Two Raccoons & One Possum in 3 Nights

[OzarkGuinea]

I've had my cheap harbor freight trap deployed near my coop since Dec. of 2006, and the only thing I'd caught in it was one possum. But in the last two nights I caught a big old raccoon each night. I used some old guinea eggs as bait. I put one near the front of the trap so they could get it easy, then put the other in the back so they'd have to go over the trigger to get it. Wonder what I'll get tonight.

The first raccoon was pretty docile, but the second one was going crazy. It tore up the trap pretty good, I had to spend about 15 minutes fixing it to get it working again. I'm glad I had the trap out, I probably would have never known about the coons until they had killed some of my hens.

UPDATE:

I got a big mean possum last night. What the heck! Is it just that time of the year or something? :|

 

[lurky]

What did you do with the coons? I am lucky so far, nothing but a chippy messin around our turf. I dont know what i would do, kill it or relocate it. I hope i never have to decide. I love my chickens!!!!!!!

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

I saw some posts earlier this month about shooting vs drowning trapped animals.

This is my own issue, but I think drowning is about the least humane way of killing something, and there is no way I could do that.

When I lived in Indiana, I made a space in my chest freezer big enough for the trap, and I dropped it into the freezer. Having almost died of hypothermia on a deer hunt one time, I know from personal experience that it is not a bad way to go.

Recently, I have found that CB caps (a kind of bullet) in a .22 rifle work the best (I no longer have a large freezer). The rifle allows me the ability to put the barrel inside the trap so I don't tear up the trap, and the CB cap is nearly silent. So far, I have dispatched 3 coons with no problems; each one got a bullet right between the eyes and died instantly.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

My old neighbor used to "take care" of raccoons and possums for me. ( I have since stopped putting pet food out on the backporch step). The CB caps just sounded like a twig being snapped to me. Quick and effective.

 

[OzarkGuinea]

They were dispatched with a .30-30 shot to the head.

 

[MayberrySaint]

I have to agree...drowning seems like a very cruel way of killing an animal. A shot to the head is much more humane.
With that said, I gas mine. I use a garbage can with a lid that has a hole cut in it. I hook a pipe to my tailpipe and run the pipe to the garbage can...place the trap in the garbage can, close the lid, start the car and in a few minutes they are dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. This is painless...I developed it when I had a large commercial pig farm and just couldn't stand hitting piglets on the head.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Mayberry, that is a great idea, but how do you get a 35 lb snarling, snapping mature male coon out of the trap, into a trash can, and get the lid on without getting eaten alive or having it escape?

I agree, carbon monoxide would be a very humane way to kill something. Perhaps I will build a little box for my trap, so I don't have to let them out of the trap to get it done.

I really like your idea.

As for hitting it with a .30-.30, I would be concerned that the bullet would hurt the cage as it passed through the animal. Also, I live in the city limits, and having a high-power rifle discharge would probably attract some attention (although, I do live in the poor part of town, and it is not uncommon to hear pistol shots).

What a resourceful bunch of people the folks on this forum are! That is one of the main reasons I enjoy hanging out here!

 

[MayberrySaint]

I just put the trap and animal in the can together...there is no way I am going to try and get a coon or possum out of the trap...

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Once cages coons are not very friendly. I've only caught one, but I didn't want to get very close to the cage.

I'm thinking of killing two birds with one stone... or maybe two animals with one product.

I saw this about 2 years ago and thought it would be a great way to cull chickens and to dispatch coons:
http://www.undergroundexterm.com/

Same as the ideas above, but an easy way to transport the gas. I may whip up my own that is better suited for my needs. Maybe a larger pipe / tube that can feed into a large garbage can and feed a lot more gas quicker.

I figure people die of carbon dioxide poisoning all the time and can't even tell they are getting poisoned... maybe it is dumb logic, but this leaves me to believe that this would be an easy / humane way of culling a chicken / dispatching a pest.

Any thought on a new car vs. an old car? What about a diesel truck vs. a little unleaded Honda?

 

[Barb Schuetz]

I don't know that you'd want to eat a chicken that has been gassed. The gas enters the bloodstream which flows through the whole body. I dunno- just seems ucky to me.