Thanks for all your advice! I have never killed an animal, and I don't know if I could possibly do what it takes to put it on the table. (Even if I had a clue how to! Since having chickens and getting to know how sweet they are I have become a bit adverse to eating meat in the entirety anyway.) There is a wildlife refuge nearby and I contacted them, and they told me that if you see one raccoon there is probably a whole family. She told me to reinforce my coop with Hardware cloth, and make sure that I bury it well into the ground as coons will dig. She also recommended that urine will deter them from going near the coop. So, I can have my boys "go outside" along the perimeter to keep them away. Surprisingly my boys were embarrassed about the whole proposition. Can't say I like the idea of my boys peeing in the yard, I wonder if the smell would be noticeable? She said that here in Oregon it is illegal to relocate them. So either I fortify the coop and the fish pond, or I kill the raccoons. Though she didn't tell me if that was ok. I would personally rather learn to coexist peacefully with them, than kill something, but I want to protect my flock and family as well.
If you have one they will invite friends and relatives and if they find fish they will wipe them out too and releasing them can give someone else a problem so SSS works if it gets too bad but if your coop is really secure and dont keep your birds in the run at night they should be fine good luck!
but find a way to lock it also cause they are smart to figure out how to open most coop door if you use a regular latch bungie cords work too
