Raccoons getting chickens

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Folly's place said:
We bought 36" wide hardware cloth, and installed it verticals, overlapped a little, on the run framing. Stapled with fencing staples, the covered in 2"x4" woven wire 4' up, then covered in 1"x4" boards screwed into that framing, mostly 4"x6", some 2"x4" verticals.
Mary
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I used the 3' HC. It needed to be 6'. After it was all in place I laced the HC together with aluminum wire. It has been standing for 3 years now.
 
I used to like raccoons...until I started keeping chickens. Most of ours weigh in at 30+ pounds and are real jerks. I totally agree with everyone that mentioned latches with locks so that their little hands don't stand a chance. I also use a large trap near my coop to scoop up any that get too close. They will definitely pull on everything to gain access to your coop and run when food supplies become scarce!
 
sciencegrrrrl said:
I used to like raccoons...until I started keeping chickens. Most of ours weigh in at 30+ pounds and are real jerks. I totally agree with everyone that mentioned latches with locks so that their little hands don't stand a chance. I also use a large trap near my coop to scoop up any that get too close. They will definitely pull on everything to gain access to your coop and run when food supplies become scarce!
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I felt the same way. I have a mom and two babies that come on my deck at night and eat the left over bird feed that falls from the feeders. They peek in the windows and watch us in the living room. Now I'm terrified they are going to try to get to my chickens :(
 
Sadly the moms bring the babies to where food can usually be found...and they bring their babies...and so on. The horror of finding what's left of a hen after a raccoon has gotten in has made me very vigilant and completely intolerant of them. My local wildlife officer didn't help when he told me many of the raccoons in our area also carry distemper in addition to rabies.
 
sciencegrrrrl said:
Sadly the moms bring the babies to where food can usually be found...and they bring their babies...and so on. The horror of finding what's left of a hen after a raccoon has gotten in has made me very vigilant and completely intolerant of them. My local wildlife officer didn't help when he told me many of the raccoons in our area also carry distemper in addition to rabies.
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The first night in our new home I thought someone had broken into the house. It was a raccoon in the attic. Got rid of her, cut down the tree she was using as her highway up to the roof. The babies are so adorable....sigh. I have a couple traps I should probably set up near the coop.....just in case.
 
I feed the wild songbirds too, but stop feeding when raccoons or opossums come around. Then, the bird feeders will stay empty for at least a month, encouraging those critters to leave. I have also sometimes live trapped and shot persistent visitors of that sort.
Mary
 
My only raccoon issues have been during the day the first was 9 in the morning that I got rid of. The second killed one of my ducks at 2:30 in the afternoon and was chasing the rest down the street. I also had a fox kill during the day so that's my biggest worry. At night they are locked up in a coop which can be tricky putting away my Teal the wood ducks seem to be better about it though.
 

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