Raccoon Trap

[72Chevelle]

We had a raccoon kill three hens a couple of months back. Long story short, the raccoon was able to get her mangy paw in between the chicken door and the frame and behead a chicken and mortally wound two others (we replaced the swinging door with a sliding door and haven't had any issues since, lesson learned the hard way). This raccoon almost weighed more than my two year old son. She was every bit of 30 pounds. Anyway, we went to the local hardware store and bought two of the Duke dog proof traps. I set them the following day and baited them with marshmallows. The big girl was trapped that night around 10:30pm. Jump ahead a couple of months to two days ago and my wife sees a smaller raccoon outside the back window around 2pm. I set the trap and bait it with marshmallows just as I had done before and two days later we catch the little rascal. I am sold on these traps. If anyone is having issues with coons and is looking for a way to get rid of them, give these Duke DP traps a try. Sorry if this sounds too much like a commercial, but I'm thrilled that a $15 trap is helping to keep our hens safe. I won't bother you with the graphic photos of the coons!

 

[chicmom]

Fantastic! I had a possum bite the head off of one of my hens. I stabbed it with a pitch fork and then my husband had to shoot it because the pitch fork just didn't finish the job....That was some excitement that I could do without! But you have to protect your flock....

 

[Lazy Farmer]

We fight the good fight with predators around here.
I see you have more than your fair share.
I hope you can when the war, not just the battle.
Good luck to ya!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

We had a raccoon kill three hens a couple of months back. Long story short, the raccoon was able to get her mangy paw in between the chicken door and the frame and behead a chicken and mortally wound two others (we replaced the swinging door with a sliding door and haven't had any issues since, lesson learned the hard way). This raccoon almost weighed more than my two year old son. She was every bit of 30 pounds. Anyway, we went to the local hardware store and bought two of the Duke dog proof traps. I set them the following day and baited them with marshmallows. The big girl was trapped that night around 10:30pm. Jump ahead a couple of months to two days ago and my wife sees a smaller raccoon outside the back window around 2pm. I set the trap and bait it with marshmallows just as I had done before and two days later we catch the little rascal. I am sold on these traps. If anyone is having issues with coons and is looking for a way to get rid of them, give these Duke DP traps a try. Sorry if this sounds too much like a commercial, but I'm thrilled that a $15 trap is helping to keep our hens safe. I won't bother you with the graphic photos of the coons!

Never forget that raccoons live in large lose colonies and when you see one you are looking at a raccoon iceberg, meaning that 90% of the coons in your area are out of sight. Keep the Duke Dog Proofs set and baited.

 

[Howard E]

My preference runs toward keeping coons at arm's length using electric fences, but once you have one causing problems, it is often necessary to snuff that one and train up the others. And as you have found, the dog proof traps.......the Duke and all the cousins like the Z-Trap, Coon Dagger, etc. are the best way to go. For the price of a single live trap you can get 2 or 3 of the DP's and they seem to be much more effective.

This thread has some good videos on how the DPs work and how to set them up. Go to the end.........

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coons-believe-it.1170361/

BTW, guy in the video is using a relatively cheap .22 cal air rifle from Walmart to snuff his coons with. May help those living in urban areas who are reluctant to burn powder in town.

 

[72Chevelle]

Exactly. And what did we find when we got home from work today? Another coon sniffing around the trap where I had just deleted the coon this morning. Both traps are set for tonight.

 

[Howard E]

For those new to chickens who are just now being exposed to the ravages of predators, keep in mind these are wild animals forced to fend for themselves. They gotta eat. Their preference is an easy fulfilling meal, and for that, a chicken fits the bill nicely. So they go for them.......and they are good at it. Why not? What risk is it to them? If they only thing standing between them and an easy meal is some flimsy chicken wire or a poorly built coop with holes in it they can easily get past, why not? They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So why not try?
A tight coop.....one they cannot get into no matter how hard they try, defeats them. They will try, but in the end........no joy. So eventually, that one gives up........but the next one has to learn the same thing. So there will always be attempts on the birds. You never get to let your guard down. The threat is always just a heartbeat away. Always.
The next thing that ups the risk/reward equation in YOUR favor is an electric fence. With a properly constructed, properly maintained HOT fence our on the perimeter, what that means is as they approach the coop area, it is almost 100% certain they are going to have to tangle with the fence.......one hot enough to burn another ring on their tail. Now they really do have something to lose and nothing to gain. All pain and no gain. So they give up quick and move on. Ideally, they never get close enough to the coop to find out if they can break in.
Traps, as an alternative, are NOT an effective alternative to a tight coop and electric fence. You will get to kill a lot of coons and the threat never goes away. If trapping is your only strategy, about all you can hope for is to thin the herd a small amount to blunt the threat. But that threat will always be just a heartbeat away. Always right there. Always probing. Always.
But again, once an animal has success, it will keep coming back. That is when trapping becomes a necessity. And the DP's are the best of the best when it comes to trapping coons.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

I argee getting rid of predators never hurts but the best is good defense. I have hardware cloth and electric fence as well. But as a belive in only killing animals that you have a purpose for. So i got my fur licence so i can sell the pelts when there prime. To make a few dollars. Prime coon goes for like 15 where i live that is a bag of chicken food.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Should also note i plan to use duke dp coon traps i have two just have to boil the grease/oil off of them then wait for the coons to be prime.