Raccoon(s?) raising worries

[NightTheSmolHen]

Recently, a Raccoon (or a bunch of raccoons, I have no idea how many there are) decided to live near my house. I think I may have attracted it by leaving my barn cat's food outside, and now I'm concerned that if we take the food away, it'll go after my chickens instead. Any suggestions on what I should do? (Perferably a humane way of getting rid of it)

 

[Chuckie chicken]

You're probably best off predator proofing your coop and run. Sooner or later something will be looking for an easy meal.

 

[want2know]

My daughter lost all but one of her flock to a raccoon recently. The one that picked hers off, first came at night and broke through the roof of the nesting box. (cheap store-bought coop). After my husband went over and reinforced it, it dug in. Again he went back and put hardware cloth in the ground around the perimeter. That worked for a while, but then one rainy day, (the day before yesterday as a matter of fact) it came and made off with # 3. So the lone survivor is now at my house since I have a flock, and she cannot be alone. Raccoons are smart, persistent, and tenacious predators once they get a chicken from you, they will be back again and again. If you have a dog that helps tremendously but isn't foolproof. The cat food may have attracted them but doesn't matter, they probably would have discovered your chickens anyway. I have read that there are things you can do to deter them, but since I do not have any personal successful first-hand experience with any of them, I defer to other BYC peeps for their input.
If you do find a successful solution let us know!

 

[want2know]

Recently, a Raccoon (or a bunch of raccoons, I have no idea how many there are) decided to live near my house. I think I may have attracted it by leaving my barn cat's food outside, and now I'm concerned that if we take the food away, it'll go after my chickens instead. Any suggestions on what I should do? (Perferably a humane way of getting rid of it)

See @Animalfisherwoman s post -

 

[FuzzyOwlFeet]

I have nothing nice to say for raccoons. If they can catch your chickens they will sport kill, like a fox. They won't even eat them much, they'll kill 10+ and eat maybe half of one bird.

They can break in where you least expect, and they will be hungry for chickens sooner or later, regardless of cat food available.

They will reach through chicken wire and pull chickens through, I've had several dumb chickens walk right up to the coon on the edge of the run and let it mutilate their bodies through the small holes.
Hardware cloth is a MUST. I do not regret buying it, I put it everywhere. Over the windows, over the doors, over spots that look weak, all around the base of the run (I layer it).

Live trap with sardines have worked amazing for me, the smell is strong.

To me, humane is putting a bullet behind the head. It's instant. They live years of suffering, starving, fighting, so I feel I'm giving them a painless way out, plus a meal of tasty sardines beforehand.
I'm sure you mean you want them kept alive, and I don't have much tips for that. If you release it elsewhere it will be someone else's problem, it could kill their chickens and other pets.

I've never had luck "chasing them off". They'll just run and hide and come right back on your property as soon as you're out of sight.

I wish you good luck in keeping your chickens safe.

 

[NightTheSmolHen]

Thanks for all the replies so far- I set up a camera yesterday and got a picture of the Raccoon snooping around the carport-

 

[Chuckie chicken]

Thanks for all the replies so far- I set up a camera yesterday and got a picture of the Raccoon snooping around the carport-

Always good to know what you're dealing with.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

I'd cage trap it and do the deed before it does it on your chickens.

I say "do the deed" because that's the law here and in many places. Once you catch one in a live trap, you have to release it extremely near or "humanely euthanize" it.

I would suggest a DIY with a pellet gun. And if not you, then look for a acquaintance that might be willing to just do this for you.

Reason being, if you get a professional trapper to even come out there, they usually just release them right near you, meaning your wallet is hundreds or even more lighter, and you still have the issue.

Issue won't go away until every morsel of food is picked up and every chicken is secure 24/7 behind a coop and run that a raccoon could never get into. This is costly and cannot be done immediately. The immediate solution is a cage trap and pellet gun

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I have had zero success, "humanely" getting rid of coons. But for all coons there is a solution... A big, mean dog. And they have to be mean because them coon will fight dirty.

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

I have had zero success, "humanely" getting rid of coons. But for all coons there is a solution... A big, mean dog. And they have to be mean because them coon will fight dirty.

It doesn't take a coon long to learn that a dog behind a door barking can't hurt you, nor can its urine. Same with our ringcam lights around. After a while they don't care.

If you put the dog out, now you're dealing with whether you really trust your chickens around the dog. And if the fight goes off (you can watch 'em on YT), that'll bring the whole neighborhood and animal control around here.