Resident Raccoon

[Eggscaping]

Raccoons...brrrr. I love wildlife and co-existing with it but after our feeble, mostly deaf, elderly little min-pin was ambushed and fatally mauled in his own fenced backyard one night during a late pee-break, and the neighbor's cat was also attacked, the gloves came off for 'coons. Let them live free in the woods, but if they venture into our yard, and into a trap, they become a casualty. That's one thing we are real hard-asses about.
Skunks? Adore them. If trapped, we gently release them. In fact, we had the same one show up night after night in the trap. I guess he decided that a dinner of corn, marshmallows, and eggs was worth the overnight confinement. We would hold a blanket in front of us as we approached the trap, put it carefully over the trap, and prop open the door. Possums too...I love them. One huge, old guy was so frightened when he was trapped that I had to talk to him gently for almost a half hour before he stopped shaking and would leave the open trap.

But not raccoons...no. With them, it's 'take no prisoners'. If I were you, I would not tolerate a raccoon living so close to my chickens. And if there is a hollow in the tree, only a matter of time before another critter decides to use it. (I hate cutting down a tree too, but sometimes those hard decisions have to be made.)

 

[My1stChickens]

Raccoons are stronger, smarter and more viscious than you think. They will cheerfully kill multiple chickens given the opportunity. They might be content to watch them for a while and eat chicken feed or steal eggs... but then they go for the kill. Invest in a trap or two. Bait with catfood, or fish-- strong scent is good. Set that trigger real light. And don't release. First thing is, you have to take them at least 5 miles or they return. Next, at least in my state, it's not legal to relocate without property owners written permission. But the wildlife guys highly discourage it due to high incidence of rabies, and the fact that a relocated animal can't find food, water, safety and inevitably perish.

Once raccoons get a taste of free food they will NEVER stop returning. That means catfood, dog food, eggs, chickens-- any food source. Keep your chickens safe. My entire run is livestock fence covered with hardware cloth buried in the ground and that trench is filled with concrete.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have to confess... I'm a live-and-let-live type. Part of the reason I live here is to be surrounded with wildlife. My run is 15' from a creek, a wildlife highway as we call it, so it's impossible to not get all manners of wild animals passing by.

My in-laws saw a family of coons looking into the run one early morning, and I've found tufts of fur on the run wire, but that's as far as our "interaction" has gone with local coons. My run is not coon proof (it has netting on top instead of wire) but the coop should be.

 

[IamRainey]

Your coop and run are covered, right? If not get a roof over all ASAP.

And all your windows and doors have carabiners as well as whatever hasps, etc, right? Your windows have hardware cloth secured every 2" with washers and screws, right? Raccoons are as agile as they are tireless and stubborn.

You've inspected for any loose boards or holes, right? They may look chunky as hell but they can squeeze into impossibly small spaces -- I mean IMPOSSIBLY small. And they WILL.

If you can do electrified fence, do it! If you can put an enclosed chainlink surround, do it.

You've been lucky. It won't last.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... So we know there's wildlife and when we built our coop, we made it secure. Buried hardware cloth, flagstone edging, etc. (basically everything the forums suggest). So far, knock on wood, no signs of any attempts to breach the perimeter.

But very early this morning I saw a raccoon climb up the large tree about 15 feet from the coop. It had to go right by the chickens who were out in the run (the auto door had just opened) but didn't seem interested. At dusk, I searched the tree with a flashlight and saw a pair of reflective eyes near what looks like a hollow... So I think this raccoon is literally a next-door neighbor to my flock... I don't want to overreact. But I also don't want to under-react. This is my first year with chickens so so any advice you can offer would be appreciated....

Living and letting live is not the kind of option that raccoons offer chickens. Also raccoons don't live in cute little family groups like you see in a Disney Cartoon.

Raccoons live in colonies that sometimes number 50 or better.

The best that you can hope to do is to manage the raccoon population and keep the population down to what the natural food supply will support.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...A91D71CE486DED9197CAA91D71CE486D&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

[Folly's place]

I'm happy to 'live and let live' too, BUT not in my barn or outbuildings, and not if chickens are taken during the day. My coop is very safe, from everyone except the bears that we don't yet have here.
Raccoon poo carries a very nasty roundworm that can kill humans, and children are especially at risk. Look it up...
Opossum poo transmits a different nasty parasite that kills or causes severe disability in some horses, including one of mine.
Skunks will kill chickens, and along with raccoons, are possible rabies carriers.
Enjoying wildlife should include risk assessment, and even greater care when children are present.
Mary

 

[HeyHo]

Your coop and run are covered, right? If not get a roof over all ASAP.

And all your windows and doors have carabiners as well as whatever hasps, etc, right? Your windows have hardware cloth secured every 2" with washers and screws, right? Raccoons are as agile as they are tireless and stubborn.

You've inspected for any loose boards or holes, right? They may look chunky as hell but they can squeeze into impossibly small spaces. And they WILL.

Yes to all of this! The coop itself is very secure -- I have no worries about that. The run is fully enclosed with properly secured hardware cloth, a metal roof, underground barriers and slate pavers around the entire perimeter (see pic). The only thing we don't have is electric fencing, but we just ran electricity to the coop, so I could easily install that.

And I think I will while I ponder how to get that tree down.

 

[Compost King]

Nice Coop, the only vulnerable spot would be those egg boxes but as long as you check them to make sure they are shut you should have no problems.

 

[HeyHo]

Once raccoons get a taste of free food they will NEVER stop returning. That means catfood, dog food, eggs, chickens-- any food source.

Agreed! There is no food source on our property. We don't even put our trash out the night before pick up. But I'm sure people in the nearby streets provide plenty of food sources. Nothing I can do about that.

On a serious note, 'coons hibernate in December January and February, so once they get to sleepin you should be ok. Do you have cats you feed on your porch? If yes, they may be content to live on catfood welfare. But watch it in the Spring when the youngins get weaned.

Raccoons do seem to be active all year round here, but are worst in the spring. Our exterminator told us during those months the moms find a secondary place to sleep where the babies can't bother them constantly.

Raccoons live in colonies that sometimes number 50 or better.

Yikes, that video is unreal! Who does that?!?

 

[HeyHo]

the only vulnerable spot would be those egg boxes but as long as you check them to make sure they are shut you should have no problems

Is the vulnerability the hasp/carabiner/hinges or simply the fact that it is a point of entry? I am super careful about checking and double checking the closures on the nesting box and the clean out door on other side (which is secured the same way).