Racoon rampage

[Folly's place]

So sorry! Mary

 

[Outpost JWB]

Sorry for your loss. Raccoons have been horrid this year. We have had to dispatch quite a few and lost over 10 chickens and 2 rabbits. We put a trail cam on the coop and have been fighting them one by one. Never seen a year this bad. Ever. Good luck with getting rid of yours.

 

[BrierRidge]

Set traps with a can of tuna or sardines inside every night by the coop. Once they discover they can get food there, they will just keep coming back. I shoot them. But I'm sure if you don't want to, maybe someone could relocate them. We have coonhounds and actually built the new chicken coop next to where they sleep, and no problems since lol.

 

[chickenfarm1105]

I have developed a deep hatred for raccoons.. Last year we lost 16 hens in one night. Then the little devils found a stray litter of kittens (why oh why???), A couple more chickens here and there, 9 baby bunnies, our 2 pet ducks, another kitten, chickens... I can not stand the sight of one of those pesky little freaks! Uggh! They always seem to find a way in. Right now, its 5 am and they are getting into the feed in the shed. Oh, I've been out there three time to scare them off and try to fix the window they keep getting in through. Hard wire mesh was stapled down securely till a gang of 8 or so decided to pry it off together. This year has been the worst and i honestly wouldn't care if every coon in our area up and died right about now. Thank goodness the feed has distracted them from the poor sweet girls thus far, though, or we'd have yet another disaster on our hands! I struggle is definitely real, that's for sure. I'm so very sorry for your loss! I know how hard it is! And again I say, Uugh!! Sadly, we are still trying to figure out a way to secure our hen house and run so I don't have much advice other than to listen to all the pros on here Again, sooo super sorry for the loss! Chickens are definitely more like pets than livestock and such. STAY STRONG!!

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Predator protection is so important, with a steep 'learning curve', taken out on our poor animals. My first bantams roosted in my pole barn, per advise from the person they came from. Mornings were met by body parts strewn about on the floor, very ugly! I learned!!! My current coop and enclosed covered run is built on an old foundation, so dig proof. The walls are double thickness, and the hardware cloth is fence stapled, then covered in wood strips screwed into the framing. When bears arrive, I'll add electric. Mary

 

[carlf]

Quote:
Never relocate mammalian predators.
It is illegal in most states and all you are doing is taking your problem and relocating it somewhere else. And that some where else most likely already has a booming predator population.
And you may be moving mange, distemper, rabies, or other diseases.

Yes, raccoon populations have been steadily increasing ever since the fur market nose-dived. There are no natural predators of raccoon left, human provide a tremendous amount of food (intentional and not) and safe shelter for them in urban and rural areas and very few people trap or raccoon hunt anymore since there is hardly a market for the pelts. It makes it very hard to keep poultry in even urban settings.
Good strong fencing, a secure coop, a "guard" dog and a trapping program is the best approach. I've used this approach and in over 6 years of raising chickens have only ever lost 1 bird and that was when the dog was away at the kennel for a week.

 

[PingoBags]

Welcome! Predator protection is so important, with a steep 'learning curve', taken out on our poor animals. My first bantams roosted in my pole barn, per advise from the person they came from. Mornings were met by body parts strewn about on the floor, very ugly! I learned!!! My current coop and enclosed covered run is built on an old foundation, so dig proof. The walls are double thickness, and the hardware cloth is fence stapled, then covered in wood strips screwed into the framing. When bears arrive, I'll add electric. Mary

That coop looks as solid as it could get. I can't imagine you have any predator issues with that one.

 

[speckledhen]

Raccoons are not cute. They are nasty, vicious predators. A friend gave two huge Orpington cross roosters to someone who ended up completely in love with those boys, both males descended from my big Blue Orp male on one side and her very able Blue Orp rooster on the mother's side, super sweet boys but giants, around 15 lbs each. One night, several raccoons got into the coop somehow and those big boys fought to the death, probably saved some of the hens. The owners found two dead raccoons in the coop, but they also lost those very beloved roosters. If those huge roosters fought so hard that they actually killed raccoons yet died themselves, imagine how vulnerable a few laying hens are to those nasty bandits.

Again, as someone else pointed out, NEVER relocate raccoons! Kill them, period. Trust me, there are plenty to go around and if you relocate, they will either find their way back or they'll become someone else's problem and heartache.


ETA: Mary, great fortress you have there! The key is definitely predator-proof, locked up coop at night. I've never lost a bird to a predator because of mine. And we have them all here in the mountains.

 

[Folly's place]

LOVE my coop!!! It took many years to get where it is now, and it's great! Maybe it will get stained/ painted this year, or not. My flock does free range most days, so occasionally a hawk will get one, but it's been solid at night. However, I may keep even more birds this winter; chicken math at work! Mary

 

[FarmerTony]

I free range my flock (barnyard mix). For their coop I just use a repurposed old camper I used to live in. I have to keep the windows closed tight though, as I had a coon chew through the screen when I kept them open in summer. I bait the traps with eggs, one outside the trap, one just inside the trap, one in the middle, and a couple in the back past the trigger plate. The chickens have learned to stay out of the traps

When I catch a coon, I give the chicken alarm call a few times before I shoot it dead. Maybe its friends will learn to run from that call Then I throw its carcass in the garden, and let my girls eat the coon and the insects it attracts. Turnabout is fair play.