Raccoon visiting to steal feed

[Mvan42]

Where there is one there is more. Remember that. There is never just one. At least where I live there is never just one.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Where there is one there is more. Remember that. There is never just one. At least where I live there is never just one.

The way my SO put it is "we cant just sit out there with noise makers every night" and even if we did they'd still probably come by because they'd get used to the noise. I love my chickens and will do what is necessary to protect them

 

[aart]

Busted!View attachment 1800592

Congrats.....he will never steal feed again, anywhere, right?

 

[wyoDreamer]

x2 on more than one!

My neighbor had about 5 bird feeders strung up behind his house along the edge of the woods. He saw a coon raiding the feeders one morning, so he set up in the dining room with his gun that night. About 10 oclock, he turned on the yard light and shot the coon; he went out and moved it to the garbage can so his wife wouldn't have to walk past it on her way to work in the morning and went to bed. The next morning when he went to bury the dead coon, he noticed one of the bird feeders was on the ground; so that night he sat up again, when he turned on the yard light, he popped another one. This went on for 2 more nights. On the fifth night, he fell asleep at the dining room table and when he turned on the light at about 2 am, there were over a dozen coons in the back yard. Some were up on the wire at the feeders and many were on the ground cleaning up everything that the acrobats were dumping on the ground. He just turned off the light and went to bed ... he said it looked like they were having a party back there!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

x2 on more than one!

My neighbor had about 5 bird feeders strung up behind his house along the edge of the woods. He saw a coon raiding the feeders one morning, so he set up in the dining room with his gun that night. About 10 oclock, he turned on the yard light and shot the coon; he went out and moved it to the garbage can so his wife wouldn't have to walk past it on her way to work in the morning and went to bed. The next morning when he went to bury the dead coon, he noticed one of the bird feeders was on the ground; so that night he sat up again, when he turned on the yard light, he popped another one. This went on for 2 more nights. On the fifth night, he fell asleep at the dining room table and when he turned on the light at about 2 am, there were over a dozen coons in the back yard. Some were up on the wire at the feeders and many were on the ground cleaning up everything that the acrobats were dumping on the ground. He just turned off the light and went to bed ... he said it looked like they were having a party back there!

That is almost a joke! From 1 of several.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Got a raccoon coming by. Saw him 2 nights ago around 4 am hanging around. Caught him again last night around 11pm. I scared him off but I know he'll be back. He's not trying to get in the run but he is reaching through the wire and grabbing handfuls of chicken feed. I know this because he leaves a mess of feed just outside the wire. We have a live trap and I'd like to catch him. I'm not sure if the trap is big enough...hes a big coon. Very fat. He might have been doing this a while now and we just caught him. Need some advice on dealing with this pest. I worry he'll get sick of the feed and seek out my girls. He'd have to dig into the run (the wire is about 6 inches out in the ground so he'd have to be very diligent) and then lift the weighted coop door to get in. Since they're more likely to go for easy opportunities I doubt he'd try.

How worrisome!

 

[Criticalicious]

Trapping the raccoon is addressing the symptom, not the problem. There will always be more and bigger predators. Move the feed away from the fence, add 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch hardware cloth along the bottom 1-2 feet to prevent reaching in for your chickens. Install electric fence around the entire chicken area. Don't leave feed in the run at night or get a feeder that doesn't allow access except by the chickens. It's just a raccoon today, but next time it could be a skunk or worse, a bear.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Trapping the raccoon is addressing the symptom, not the problem. There will always be more and bigger predators. Move the feed away from the fence, add 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch hardware cloth along the bottom 1-2 feet to prevent reaching in for your chickens. Install electric fence around the entire chicken area. Don't leave feed in the run at night or get a feeder that doesn't allow access except by the chickens. It's just a raccoon today, but next time it could be a skunk or worse, a bear.

We dont have bears. Or mountain lions. Our predators here are coons, possums, hawks, fox and rarely mink. I've seen a fox once in my entire life that was not at a zoo. I've never seen a mink but our neighbor said they got into his coop and ate the heads off his hens. Hawks are plentiful but mainly in the fall is when they are a threat. Possums and coons are about the most. The possums dont care about the feed. We've had this set up for a whole year now and only this predator other than a hawk has been an issue. My girls have plenty of cover to get under so hawks arent as much an issue.
We also have a few breeds of snake here but nothing large enough to eat my hens. All ive seen on our property is a garter snake. We keep the grass short and they dont come by often. As a preventative we built the coop 3 feet off the ground.
The door is weighted so if something was even able to get into the run they should not be able to open the door. Thats why I was worried about the coon. He literally showed up a half hour after I put them in the coop. Any sooner I would have had to say goodbye to one of my girls.
We're discussing putting electric wire around the coop. We did it last year for our garden but we put up a fence this year so its not an issue.

 

[aart]

Congrats.....he will never steal feed again, anywhere, right?

@Ninja Squirrel Because it was relocated permanently underground?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The way my SO put it is "we cant just sit out there with noise makers every night" and even if we did they'd still probably come by because they'd get used to the noise. I love my chickens and will do what is necessary to protect them

To avoid catching cats... bait with marshmallows. Congrats on your catch.

Note.. possum also eat chicken for dinner.

E-wire would be a good choice.