What do I do about this?!?

[ILoveDaffy]

Monday night we woke up at 10:15 to a raccoon fight in a 3 story tree.It appears there is a large family living in that tree, including mamas and babies! We think one male tried to touch the other's babies, which resulted in a fight. There was squeaking for 30 more minutes, then 2 large males,(we think,it was dark) fell out of the tree, rolled over, and ran off! How the heck are they alive?!? THEY FELL THREE FREAKING STORIES?!?!?!?!?! Any way, what I want to know, is will they most likely try to teach their babies to hunt on my chickens? How can I prevent that? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Phantom_k9]

Monday night we woke up at 10:15 to a raccoon fight in a 3 story tree.It appears there is a large family living in that tree, including mamas and babies! We think one male tried to touch the other's babies, which resulted in a fight. There was squeaking for 30 more minutes, then 2 large males,(we think,it was dark) fell out of the tree, rolled over, and ran off! How the heck are they alive?!? THEY FELL THREE FREAKING STORIES?!?!?!?!?! Any way, what I want to know, is will they most likely try to teach their babies to hunt on my chickens? How can I prevent that? Any advice is much appreciated.

Unfortunately Racoons will hunt / attack chickens. I'm not sure where you live / what you can and can not do, but where I live (as long as you are being safe) you can shoot animals that pose a threat to your flock. If you can't shoot them, or bring yourself to (believe me I understand, not everyone can pull the trigger), you might need to look into setting up some live traps for them. We use sardines and or tuna for our traps, and wire them to the very back of the trap (I can attach a picture of what I mean if you would like). Keep in mind that a lot of places have laws against relocating / releasing animals such as Racoons, Possums, and Stray Animals, so if anything you could take them to your local animal control, or call them for advice.

If that isn't an option, maybe animal control could help to relocate / remove them? There are also a lot of private companies that do the same thing, and may not ask any questions if that's a concern (i.e. if you may not have registered your birds, and don't want animal control to start snooping around).

Take the fight as a wake up call. Not every chicken tender gets such a heads up when it comes to predators. Take action now, and try to remove the racoons asap. Think of it like a wasp nest; squish it before it grows to the size of a basketball. Sounds like you have at least 3 adults, and a bunch of babies. Try to keep count of how many you get rid of, and always prepare for more. Just because you know there are at least 3 doesn't mean that's all you have. I wish you the best! And good luck!

 

[Hei 20]

Monday night we woke up at 10:15 to a raccoon fight in a 3 story tree.It appears there is a large family living in that tree, including mamas and babies! We think one male tried to touch the other's babies, which resulted in a fight. There was squeaking for 30 more minutes, then 2 large males,(we think,it was dark) fell out of the tree, rolled over, and ran off! How the heck are they alive?!? THEY FELL THREE FREAKING STORIES?!?!?!?!?! Any way, what I want to know, is will they most likely try to teach their babies to hunt on my chickens? How can I prevent that? Any advice is much appreciated.

Monday night we woke up at 10:15 to a raccoon fight in a 3 story tree.It appears there is a large family living in that tree, including mamas and babies! We think one male tried to touch the other's babies, which resulted in a fight. There was squeaking for 30 more minutes, then 2 large males,(we think,it was dark) fell out of the tree, rolled over, and ran off! How the heck are they alive?!? THEY FELL THREE FREAKING STORIES?!?!?!?!?! Any way, what I want to know, is will they most likely try to teach their babies to hunt on my chickens? How can I prevent that? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Phantom_k9]

Ok, I'm gonna print that out and make it a poster. Lol

 

[Chickenman MAN]

They kill. Set traps or shoot them. Perhaps get a specialist animal control company.

Monday night we woke up at 10:15 to a raccoon fight in a 3 story tree.It appears there is a large family living in that tree, including mamas and babies! We think one male tried to touch the other's babies, which resulted in a fight. There was squeaking for 30 more minutes, then 2 large males,(we think,it was dark) fell out of the tree, rolled over, and ran off! How the heck are they alive?!? THEY FELL THREE FREAKING STORIES?!?!?!?!?! Any way, what I want to know, is will they most likely try to teach their babies to hunt on my chickens? How can I prevent that? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[Hei 20]

Ok, I'm gonna print that out and make it a poster. Lol

I borrowed the image from a card in Amazon. I thought it was hilarious
I don't think you will be able to enlarge it that big. You are. Better off buying the card then take a photo or scan it.

 

[Phantom_k9]

I borrowed the image from a card in Amazon. I thought it was hilarious
I don't think you will be able to enlarge it that big. You are. Better off buying the card then take a photo or scan it.

Dang, I'll try to upscale the image, but thanks for the heads up

 

[Rldad1]

You must get rid of them or you will be seeing them for a very long time (as long as you have chickens). Raccoons carry rabies so they are a health threat. If you trap and kill one wear gloves and try not to touch the body. If you have dogs or cats, be sure their shots are up to date. If you are afraid to dispatch or just don't want to do so, get someone to do it for you. If I had a tree in my yard with that many raccoons in it, I would be out their with a chainsaw.

 

[cmom]

They kill. Set traps or shoot them. Perhaps get a specialist animal control company.

I agree. I would catch and eliminate. Believe me there are plenty to replace them. Too close for comfort for me. I called a wildlife rescue. I caught an owl that had killed some of my birds and they came and got it. I have used a live trap and let them take the bait for a couple of days then set the trap, caught...

 

[CluckerFamily]

I would get rid of them or let the hunters know that live nearby that train their dogs for raccoon hunting.