Raccoons........ Population Density?

[Elchick]

I'm not so sure about natural predators..at least not any that you'd want hanging around your neighborhood....but I'm sure an armed chicken fanatic would suffice.

Heavy traffic is also quite handy.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
Thats my problem. There is only two or three houses past mine till the next road..... and almost a mile each way to either road

I could only dream of roadkill. Then again, with the new brush guard on the van I might start aiming better

 

[Elchick]

LOL

way to go that's the spirit!!

 

[Kennyog]

There are so many coons because hardly anyone hunts or traps them anymore.There is almost no market for fur in this country,no why bother.I live in Missouri and they are thick as stars in the sky.This week alone i have trapped 10 of them in my barn.There are so many that i have a trap set constantly to try and get rid of them.I eliminate everyone of them because if you don't,they will never stop coming back.

 

[chicks4kids]

We are loaded here too...well...were. We trap like mad around here. Have to. They are thick as thieves!! One time right outside our drive was one adult and 4 babies hit. Overnight. It was as though the car got all of them!! Had to have!!

I hate to think someone drops them off. But I'm sure they do it here too! I used to catch and release-----not anymore. I'm with ya' on that one.

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
Perhaps you should invest in a livestock guardian dog (LGD).

http://www.lgd.org/

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Ok just pulled out my Mammals of Missouri book. Love this book it shares a great deal, and has helped me solve many conundrums. It seems that Bob Cats and Coyotes can take young ones but once the raccoon is an adult disease is the big killer. That and comptetion for food and habitat. Thank God for road kill. In good habitat populations can be as high as 2 per acre. I think that 2 per acre was based on places that didnt include human neighborhoods.
In Kansas City, the Star printed recipies for Raccoon. There is also a web site for raccoons that has the recpie. Maybe the state game commissions should offer a subsidy for Raccoon pelts. Heck we did it for wolves and still do it for mountain lions. We nearly wiped them out. If there ever was one Mammal that expanded its numbers because of Man its the Raccoon. I vote for Stimulus bucks after all it is a green industry.

 

[kartking22]

Quote:
Roadkill of the mother first will keep her kits close until all are killed on the road. The kits usually wander around in the road or close to the dead parent if they are too young to fend for themselves. They depend on her for food and experience on where to find it. Older kits will wander off to learn how to kill your chickens on thier own. So if you see a family of coons crossing the road, aim for the big one. You can get the others in a few minutes.
Sad to say but the market for thier hides used to be profitable in the past. Coon hunters could actually make a few dollars selling hides years ago. Since the drop in the market, coon hunters now do it to train thier dogs rather than trying to support thier dogs on the sale of the hides.
I had one rogue coon kill 14 of my birds, ripped 10 holes in my netting enclosure, and who knows how many birds escaped in the attacks. I stayed up late the next night and found him in my barn on his way for round two. They will come back if they know that there's still food that they killed but not eaten yet. He was the first coon that I ever ate in revenge and was pretty tasty with the recipe and advice from people that know how to prepare it. The meat was comparable to beef roast with a small hint of chicken. LOL.

 

[toredano]

We had a bad year also with those raccoons.
Seems they are getting bigger and bigger by the year. Not so many possums but quite a few this year up from last. I wish a great plague would wipe all of them out completly.Sick and tired of having to dig holes 3 times a week to bury these things.
I think people moving into the outskirts of town.. the added garbage they eat and them thriving on it adds to the population.Not so many hunters around here anymore either.

Screw the catch and release crapp. I am over it..Not to mention they are nasty nasty nasty...


Even my mom , who still resides in Germany said that when they introduced Raccoons in Germany years back, they now have a problem with them over there. In fact my brother rescued 3 babys not to long ago and was all gaga over them until they grew a little.. Then it was off to a sanctuary.

 

[chickenzoo]

I have 2 Great Pyrenees, no coon problems anymore.