Racoon Scat

[michpetea]

Went out this morning and found a huge pile of Racoon Scat 1/2 in 1/2 out of my coop. Can't figure that out. Lots of feathers too. Nothing got in, but i believe that a racoon must have been terrorizing last night. I checked over my girls this morning. No signs of wear or tear. We worked all afternoon to build a night time closed coop. Anyone else who locks them up overnight have certain times they let them out in the am? We have no rooster to remind us.

 

[oldchickenlady]

You have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to let them out!

Just kidding! Mine usually get let out about 8 am ish. Mine free range and I figure that is late enough that maybe any predators will be back in hiding by then (not always so, I know, but ya gotta let em out sometime!). You do own an alarm clock, don't you?

 

[woodmort]

My chickens are on my schedule, not their's. I'm retired so when I get done with my coffee and crossword puzzle and maybe responding to a couple of threads on BYC then I let 'em out. At night I close them up sometime after they have all gone in--depends on what's good on TV.

 

[michpetea]

Thats good, I'm up early anyways....well not 4 or 5, but by 6 usually. No alarms at my house. I came home tonight at 9 and 2 of 3 girls were inside the new digs already. One of my RIR thought she'd sit in the outer coop on her old perch... Made a fuss when I lifted her inside. I left 2 inches of space at the top of coop for airflow (chicken wired). Hoping that is enough space that the coons will leave them alone. Hopefully they'll get some more peace and my one girl starts laying again. They get to free range in my garden during the day and I put them back when it gets hot mid afternoon. I have 2 labs on site and one very protective Female tom cat. Not much comes in our yard during daylight hours. Thanks... still wondering how the scat got inside the coop...

 

[jhm47]

Could you please tell us more about your female tomcat? LOL!

 

[animalbaby4everandalwyz]

my ducks and some of my chickens go up and some of my chickens are already up...but the ones i let out i let out about 6 or 7 just depends...now today it was foggy .. i didnt let them out untill 11 or so...just because im scared to loose any lol...but they usually dont mind when they get let out as long as they do...

 

[sjarreau]

I left maybe 5-6 inches on top of a 14 foot barn roof wired with chicken wire and heavy duty staples. 3 raccoons got in by pulling the wire loose on 3 corners and killing over 1/2 of my flock and were gone the next morning. I can't understand how they can get in and then find there way out and killing so many at once. I went and stapled it all back and hammered some nails and boards on top of that. That night they took there little hand and reached though the chicken wire and pulled my rooster head off being he slepted on a perch in that corner. Poor baby just tore me up. Well it was on then. Since then I have bought a night time camera (got pics of 2 big coons hanging on the wire), live trap, heavy duty hardware wire, 22 rifle, flashlights and those stick up night light for inside and a can of Sardines for the coons. Needless to say I haven't lost anymore chickens and 2 coons have gone away for good. I haven't caught the 3rd one yet but we'll get em. I think if you have the chicken wire you still need to put the hardward wire too with nail. I have it on the outside then on the inside doubled now. The trap is set every evening and will be from now on. Needless to say my husband thinks I've lost it

 

[animalbaby4everandalwyz]

Quote:
my coop is weirdish lol...its a 4 sided box with a run well on two sides i have plywood up taller than the pen and a little longer... i have my roosts set there inbetween the boards and kinda low to the ground... the only reason i lost so many is because i had so many in the coop they got cramped and had to get to close to the sides with out the boards...so i would put up some ply wood..and another thing i have done is i go to the dollar store when i have a few extra dollars and buy windchimes... little one or big ones and i hang them in my coop... and when something jumps on top of the coop it rattles and scares what ever it was away..and another thing i do is i have things laying on top of my coop run .. i have a coop with a roof on it and the run does not so anyway... i have things laying on top of the run and nothing can really jump up there with out knocking something off and running it off..

another wonderful thing i have figured out is mountain lion urine... spray that a little in your coop and hang some tampons in trees with a little of the urine on it and you wont have many problems at all..i have not lost another bird or anything at all since i started doing that ... KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

the tampon thing sounds weird but just think about men who do the deer scent thing .. its kinda the same...so i hope that, that will help some people.. and trust me it DOES not take alot .. and wear gloves when you do it.... if you can get your hands on it get wolf urine its the best and wards off EVERYTHING i mean EVERYTHING!!!!


so maybe i helped someone lol....anyone who needs help just email me or something and i can take pics of any of my pens not a problem at all....

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
sometimes switching baits will get the last one molasses is a good coon bait