]

raccoons have decimated my flock too, had 18 hens a month ago- now am down to 7. my coop is solid wood on all 6 sides, elevated with locking doors and a slider chicken entrance. It is surrounded by a 5 foot fence, that wasn't buried down well enough. spent yesterday adding a fencing skirt, but lost another bird last night. Today - I have added a lock to the slider but can not figure out what else to do to keep my girls from disappearing. I find feathers but nothing else. I admit it is heartbreaking as I raised them all and count on their eggs as a major part of our (People) diet. I am going to my local feed store to buy e-fence today. I will not lose anymore if I can help it. I have dogs, apparently they aren't coon chasers. I have shot at the raccoons twice and set traps, but they are smart - I hope to hear them scream when they get zapped tonight! believe it or not I am a animal activist, but we must protect our own, right?

 

[David1998]

raccoons have decimated my flock too, had 18 hens a month ago- now am down to 7. my coop is solid wood on all 6 sides, elevated with locking doors and a slider chicken entrance. It is surrounded by a 5 foot fence, that wasn't buried down well enough. spent yesterday adding a fencing skirt, but lost another bird last night. Today - I have added a lock to the slider but can not figure out what else to do to keep my girls from disappearing. I find feathers but nothing else. I admit it is heartbreaking as I raised them all and count on their eggs as a major part of our (People) diet. I am going to my local feed store to buy e-fence today. I will not lose anymore if I can help it. I have dogs, apparently they aren't coon chasers. I have shot at the raccoons twice and set traps, but they are smart - I hope to hear them scream when they get zapped tonight! believe it or not I am a animal activist, but we must protect our own, right?

I've been there before. You need time to fortify your coop well, but you're in such a rush (nighttime is only an hour away) that you don't really do it well. They continue to overcome whatever hurdle you put up. When I was in this situation, I had to put a stop to it to give me time to fortify the coop properly.
Buy a small, well built cage, pet carrier, whatever is bullet proof, and put your chickens in it for the night. Keep it inside the garage, house, whatever it takes to be 100% confident they won’t get to them. Inside your closed up coop, put some chicken bones and table scraps laced with gopher poisoning. Make sure your other pets or any other wildlife can't get to it. They’ll get it, eat, and die. It will only take a few nights, then you can put your chickens back in and go to fortifying your coop with some time to do it right and thoughtful.
I normally wouldn’t recommend poison. It carries risks, but in this case the risk of loosing more chickens far outweights the poision risks.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

This is our first post.

Our summer of chicken love ended in tragedy. Raccoons found three ways into our coop over a period of several weeks and killed all three of our sweet hens. We are planning ahead for next spring and hoping to build a better coop. Has anyone heard of a roost box that is suspended or on a post that the girls can fly into, but raccoons can not get into? (Our chickens free ranged during the day- all were kidnaped out of the "latched" coop at night.)

thanks for any ideas. especially pictures

A coon can climb anywhere that a hen can fly, only higher.

 

[seminolewind]

raccoons have decimated my flock too, had 18 hens a month ago- now am down to 7. my coop is solid wood on all 6 sides, elevated with locking doors and a slider chicken entrance. It is surrounded by a 5 foot fence, that wasn't buried down well enough. spent yesterday adding a fencing skirt, but lost another bird last night. Today - I have added a lock to the slider but can not figure out what else to do to keep my girls from disappearing. I find feathers but nothing else. I admit it is heartbreaking as I raised them all and count on their eggs as a major part of our (People) diet. I am going to my local feed store to buy e-fence today. I will not lose anymore if I can help it. I have dogs, apparently they aren't coon chasers. I have shot at the raccoons twice and set traps, but they are smart - I hope to hear them scream when they get zapped tonight! believe it or not I am a animal activist, but we must protect our own, right?

How do they get into a locked coop? Are they locked in it at night? Can they climb over the top of the fence?

 

[enola]

Racoons can climb like monkeys........

 

[seminolewind]

I know they can climb and turn knobs. But she said the coop was locked. So how did it get in twice?

 

[enola]

She said the coop was "latched". Not sure what that means.......

 

[jonalisa]

The original post is from 2008...