the treats you are giving my be attracting preadators =(

[Dar]

I am fighting a battle with raccoons right now... and I am wining... but it has taken a lot of education to turn the tides on these critters.

I have been putting a waterier out in the run for the chickens while they are outside... I left it out @ night.. thinking what will water attract right?.. wrong!.. apparently raccoons dont have salivary glands and are in constant search for water

here is a list on the hava-heart site:
Fish, fresh or canned
Smoked fish
Watermelon
Sweet corn
Cooked fatty meat
Crisp bacon
eggs

I also learned that jam or jelly will attract raccoons. I have given my chickens tons of fresh berries and i have berry bushes all around my run

I would not think twice about putting a little but of tuna left over from making a tuna salad, i always have about a tablespoon left after making lunches... in the chicken treat bowl it went. Not any more

many of us give chickens watermelon , I could use with caution and make sure you clean up any leftovers like the rind. A few weeks ago i put the treat bowl containing watermelon IN my coop because the chickens would not go out in the rain.. That was the night a raccoon grabbed my broody silkie who was sitting on my BCM eggs

I am so upset right now thinking i may have caused the death of 10+ chickens because of my choice in treats , or the placement of a water dish

 

[thechickenchick]

Dar I am so sorry you lost some chickens

Thank you for the warning though. I would have never thought that leaving treats in over night could cause a disaster. We use the Nite Guard System so we normally don't have predator issues, but you can never be too safe.

 

[carybear]

Okay I"m totally a newbee,
what's a night guard system?

how do I know if I have coons near me? I'm pretty much in the city...

 

[Qi Chicken]

I just came in from putting the chickens to bed and decided to leave the rinds in the run for tomorrow as they still have some good pickings on them. THANK YOU for this warning. I will go get them as soon as my son falls asleep. I sat out there and debated for awhile, then decided I didn't want to go in, get a tupperware and all that. I'm so glad I saw this. THANKS again.

 

[math ace]

We are campers - - - - speaking from experience - - - raccons will eat just about anything. Once they find a food source - - - that's it - - you will be on the "must try" spots for nightly dining.

Add potatoes to your list - - - baked potatoes.

 

[thechickenchick]

Quote:
There is mixed reviews of this product on BYC. However I have had it since very shortly after we got our chickens, going on 3 years now. I swear by it and would happy to answer any questions you may have. So we don't hijack Dars thread, just send me a PM if you want to know more

Here is a link for you to check out. http://www.niteguard.com/

 

[Dar]

Quote:
There is mixed reviews of this product on BYC. However I have had it since very shortly after we got our chickens, going on 3 years now. I swear by it and would happy to answer any questions you may have. So we don't hijack Dars thread, just send me a PM if you want to know more

Here is a link for you to check out. http://www.niteguard.com/

Oh NO please hijack away!!!!! I am looking for a good system to add to my coop but we are still undergoing coop renovations to my electric fence will have to wait till my renos are done

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
There are Raccoon in New York City, LA, Chicago, Philly. Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

[gryeyes]

I KNOW there are raccoons here, and opossums and even skunk families. I've seen 'em. Plus, the raccoons were decimating my Koi and goldfish in the two ponds I built.

Whilst I was brooding chicks in the Nursery (my bathroom), I stumbled across Nite Guard lights and bought 3 of them. It recommends four, one each "side" of a coop or run... but my run is AWFULLY close to my house, so I figured that would make it sorta safe without a Nite Guard light.

Anyway, I bought the 3 Nite Guard units and put 'em up long before the chicks went outside full time. Not only have I not lost any more goldfish, I haven't seen any of the digging in the ponds or disturbance of the pond plants that indicates the raccoons have been here. I've seen a very young opossum on the outer edge of my back yard (and once sleeping in a coop!) but no other signs of night time predators. Turns out the Nite Guard light on one side of the run had fallen down....

So one of my regular, every night checks when I lock up the run is to check to see if those 3 Nite Guard lights are visibly blinking.

My landlady continues to have raccoon, 'possum and skunk visitation at her house, which is the one closest to the street on the property. Not me. 9 months of Nite Guard usage seems to be working quite well in my back yard!

 

[ella]

You can put bird feeders on that list too. The spilled seed is awful for attracting all kinds of predators.