Raccoons

[tierneyy]

Hey all. Citty/suburban girl here w backyard chickens. A family of raccoons have set up camp under my deck. A mama and at least two babies. Ive always locked my chickens up at night, but I’m starting to notice the raccoons coming out earlier and earlier. Way too much overlap between that and before my chickens go to roost. I’m worried it might be deadly if I’m not paying attention. What’s my best course of action? I hate raccoons but I’m not gonna lie the babies are pretty cute and I’m kind of a sucker.

 

[AllenK RGV]

The racoons should probably be rehomed. They are not compatible with chicken rearing. I am sorry to hear you have a cute family of them under the porch. If I wasn't a chicken keeper I would love that as well.

Maybe FWS can help to rehome them?

 

[RainbowHen]

Nope. They gotta go if you value your chicken's lives at all. Cute but not worth it.

 

[Howard E]

Cute is as cute does. From a distance, it might seem that way. But get up close......they can go from cute to vicious in a heartbeat. That is to you if you get close enough and they are cornered. Had one of those "cute" little varmints in a cage trap......was very sorry looking......and non-threatening.....till I reached down to pick up the trap by the handle. That little half grown coon let out a bark.....and lashed out at me.....and rattled the cage with his front paw. Vicious little beast (who is no more).

To those who can remember the movie Gremlins........that is a coon....even when the are little.

Recently read an article about a rodent expert in England.......was talking about the rats in the major US cities.......and how they are documenting major rat movements brought on by the closing of big city restaurants due to Covid 19. Dumpsters are empty and rats are starving. Relevance is if you have coons living under your porch, they are there due to it being an easy source of food and shelter. Get rid of the food, and likely they will move on. Coons and people living in close proximity is not going to end well. First for you......and then for them when you retaliate.

So to protect the birds, the best plan is to put the birds in housing that is absolutely coon proof.....which can be done, relatively easy in fact, but has to be done right using sturdy materials installed in such a way they can't rip them apart. Example....welded wire of some type vs. chicken wire and it has to be attached in such a way they can't rip it up at the corners. Dig aprons (critical......you can't believe how fast a coon can go under a normal fence....have seen them do it) and no holes larger than an inch or so and no hard edges they can pull apart or chew through. Point being if you make it impossible for a coon to get it, they will quickly give up and stop trying. And the next one that comes along will suffer the same fate. Defeat.

Lacking that........a supplement to what you already have might be an electric fence setup surrounding the coop, such that a coon has to negotiate that before they can gain entry to the coop.

NOT on the list........read that again.....NOT on the list......is to live trap and relocate them. There is a long.......very long......list of reasons why relocation is a bad idea and only one reason why people think it's a good idea and when examined critically, the bad ideas far outweigh the good one. So if you want em gone, trap to kill or don't trap at all.

 

[Howard E]

Recently read the account of a wildlife damage control expert who got a call from some folks about the coons defending "their back porch stash".......were actually chasing the homeowners back into the house. The absurdity of the situation was kinda funny until you realized the gravity of it all.

 

[neo71665]

If you are in the city I would see if animal control will deal with them. If not or your area doesn't have animal control you need to get a trap. You will be using it for as long as you have chickens so it's not gonna be something you regret buying. Just remember coons have a home range of about a mile in the city and 5 miles or so in the country. So if you re home it make sure you get it far far away from ya or you will just create a trap weary animal that will be harder to remove next time.

I don't even let my 2 tame coons near my chickens. Coons and birds do not mix.

 

[tierneyy]

Nope. They gotta go if you value your chicken's lives at all. Cute but not worth it.

Yes I agree. That’s why I’m here asking for advice.

 

[neo71665]

Another thing I just remembered if you relocate them you might need to check local laws. I've heard of it being illegal to do in some areas. It aint in arkansas so I forget it is in other states.

 

[tierneyy]

If you are in the city I would see if animal control will deal with them. If not or your area doesn't have animal control you need to get a trap. You will be using it for as long as you have chickens so it's not gonna be something you regret buying. Just remember coons have a home range of about a mile in the city and 5 miles or so in the country. So if you re home it make sure you get it far far away from ya or you will just create a trap weary animal that will be harder to remove next time.

I don't even let my 2 tame coons near my chickens. Coons and birds do not mix.

Thanks!! I’ll try animal control.

 

[Folly's place]

If AC won't help, and they may not, you can hire a pest control company, who will trap and remove them. Here, we trap and shoot if necessary ourselves. Today our dogs eliminated 'cute' raccoon youngsters, who mistakenly entered our fenced back yard. I was delighted, actually, because my chickens are a bit safer now. And the dogs had their rabies boosters redone just a few weeks ago, when the got another raccoon in our back yard.
Raccoons are NOT good to have on your deck or in your yard, and not only because they do love chicken. Their poo carries a dangerous roundworm type, that can cause real illness in people, they can carry canine distemper, and of course rabies. Don't trap and release!!!
Mary