Raccoons.......and it begins

[moniquem]

I knew when I got chicks it was a matter of time for the predators to arrive I have done everything to the coop and run to keep them away from my girls but I'm still worried.

This morning around 6am I spotted 2 really healthy looking raccoons on top of my neighbors shed, about 10 feet from the top of my coop/run. I ran out and tossed a stick at them but they just shimmied up the huge tree and played in it for about an hour.

So now I have set up a beebee gun station upstairs in the house that looks down on the coop area and directly across from the tree they were in. My plan is to shoot them, hopefully deter them from my area.

I feel like I worked hard to get my chicks to a healthy 10 weeks and am reluctant to have them end up as coon breakfast.....

 

[TwistedSteel]

Based on my experience with coons you are going to need more power than a BB gun can deliver. Go to your local pawn shop or Walmart and buy a 22 rifle. Get some subsonic or 22 shorts ammunition. Just be careful of your shots. Electric fence will do a good job of keeping your chickens safe when you can`t watch them.

 

[SpeckledSussex2005]

I caught a raccoon yesterday by my 4 month old pullet's coop using a cage trap with fermented feed as bait.

 

[Trish1974]

X2 on everything TwistedSteel said. I shoot raccoons every time I see one whether they are close to the coop or not. Before anyone jumps me for this, last summer the county south of me had an article in the paper about an outbreak of distemper which is a result of the overpopulation of raccoons. No one is hunting them anymore since there is no longer a market for their pelts.

 

[SpeckledSussex2005]

I use a 177. Caliber air rifle to shoot pests. It will work on pretty much anything smaller than a big coyote.

 

[AuntJamie]

I saw a badger, 1 red fox and a grey fox mother with 3 kits all in the field on the other side of our fence. Set out the live trap and caught a raccoon. There are a bunch of coons residing at the neighbors property where he no longer lives. Hawks are thriving out here in the country. Coyotes cry on the ridges just North of us. I knew something would come calling eventually.
I got a Great Pyrenees to guard the flock. He came from a long line of working dogs. It takes some work/time to train but hasn't been too bad. I've seen zero predators since we got him.
But yes, I used a 22 on that coon. Every nuisance animal gets put down. Relocate and they can come back or if they don't then they're somebody else's problem. I draw a hard line with chicken killers.

 

[Trish1974]

I draw a hard line with chicken killers.

Every chicken keeper should! I think if one chooses to keep such vulnerable livestock they need to do EVERYTHING in their power to protect them.

 

[Trux]

Every chicken keeper should! I think if one chooses to keep such vulnerable livestock they need to do EVERYTHING in their power to protect them.

Good statement! First and foremost on that list should be Coop and Run security. What I mean by that is to have a coop and run that can't be gotten into by predators in the first place. Hardware cloth over vent openings, secure from inside with strips of 1x2, if ya have windows that open make sure you close them at night and have hardware cloth over part that opens. Run made of welded wire or hardware cloth. Bury chicken wire 12 to 18 inches along perimeter of the run to keep diggers from tunneling under. These step will help keep your chickens safe and those raccoons out, and if ya keep them out they will lose interest eventually and maybe quicker if they get stung in the butt with a BB

 

[moniquem]

Good statement! First and foremost on that list should be Coop and Run security. What I mean by that is to have a coop and run that can't be gotten into by predators in the first place. Hardware cloth over vent openings, secure from inside with strips of 1x2, if ya have windows that open make sure you close them at night and have hardware cloth over part that opens. Run made of welded wire or hardware cloth. Bury chicken wire 12 to 18 inches along perimeter of the run to keep diggers from tunneling under. These step will help keep your chickens safe and those raccoons out, and if ya keep them out they will lose interest eventually and maybe quicker if they get stung in the butt with a BB

I have done all the "predator proofing" I can do, basically hardware cloth on everything.

I use a 177. Caliber air rifle to shoot pests. It will work on pretty much anything smaller than a big coyote.

This is exactly what I have! I don't really want to kill them but........

 

[The Phantom]

Blast them all!!!