Raccoons

[HiddenBrookAcres]

Quote:
They have moved on!

 

[bakerjw]

They will be back.

My coops are totally raccoon proof yet I get a couple of videos/images a week of raccoons climbing the coop and looking for ways to get into it. One must never let their guard down when it comes to predators.

 

[RHRanch]

They will occasionally come back to see if your pens have a weak spot, but if you maintain your pen, and keep the coop door shut tight at night, you have nothing to worry about. Exclusion by a sturdy pen is easily the best and least labor intensive way to avoid predation losses. I don't mind critters coming by and checking my pens, keeps me from getting lazy and helps me to learn how to construct the safest pens possible.

 

[Mattemma]

I prefer to be proactive and get rid of them BEFORE they do damage and kill.
I would recommend keeping a trap set daily.

 

[MusketeerinFla]

Lead is a naturally occurring substance

. I have gotten to the point where I can't stand raccoons. They never quit, never give up, and all it takes is for me to forget one time, and there goes my little flock. I've had them kill a really good cat for his cat food. He was a darn good mouser! MiF

 

[emerald eyes]

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We had a problem with raccoons getting into our chicken coop over the summer. We dug down about 1 foot, then laid out heavy duty fencing extending away from the pen about 2 ft. If the predator digs, it will be met with steel fencing and not realize they have to dig several feet away from the fence to gain access. At least this was my husbands thinking! I also secured the top of the pen with fencing & chicken wire, as I saw paw prints up the side of the coop inside the pen. I know they are nasty buggers, one even tried to claw at the closed openning leading into the coop...good thing I had a slide latch, especially since it moved the rock in front of the door 1 foot. I also found that once they get a taste of the chicken..they will return to find another meal...even in the daytime.

 

[moetrout]

Quote:
This is what I do, but after a walk around the cornfield out back I see that I am not doing such a good job. There are smal trails from all sides of the corn field where thye raid it at night and then drag back the corn into the woods to eat. The first four rows around that field have been nearly picked clean!

 

[Gargoyle]

Quote:
I learned the hard way, chicken wire is useless- I had it just under the soffit of the roof, and a raccoon untied the tie wires holding it and stretched the chicken wire to get in. Use hardware cloth.

 

[darin367]

you better set the traps, load your guns, and do any other thing you can do to thin them out..... don't buy into the "they have a right to live" or "they're just being natural" montra..... they are vicious killers and will continue to probe your defense until they find a crack in your armor..... took em 2 1/2 years to finally breach the "fortress"... once inside they killed 18 chickens, my entire flock gone......i prided myself on how secure my coop was...... remember this, while you sleep, they are probing, prying, chewing etc. etc....... 1 missed crack or hole and you wake up to no more flock..... they are vermon... it's them or your chickens....