racoons

[mamas]

We live in DE. So when we built the coop we made it fox proof. When I made the door I made it so in the summer every other pc of 1x4 come out(12"s high , 5 ft off the ground).It was for ventilation. Never assumed a raccoon would be able to get up there and in , but it did. So if your making a new coop, keep all predators in mind even if you haven't seen them in your yard.

 

[thomasboyle]

Did any chickens survive?

 

[mamas]

We had 5 chickens in the coop ,2 survived unharmed.. one black austrolorp was literally eaten, my buff orphington was injured(think maybe it broke her neck) and died within minutes and I had another that had an open wound by its tail feathers which did heal. I heard the chickens make a terrible noise at 3am and immediately went outside to see what happened. The coop was closed up tight, I was going to open the coop door and thought twice, had no idea what was inside. Looked back and a raccoon was climbing the fence on the inside. We got it out and I haven't had any problems since. We changed the design so instead of a whole piece of a 1x4 coming out we drilled holes in the 1x4s. I never would have thought a raccoon could squeeze thru a 3.?" slot.

 

[thomasboyle]

I read somewhere they can fit into a 2 inch slot - I wouldn't believe it, but I saw a documentary about the raccoon problem in Toronto. They showed a mother raccoon climbing up a vertical wall and going into a garage via a 2" slot. They are also incredibly strong. Search youtube for "raccoon in garage" and there is a video showing a raccoon trapped in a garage, and he ends up lifting up the two car door, and escaping that way! I have all of my openings / windows etc covered with 1/2" hardware wire fence, and that has proved effective in keeping critters and such out.