Raccoons are smart.

[cmom]

I have electric wire around my pens and coops, concrete under the gates. hardware cloth over windows and on the coop doors screwed in and heavy duty netting over all of the pens. Luckily I haven't had a breach in a long time.

 

[lazy gardener]

Raccoons are smart enough to figure out that the fence is plugged in and that’s what electrifies it, so they unplug it? They can open twist locks and spring locks? Can they open regular door knobs? That’s a little disconcerting! I have a window that’s up about 4 feet high that I usually leave open during the day and cracked at night but when it’s openIt’s only a screen between the outside and my birds. One commentor said they can build a raccoon ladders – does that mean I should secure this window better even though it’s 4 feet high on a metal building? I figured they couldn’t get in. So far, so good. But after reading this thread I am a little worried.

I doubt that they know enough to figure out the cause and effect, or how to interrupt an electrical circuit. But, in the process of climbing around, they messed with the charger enough to turn it off or disconnect the plug.

Yes, They are very capable climbers. One coon can reach quite high, and if #2 coon climbs up his back, and stands on his head... well.... you get the picture. At that point, the midnight chicken buffet is open for business.

Agreed, if a pre-schooler can open it, so can a coon.

 

[llombardo]

Raccoons are smart enough to figure out that the fence is plugged in and that’s what electrifies it, so they unplug it? They can open twist locks and spring locks? Can they open regular door knobs? That’s a little disconcerting! I have a window that’s up about 4 feet high that I usually leave open during the day and cracked at night but when it’s openIt’s only a screen between the outside and my birds. One commentor said they can build a raccoon ladders – does that mean I should secure this window better even though it’s 4 feet high on a metal building? I figured they couldn’t get in. So far, so good. But after reading this thread I am a little worried.

Hardware cloth

 

[Dailypix]

I am a new chicken owner. (I can see why they are such lovely creatures). We let them run free in the day but at night I have a secure coop surrounded by an electric fence on our rural property in Northern Ontario. Lots of predators. A big family of Raccoons keeps getting into the compound through the electric fence and testing the locks on the coop. Fortunately, the security is strong. I set up a camera to monitor the situation. Two days ago one of the animals got a shock and ran away. I felt good. Last night I noticed one climbed the tree, turned off the power and let his buddies in! All this time I thought it was me who stupidly forgot to turn on the power before retiring.

Wow. So many posts! This was my first entry here. I am so happy to see the interest. I am sure that the electric fence will have to be revisited. It is a flimsy "chicken mesh" sort of white nylon with built-in strands of wire. It drags on the ground and often does not have much current. They were able to crawl under it. I put in some separate strands of aluminum electric fence wire from the charger to a tree in front of where they were getting in and that's what zapped them the first time. I noticed one big one kept coming back but was leary of it. Then last night the security footage caught the small one climbing the tree. It may be it was just fiddling with the box but it did turn off the power and soon after five of them (probably a family because they are territorial) attacked the coop. I was very nervous to see them testing the door lock but there are two locks on each door and each takes more than one motion. It was very alarming to see one yanking on the hardware cloth trying to rip it out and another on the roof biting at it. I wish I could teach the chickens to roost upstairs in the box but they seem to prefer to sleep on the ground in plain sight of predators.
I only had the chickens for two months and I am very fond of them (and their eggs for sure)

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

To teach your chickens where to sleep at night you have to shut them in for a few days and nights. We shut ours in for three days when we get new ones and they learn that inside is where they sleep and lay their eggs (this works really well if you have a rooster, he will show the girls where to lay eggs, and where to roost at night.

 

[Dailypix]

To teach your chickens where to sleep at night you have to shut them in for a few days and nights. We shut ours in for three days when we get new ones and they learn that inside is where they sleep and lay their eggs (this works really well if you have a rooster, he will show the girls where to lay eggs, and where to roost at night.

Thank you. I guess when they settle down I just grab them, put them upstairs and close the hatch? Then open up in the morning? What about food and water. Do they need that up in the roosting area? As for laying eggs they do deposit them in the right place.

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

just over night isn't going to teach them where they live, it takes at least two days. When they have to stay indoors they will learn the roost, pick their places on the roost and then they will be ready to be let out. Most Breeders will tell you to shut them in for at least three days so they learn where they are supposed to sleep. Yes you need to make sure they have food and clean water. When we get a new flock in I fill a feeder and a waterer and load the chooks into the coop, I've already made sure they will have good ventilation, so that when I shut the door, I'll be back on the third day to let them out. I do check up on them every day to make sure they don't run out of food or water.

 

[Dailypix]

I'm in Timmins, Ontario. Where are you located?

Not as far north as Timmins. North east of Parry Sound on the Magnetawan river.

 

[lazy gardener]

With the extreme summer heat, I would not shut chickens in the coop during the day. That may very well be a death sentence, even if they have feed and water there. Putting them in every night should do the job.

The other thing to look at is this: Is this a pre-fab mini coop? If so, they may feel very vulnerable in there b/c the perches are too close to the coop floor. Or there may not be enough light or ventilation.

 

[Hopperkiller]

I doubt that they know enough to figure out the cause and effect, or how to interrupt an electrical circuit. But, in the process of climbing around, they messed with the charger enough to turn it off or disconnect the plug.

Yes, They are very capable climbers. One coon can reach quite high, and if #2 coon climbs up his back, and stands on his head... well.... you get the picture. At that point, the midnight chicken buffet is open for business.

Agreed, if a pre-schooler can open it, so can a coon.

Once they learn that something works they will try it again. They climb smooth metal poles on a deer feeder and spin the spinner till 300 pounds of corn is on the ground. There are game pictures of them on the backs of feral hogs at a deer feeder. Both the hog and the coon benefit from getting together at feeders. Animals can hear current in some electric fences and know if or where it is not pulsing. I've seen dogs walk up and listen at an electric fence to decide whether to cross it. Dont know how good a coons hearing is but he is just as smart as a dog.