urgent help with raccoons trapped loose in coop

[tryingtohaveitall]

Long story short, we've had a terrible problem with raccoons killing my chickens. They actually broke a plexiglass run door to get in and kill my chickens. My chickens free range and will (wisely) no longer go in the coop at night so the door just stays open so they can lay eggs and eat/water as they wish. We set a live animal trap and this morning there was a raccoon in it. As I went to deal with that raccoon, I heard a noise in our coop and a raccoon appeared in the doorway. After I screamed, I slammed the door shut and bolted it, thus trapping the coon inside. When my husband went to deal with it a few hours later, there wound up being a second raccoon in there. It's probably an 8x8' coop. How on earth to safely dispatch of them without getting bitten?

TIA for your helpful suggestions!

 

[HEChicken]

My solution would involve some kind of fire power.....

 

[TeamChaos]

What are the sides of your run made of? Any chance someone can get a shot at them without having to go in with them?

 

[centrarchid]

My method is a .22 rifle using short shells. Penetration will kill but will not cause so much damage coming out into structure if it does. Go for clean head shot. I have dog as backup. More likely than not at least one of coons is juvenile. I have tagged three adult sows this year and one was in similar situation to yours except not my coop so greater care was taken to prevent damage. Do not shoot your self in the excitement.

 

[zazouse]

bang bang by by

 

[centrarchid]

Make certain you have a clean shot. Avoid shooting through wire and do not shoot through walls. Poor shooting makes it more unpleasant than it needs to be.

 

[tryingtohaveitall]

When friend arrived with guns, the coons in the coop were gone. The one in the trap was dispatched of with a .22. I guess we may have to go about taking care of this problem 1 by 1. Thanks for your help.

 

[Zane K]

You should roast the raccoon and feed it to your chickens.