Recent Raccoon issue and what I did.

[Oddyseous]

1st day:
So, I started noticing my eggs would have yolk splatted on top of them, right on top of unbroken eggs, with no shells around. Interesting I thought, and a bit weird. So talking to my mom about it she said it's probably a raccoon. Raccoons are extremely strong and can easily break eggs when they pick them up. However, we have Orpingtons and Jersey Giants among other breeds, but I thought maybe they accidently broke them with their weight, but then there would be shells? Odd....

2nd day:
So not sure how one would get in our hen house which is connected to a fully fenced top and sides chicken run I slept on it. Next day, I find more eggs, with more yolk on them. Hm, weird.

3rd day:
So while gathering the eggs I see no yolk. Good. So walking out I stop due to having a thought. Wait a minute, there were 4 Barred Rock Chickens.... I only see 2.... uh oh.... So I check and sure enough, I'm missing chickens!

4th day:
New 4-5 week old orpingtons (6, bought from a local store) and one Blue Jersey Giant Rooster(I think, this was my own hatch) (4 weeks old, bought the orpingtons so he wouldn't be alone in the pen getting bullied. Anyway so this is what I had in the pen, but not what's there now... now it seems one of the Orpingtons is missing! Now there are only 5 Orpington young hens.....

So I decided to walk around the entire coop/run and just slowly inspect it. What do I see? A small gold feather from one of the buff orptingtons.... the missing one. Well, I found it. It would seem the back of the run due to soil moving now has a golf ballto baseball sized hole allowing predators (like those blasted raccoons) to get in.

Having cutt down a bunch of logs recently with some trees I'm removing I had the idea to lay those down to cover the gaps, which will continue to cover the gaps should they increase in size, and went to the store and bought some concrete to make sure they stay in place.

Now on day 7 or so since this all began, no more missing chickens, no more broken yolk on eggs. Whew!

Should the raccoons devise another evil plot that succeeds I shall post that as well, but for now, my chickens seem to be safe while I construct our first chicken tractor. All my Jersey Giants will be going in it first, but I have more tractors to make.

Did this help you? Have your own story? Post it below!

 

[citymeetscountry]

We set a trap after a raccoon killed one of our ducks…that coon is now in the ground. Hope your solution continues to work fornyou

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It will definitely be back now that its had success, so I recommend setting a trap anyway. They can climb and open latches. Raccoons are jerks!

 

[arwoon]

That's an interesting story. I am surprised however that the racoon (if that's what it was) first went after the eggs and not the chickens until later. In my experience racoons are very clever, and can find ways to get in coops when they are least expected. I had a few instances when a coon reached through the wire into my coop and strangled a chicken, and then ate as much as it could through the wire. They also tend to leave a mess of chicken innards and feathers everywhere. I cant belive that before I had chickens I thought those things were cute.
What I did is poured some ammonia on a rag and threw it into their hole (they lived in a tree in our backyard) I also threw a bar of Irish Spring soap up there. They moved after that, I had read that they couldn't stand the smell of either of those things, and It actually worked!

 

[arwoon]

We set a trap after a raccoon killed one of our ducks…that coon is now in the ground. Hope your solution continues to work fornyou

We tried on multiple occasions to trap ours to relocate, but they never went near the trap.

 

[Oddyseous]

We set a trap after a raccoon killed one of our ducks…that coon is now in the ground. Hope your solution continues to work fornyou

We've done that, well, live trap then let them go at a river a few miles away.

The problem is I live in Ozark County, I couldn't kill all the raccoons out here if I tried. I basically live in Mark Twain Forest LOL. Which, familiar with it or not, it's huge and full of wildlife.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

We've done that, well, live trap then let them go at a river a few miles away.

The problem is I live in Ozark County, I couldn't kill all the raccoons out here if I tried. I basically live in Mark Twain Forest LOL. Which, familiar with it or not, it's huge and full of wildlife.

Do you have a dog?

 

[Penpal]

Don't relocate them. You need to take them ten miles away, whereupon they are somebody else's problem - - gee, thanks. Either shoot them while they are still in the trap, or drown them while they are still in the trap. I know it sounds horrid, but it is much faster than cancer, a bad shot, or distemper.

Raccoons typically come out at dusk. If your chickens' coop is behind an electric fence they are safe.

 

[townchicks]

It doesn't sound like a raccoon to me. They usually leave a big mess behind. It sounds more like a skunk or possibly a snake. Good luck, condolences on your losses.

 

[NanaK]

When I found yolk on eggs and in the nest box, I later found a 6 foot black snake eating them. He would hold his head upright and crush the egg and some was spilling down the sides of his face into the nest box. I only had adult large fowl at the time so lost no birds. We added ALOT more hardware cloth to the run after that. Always look well before reaching in the nest boxes.
I hope you have no more problems.