Terrorizing my chickens.

[shortgrass]

Where do you live that raccoons are invasive? I had never heard of them spreading into other areas before.

Definition for invasive;
especially of plants or a disease) tending to spread prolifically and undesirably or harmfully.

I live where they DON'T BELONG, the Rockies...So, they're INVASIVE here and spread disease and wreak havoc.... All because they were "cute" "exquisite creatures"... Dirty vermin. Nobody else wants them either.

http://m.livescience.com/22766-invasive-raccoons-threaten-europe.html

 

[TheBantyCoop]

I have also never heard of invasive raccoons, kinda weird.
I don't know about you're definition, I think of starlings as invasive. Around my area invasive means that the animal is not native to the area it is in. It is almost always a problem caused by people too, of course. The relocation you are talking about is not done right, so of course it winds up bad. Raccoons can be dealt with pretty easily, love the ideas by StelleKitten and Granny368w. To me it is sad that not everyone can come up with less harmful ways of dealing with predator issues. Kudos to those who do it though!

shortgrass, even the link you put up agrees with my definition of invasive. Those raccoons are in Europe, where yes they are invasive. However, on the page it says that they are native to North America. I am terrible with geography, but last time I checked the rockies are in North America.

 

[Tomhusker]

I have a couple of Hawks in the area. They are constantly harassed by the local wild birds. I thought I lost a chicken last week, but after MANY recounts all was OK. Every time I see a hawk it has at least two attackers on it. I almost feel sorry for it. My property has lots of trees and things to hide under so I'll keep free ranging mine. I'll deal with the predators if I lose one or two.

 

[TheBantyCoop]

Plenty of good options for dealing with the hawks on this thread! I have hawks where I live too, since we have a boatload of doves, pigeons, and trees. I see the hawks getting mobbed by crows all of the time, some to point where the near fall out of the sky! Crows are just so darn smart, they know how to deal with "trespassers." As said earlier, the nice thing about hawks is that they only take one bird every once and while, still not nice to have as regular visitors though if they are taking your girls!

Best of luck,
El

 

[shortgrass]

I have also never heard of invasive raccoons, kinda weird. 
I don't know about you're definition, I think of starlings as invasive.  Around my area invasive means that the animal is not native to the area it is in. It is almost always a problem caused by people too, of course. The relocation you are talking about is not done right, so of course it winds up bad. Raccoons can be dealt with pretty easily, love the ideas by StelleKitten and Granny368w. To me it is sad that not everyone can come up with less harmful ways of dealing with predator issues. Kudos to those who do it though! 

shortgrass,  even the link you put up agrees with my definition of invasive. Those raccoons are in Europe, where yes they are invasive. However, on the page it says that they are native to North America. I am terrible with geography, but last time I checked the rockies are in North America. 

Well, lol, North American is HUGE.... Um, native east of the Mississippi... They are NOT native here, and the hawks that everyone is fighting for here.... GUESS WHAT THEY(COONS) EAT? Yep. Hawks and hawk eggs are a fave of coons, so....

Ie, poor management of invasive species(raccoon) has had a MAJOR contribution to the decline of the red tailed hawk in WESTERN north america.

So, I do believe I am helping save your hawks justcas much as the ducks, pheasant, and prarie chickens that I am attempting to REINTRODUCE after populations have been devastated. I may hunt for food, but I put most of it back, and I don't argue with a wild animal snagging one if my birds, but I am NOT feeding feral coon populations.

Point being, if you choose to relocate anything, ESPECIALLY coons, know that there are landowners like myself that are waiting there with a 12 gauge. Maybe keep your pet coon in YOUR yard.

*I put up the link for Europe to show exactly HOW invasive they are... Pests brought in by foreigners is how THEY see it and I concur.

 

[TheBantyCoop]

I do not keep a pet coon nor own hawks nor feed wild animals (I even have a bungie cord on my trash for the coons, does it sound if hummingbirds take nectar from my flowers? , and there are species of coons that live in the Rockies natively. I can't find a thing about invasive coons in the rockies, do you have and article on that or their hawk eating behavior? I would be seriously interested! I have never heard of a coon getting an adult hawk, but I can see one getting a hawk's eggs or chicks. Just nature I guess, but I do agree that invasive species are bad.

Oh, and I never talked about hawks getting coons. I did talk about owls getting coons though, thats a fact!

If anyone is interested this is a cool video of a hawk hunting a rattlesnake! Really cool technique!!

 

[shortgrass]

I do not keep a pet coon nor own hawks nor feed wild animals (I even have a bungie cord on my trash for the coons, does it sound if hummingbirds take nectar from my flowers? , and there are species of coons that live in the Rockies natively. I can't find a thing about invasive coons in the rockies, do you have and article on that

Here.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/raccoon-nation-raccoon-fact-sheet/7553/

I made it even easier...and I quote,

Geography: The raccoon is native to North America and can be found throughout the United States, except for parts of the Rocky Mountains, and southwestern states like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

I live here. I would know.

Oh yeah, the second part of your question...
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/red-tailed_hawk.htm

Quote

Predators of Red-tailed Hawks include Raccoons, Great Horned Owls, and Red Fox.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Interesting. I believe you, but just so you know, PBS is really not a reliable source. They're very sensationalist. I know that their documentaries on my area's species have all been absurdly inaccurate.

 

[shortgrass]

Interesting. I believe you, but just so you know, PBS is really not a reliable source. They're very sensationalist. I know that their documentaries on my area's species have all been absurdly inaccurate.

Google deeper then lol, I'm done defending a point about overgrown rats

 

[HeritageGoose13]

You mean the raccoons? I said I believed you. I don't know why raccoons were brought up in the first place.

And I don't use google, I prefer other search engines.