After speaking with speckledhen on the phone a couple mornings ago, we agreed that is was a really weird situation so I wanted to pass on the warning/story. Early morning, 2 days ago, I am standing on my porch with my first cup o coffee for the day and I hear my neighbor's flock start going off, my rooster is alarming and my girls are running for cover. Seconds later I hear my neighbor yell for his wife to bring him his gun. So, I sprinted inside, grabbed my gun and went running to the fenceline (where our coops are about 75 feet apart), bathrobe flapping in the breeze around my fuzzy slippers. This is the scene I saw when I got to the fence... 2 boar coons on the outside of his run, one on each side, his rooster, Brewster has gotten his girls and the youngsters inside the coop and he is charging the fence at one of the coons. The other coon is reaching inside the run and trying to untie the danged ties holding the double layer of chicken wire to the chainlink. Meanwhile, I cannot get a shot off at the coon for fear of hitting Brewster so my neighbor's wife has reached him with his gun and he drops the coon and starts running towards the other side towards me. Brewster immediately starting charging the coon by me and hitting the fence and the coon was busy trying to grab him through the wire. He dropped that coon. The amazing part of the situation...those two coons or just one of them had untied/unhooked the hotwire from the plastic connector! Their prints were all around the post holding the connector where the hotwire was removed. As soon as my neighbor put the wire back up, it was hot. So these psycho coons were getting hit by the hotwire while they were disconnecting it, just to try to get a chicken dinner. So, those with hotwires...check your hotwires and make sure they are secured to the connectors/holders each day. Here is the brave Brewster and some of his girls (They are molting so excuse their ragged looks at present...they are a beautiful flock once their molt is finished)
I prefer to build e-fences high-tensile style. There shoudn't be enough slack in the line for it to come off of the connectors. You can get plastic tightener dealies where fence is sold but mine broke in a year. Most people just twist a nail in the wire till it's taunt. Also consider using the biggest guage of wire that your fence box can support so that it doesn't break too easily.
I wish we did not have them Mahonri. Tala the hot wire was not broken...it was untied from the very last connector on the line. Coons have the dexterity of a human, they really are amazing at what they can open with those front paws.
Quote: That's a pretty nasty jolt for a coon! I hope you can take care of them before they come back for your or your neighbor's chickens. Those are psycho coons.
That was such a wild scene! It amazed me to hear that a coon, while being shocked, managed to untie/unwind the wire! Don't want those super-coons around here at all. Good Brewster! He could have been really hurt if coon hands met feathers and got hold, though.
What a brave Brewster and holy cow that was wild! Coons are just way to smart. So much for people having hotwire around their coops. Doesn't sound like it works after all.
I've been saying it forever and ever on P&P....... if coons weren't so darn lazy, they would make rats and roaches low on the totem pole when it came to decimating our food supplies. I thank goodness that in the wintertime they seem to hide/hibernate for the most part. As it is, I think I have one in the trap, or at least have to go check/reset the trap. Sigh...
Might want to check your fencer. Either the box isn't hot enough or it's not installed properly. I can guarantee you if a coon gets within an inch of my hot wire, he's gonna be on his butt screaming. Most fence problems are due to improper ground. I have 3 8' galvanized ground rods spaced 10' apart, then to the cage, then to the wire apron around the pen. (Galvanized pipe is not an acceptable means for a ground rod. One of the most common mistakes.) A properly sized fencer ( not one of the little hardware store fido buzz boxes), properly installed and maintained will send his butt runnin'. Also make sure the fencer is UL approved, don't want anyone getting seriously injured from it. Marty
