Rocky Raccoon outsmarted me again....

[mmtillman]

I had the trap set and ready to go...used a can of tuna with a Little Debbie chocolate HOHO cake for dessert..bound to attract that sly critter!

Well..he showed up ... he managed to get his meal .... he had his cake and ate it too..

and left

!
He overturned the trap....sprung it ...then proceded to roll the trap till he was able to pull out all the goodies.

I have to admire him for his determination....
But the game if over!! Tonight he is mine!!!

Am gonna set that trap in the middle of 2 rows of cinder blocks....with blocks on top as well...He is gonna get more tuna and another HOHO cake...and then he is gonna be in the roasting pot!!
( My father in law

would fix raccoon all the time for us and now I fix it for my grandsons...they think it is so cool!!! )

 

[crazyhen]

do they get into your coop even if it is closed? I am curious since so far no problem for me. I am sure my time will come. Gloria jean

 

[bluey]

Never underestimate a raccoon. They are very clever animals with incredible dexterity and patience.

 

[sweetie54]

Dont kill the raccoon????? Did you know they mate for life???? This is what i did when the raccons started messing around with my chicken coop ok???? Well one time a raccoon got his little hand through the chicken wire and snatched up one of my chickens and broke her leg so i got some of that bamboo fencing and put it around right where they sleep and so far no more problems!!! My chickens and ducks sleep together around the pond i have inside the coop and thats why they were so close to the edge of the fence!!! Anyway problem got sloved and no one was killed!!!! Just a thought you might want to try!

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
I didn't know they mate for life, but that is good information to know so I can thin the population down a bit. I do know that an average sized raccoon is one of the meanest and smartest members of wildlife and can take down and kill a 50 pound dog no problems. Doesn't hurt that they taste good, I would jokingly say they taste like chicken, but then again, doesn't everything

 

[bluey]

Quote:
Not that it really matters but raccoons do NOT mate for life nor do they form a pair bond. Many sources suggest that the males mate with several females and are basically solitary creatures.

 

[Opa]

I've been active in the outdoors since I was able to walk and have been hunting for over 50 years. So I have more than a little experience with wildlife. I hate to burst any idyllic bubbles but racoons do not mate for life. The family groups you see are usually made up of a female and her litter. Boars tend to be solitary animals. Females can have up to 8 kits per year so it doesn't take to long to be overrun with coons if they have an adequate food source. They can devastate a flock in short order. Relocating them is not a good idea, you are just moving your problem to someon else. Handling them isn't a good idea as they can be very agressive and their bite is painful qne they can carry rabies.

 

[lil_chick_chick]

Sounds like my husband! For the past 3 nights he has been out smarted by this sneaky racoon that we have been having some trouble with. The racoon takes the food everynight and yet gets out of the trap some way or another. The first night, the coon got the food, then he rolled the trap and made the doors somehow open and he got away

Then my husband decided to put a heavy log on top, so he couldnt roll away this time and get free, didnt work, somehow, he got the food, and managed to only make one side of the trap close down, so he got away again

LOL im starting to really believe this coon is determined to drive my husband nuts! My husband however is determined that that coon is his and already in its grave. Maybe tonight will be the night!

 

[ChickenDogDuck]

Quote:
Reproduction: Raccoons are polygamous. They mate in late winter or early spring (January to mid-March).
Adult males occupy areas of about 3 to 20 square miles, compared to about 1 to 6 square miles for females. Adult males tend to be territorial and ranges overlap very little.
This information is from the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife.

The only raccoons I've ever heard of mating for life are in Disney cartoons...

 

[logansmommy7]

I think we have a lurking raccoon as well. They haven't gotten into the coop at night yet, but I don't want to let them have a chance. We put out a trap every night this week and it has gotten the food several nights. We say raccoon poop outside the run and some scratching like it was trying to go under the fence. How do you trap the darn things? They are so smart. We lock our coop with a safety pin on the latch so I don't think they can get in but I will never say never...