Raccoons

[RendonRoo]

TSC had the solar powered ones but i think they were pretty expensive. My power pole is about 10 ft. from my coop so i'll just add a breaker and have a plug inside. Will need it for lights etc. Thanks for the imput... it's nice to know someone has had luck with something i want to try.

 

[chookchick]

Who was it--the1much?-who suggested using flour to track where the coons are going. You would put a line of it around the coop. Hope you get that bugger and all his friends tonight! but I still think it would be good to know how he got in, and post us a picture if you can so we know how to protect our chickens. Good luck!

 

[Farm Frenzy]

GOT ONE!!!! One of the biggest coons I've ever seen in my life!!! I honestly don't know how he even got in the trap. GREED, that's how. Sorry for his luck.

 

[mountain gma]

Hi Farm Frenzy, I've also lost chickens to raccoons. I know we should respect wildlife but the advocates of same are nuts when they publish cartoons of cute little raccoons dressed in little woodland hats and jackets. These folks have most likely never experienced the negative aspects of wildlife or maybe wildlife in general. I started with 25 Buckeyes on May 18, 2008. I have six left due to raccoons and stray dogs. I got a modern style sling shot and dealt with the dogs but the raccoons came in the middle of the night and took chickens more than one at a time. The raccoons came into my laundry room through the cat door and ate the dog food, the cat food, and generally trashed whatever I had in there. They managed to get into the coop a couple of times but the dogs (Red Bone Coon Hound and Poodle) simply waited until the birds were free-range and then chased them down. As you can guess I'm not an advocate of raccoons and have trapped several and relocated them to the Blue Ridge Parkway. But they keep coming. Since they are lethal opportunists I'm rethinking my chicken coop and free range preference. I fear the chickens will have to get used to a fenced in area and relinquish some of their freedom. My only hope is a more secure area and coop. Hope you can figure out what will work for you.

 

[Farm Frenzy]

It really killed me when I saw the pile of gray silkie feathers, but what made me mad was the drag marks and the trail of feathers into the woods. I usually like racoons too, I mean, I have raised babies, and bottle fed them, but no one....NO ONE jacks with my chickens!!!

 

[antlers]

If it is done right , electric works well. I put 3 strands around my sweet corn pathc each year. 6, 12 and 18 inches off the ground. Keeps coons and skunks out of the corn. Have not lost a ear since I started. I tried lights and radio and I think that just gave them music and candlelight to dine by. Electric does it.

 

[mxpres]

I had problems with a critter killing 5 beutiful australorm pullets that I had raised from chicks,they had just started laying and something found a weak place in the wire and pushed its way in,,killed all 5 in one night,,since then I have installed two strands of electric wire around the bottom of my run,,same for the top,and placed steel wire aprons around the bottom and nailed it down,and placed cinder blocks around the wire,,and purchased 4 of the nite guards and placed them around my coop and run,and for good measure i crisscrossed barbed wire on the door about 2 inches apart,3 feet up on the door,and put small padlocks on the coop door and run gate,I have outdoor nest boxes too so i chained them down and added padlocks to them too,,and I also keep a 20 guage pump shotgun close by my door,I felt like I let my birds down by not protecting them from night prowlers,,I have killed two foxes and one coyote in one month since.if a varmit is on my property,day or night,attempting to harm my chickens ,it will get shot,,on sight,,3 inch magnum buckshot works wonders,,relocating don,t work,that only causes problems for someone else,,good luck and keep the rifle handy

 

[AngieChick]

You will want to get locks for on the doors. We have 4 padlocks, all keyed the same, with the keys dangling by chains off them. They can figure out barrel locks.

 

[mxpres]

I also put wire on top of my run,and added bolt on eyehooks with chains and padlocks to every individual door on my nest boxes,,predators are out there,,and they are clever and determined.its up to us to protect our flock.its heartbreaking to know my australorps were penned and couldn,t escape,,I am doing everything within my power to prevent it happening again