This is getting to be a busy fall after a very easy going production season. A few nights ago a great-horned owl came calling which was easy to stop but the cold snap brought out the guys more capable of challenging pens. I have just under 50 pens arranged in a row within a roughly 1 acre paddock delineated by three strands of hot-wire. We messed up last night and left hot-wire off after walking with kids around trails. A raccoon, possibly more than one, got in and tried to molest some penned young birds closest to where birds came in. Dogs intervened only after good feathers lost. This predator then ran back though fence and retreated to trailer court where we cannot follow. I want to get this guy bad. Two baited live traps are in place and dogs will be penned up until released. I will be camping out under stars (actually low heavy cloud cover) to listen for birds in a down wind location. To make everything interesting I will have a .22 rifle and a flashlite. Hopefully our guest will encounter traps before getting to bird area but if not I can get involved if chickens get riled. Dogs will be out with predator call when I feel we have a good chance denying retreat to trailer court. A big part of reason dogs can not pursue raccoon in trailer court is because of a more effective fence I installed last year. Properly made fences can certainly be your friend, but improperly placed fences can be a real pain in the but. This is not the first time we had troubles with raccoon than beats us by retreating to trailer court. Soon I will move poultry netting to encompass pens which will stop such assuming fence kept hot. This effort will also serve as a refresher, especially the younger dog, about how to run your raccoon and to get excited about it.