tragedy

[ArthurLedd]

A coon got into the baby chickens coop they were only 2 months old he bent the wire on the outside cage then climbed up the inside coop forced the corner of the roof open where the heat wire went through and killed and ate 6 young ones and now he tried to get into the big pen i have a bullet with his name on it we have no good poison available to buy anymore and he wont go into the traps are their any other suggestions.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Sorry for your losses!
Yes, kill that b*stard! I have a raccoon lurking around my ducks for months. It is experienced with traps, steals the bait but isn't triggering the trap. I assume somebody caught it in a life-trap before and released it here. And i don't even own a firearm to shoot it…

 

[Wezdin]

I have used hand traps for coons with great success, 3 in two nights. Or if you are in a rural area like me sit on your back porch with a green light mounted on a .22 and wait for them to come...

 

[Mamas_Looney_Farm]

Time for a stakeout! Grab your 22 and sit out there until the varmint comes to snatch up more chickens. That’s what I would do!. He definitely deserves to be put down if he ate all those young ones. Good luck

 

[50-45-1]

without a photo or better description of your setup, i am going to guess that you were using chicken wire to enclose your chicks.
chicken wire is very good at keeping chickens in.
it is useless at keeping predators out.
secure the birds you have left with no gaps or openings. lock them inside at night. dont leave any poop doors open. the raccoon will continue to return now that he has found a place offering tasty morsels.
i dont think you should sit outside most of the night with a loaded gun. especially since you are in Pennsylvania.
instead use time to secure your coop. also live traps might work if you use one of your dead chicks. WIRE it in the back or right on the Pan. if this is the raccoons only food available he just might go for it. if you already disposed of your dead birds, use raw chicken leg, a can of tuna, or something they will like. again Wire it so they HAVE to go inside to access it. place the trap on a level surface....test fire it a few time to KNOW that it is working correctly. if i could i would place it in the same place that he killed your birds. he will return there first. or as close as you can to that spot.
if you do Trap it..Kill it.
some folks will relocate "the poor thing" moving their problem to some other chicken owner resulting in more tragedy like yours.
sorry about your birds.. it is heartbreaking when this happens.
Remember:
1/4 inch hardware cloth...Good.
Chicken wire...Bad

 

[HomesteaderWife]

So sorry for your loss.

Raccoons can be easy- bait a live trap with a can of corn and lead a light trail out of the trap to bait them in. Or use a can of wet cat food/canned chicken and place it at the back. The corn trick is how we usually get them, but when that fails cat food canned works.

 

[Rooapalooza]

You probably aren't going to like hearing this.

Poison is a terrible idea for a whole lot of reasons.

Don't go to war with raccoons, or any predators. There are a lot more of them than there are of you, and they never sleep. They have nothing but time and have to eat what's accessible.
You have to make it too inconvenient or impossible for predators to get to your birds, especially at night.

As everyone on here always says, prevention is the only solution. At night, chickens have to be closed in a solid structure with a solid roof and 1/2 in hardware cloth or less covering all openings. You also need either a floor or material outside to keep animals from digging. If you have bears in your area, you may also need an electric fence.

It sounds like you are asking more about how to get revenge on one specific raccoon, but I don't think that will solve your problem long term. Don't start mopping before you turn off the sink, you know?

 

[ArthurLedd]

without a photo or better description of your setup, i am going to guess that you were using chicken wire to enclose your chicks.
chicken wire is very good at keeping chickens in.
it is useless at keeping predators out.
secure the birds you have left with no gaps or openings. lock them inside at night. dont leave any poop doors open. the raccoon will continue to return now that he has found a place offering tasty morsels.
i dont think you should sit outside most of the night with a loaded gun. especially since you are in Pennsylvania.
instead use time to secure your coop. also live traps might work if you use one of your dead chicks. WIRE it in the back or right on the Pan. if this is the raccoons only food available he just might go for it. if you already disposed of your dead birds, use raw chicken leg, a can of tuna, or something they will like. again Wire it so they HAVE to go inside to access it. place the trap on a level surface....test fire it a few time to KNOW that it is working correctly. if i could i would place it in the same place that he killed your birds. he will return there first. or as close as you can to that spot.
if you do Trap it..Kill it.
some folks will relocate "the poor thing" moving their problem to some other chicken owner resulting in more tragedy like yours.
sorry about your birds.. it is heartbreaking when this happens.
Remember:
1/4 inch hardware cloth...Good.
Chicken wire...Bad

HELLO thanks for the reply and no chicken wire, I had a 10 x 10 dog kennel around a chicken coop bought a tractor supply, I have been out of commission do to heart surgery and my grandson has been helping me. He had a heat light in the coop for the young birds and he loosened the roof to run wire not thinking anything would get through the 10 x 10 or climb the coop but as we know now that is what happened. The coon came back the next night and tried the big girls coop but we have spikes about 2 inches apart all around the pen so he cant dig in. A new 10 x 10 is needed and roof needs re screwed and I can start again Im just upset because the little ones were ameraucana's delaware's and easter egger's all females 6 of them just makes me sick.

 

[Criticalicious]

Sorry for your losses. Electric fence around the entire setup will help prevent raccoons from getting close enough to try your other defenses. And the gaps in dog kennel fencing are big enough for raccoons to stick their arms through. Cover the bottom 3-4 feet of the dog kennel with additional 1/2" or 1/4" hardware cloth to protect chickens from getting snatched.

 

[ArthurLedd]

HELLO thanks for the reply and no chicken wire, I had a 10 x 10 dog kennel around a chicken coop bought a tractor supply, I have been out of commission do to heart surgery and my grandson has been helping me. He had a heat light in the coop for the young birds and he loosened the roof to run wire not thinking anything would get through the 10 x 10 or climb the coop but as we know now that is what happened. The coon came back the next night and tried the big girls coop but we have spikes about 2 inches apart all around the pen so he cant dig in. A new 10 x 10 is needed and roof needs re screwed and I can start again Im just upset because the little ones were ameraucana's delaware's and easter egger's all females 6 of them just makes me sick.

Sorry for your losses. Electric fence around the entire setup will help prevent raccoons from getting close enough to try your other defenses. And the gaps in dog kennel fencing are big enough for raccoons to stick their arms through. Cover the bottom 3-4 feet of the dog kennel with additional 1/2" or 1/4" hardware cloth to protect chickens from getting snatched.

I was thinking about the electric fence wonder if i put the electric to the dog kennel at night when birds are locked up that might do the trick