What's the best way to get rid of raccoons?

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I agree with that. If one of my birds gets killed from a coon, its my fault for not making the run/coop secure enough. The only time I had a racoon kill a bird was when I locked the coop up at night and one of the roosters wasnt in and I didnt notice it.

 

[mener6896]

my coop and run are pretty secure, when they had the full massacre was the night I accidentally forgot to put them up after free ranging. I learned my lesson. We most definitely want to kill the coons, I just didn't know if we should trap them first. I think that sounds like the best bet - put traps out then shoot in the morning if they got anything. That way we won't have to stay up all night.

I just got 8- 20 week old pullets, and 10- week old chicks to replace what I lost. I would love to continue to hatch, but they got all my roos!!

 

[Ozark Chicken]

Spring is usually the worst time. Hungry mamma coons and young ones trying to relocate. We trap and kill (humanely) about a dozen every spring. We have shot them at night before, but I refuse to wound, cripple or "scare" them away. So trapping is the best alternative for us. Relocating Raccoons is illegal everywhere that I am aware of and for good reason.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

Quote:
I agree with that. If one of my birds gets killed from a coon, its my fault for not making the run/coop secure enough. The only time I had a racoon kill a bird was when I locked the coop up at night and one of the roosters wasnt in and I didnt notice it.

I agree! I have a very secure run that my birds are locked in at night. I have lost 1 bird to racoons, and it was my fault because I did not lock up the pen. Predator proofing your pen is the best way to avoid loss to predators, and you will have a lot less stress in your life. I suggest electric fence to keep racoons away, works on other predators too!

 

[Karen_at_LittleBrook]

Nature is what it is. We can't expect wild animals not to hunt for food... its nature. We need to protect our pets/chickens as best we can without in-humane treatment of wildlife... right? Since I have built my coop (and my chickens are not even here yet) I have seen many preditory animals in my yard and flying overhead. I'm worried. But I'm going to take all the steps I can to keep the coop & run secure without killing off all the wildlife. JMO

 

[DaKid]

Raccoon Stew I would say ...................Im have the same problem not sure if it's a coon or possium but these last 2 weeks I lost 6-8 larges hens and roo's so I thinking coon last yr I was losting some eggs which where possiums which I did get .............MMMM POSSIUMS STEW IS GOOD TOO

But this time I thinking coon at 1st I was thinking fox or wide dogs but there a 6.5 ft high fence and I seem the feathers next to the fence by a big oak tree so I thinking more of the coon . set 2 large traps but no luck this past week ............guess not since they have a good food supplied for a while But I'm still baiting the traps with some fish hopefully this next week I with have coon stew

dirt rotten buggers ...........

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Well, raccoons don't seem to have any natural predators.....at least not in the city (unless you count cars) so you really can't just let the wildlife balance itself out
I consider it my job to keep the population in check when necessary.

You ever seen a hungry dog guard their food??? Well I'm guarding mine. It's only natural

 

[DaKid]

Well, raccoons don't seem to have any natural predators.....at least not in the city (unless you count cars) so you really can't just let the wildlife balance itself out
I consider it my job to keep the population in check when necessary.

You ever seen a hungry dog guard their food??? Well I'm guarding mine. It's only natural

Last edited by Tala (Today

ya ur right
but I to live in the city for years with Coons and Skunks never mine dogs , and my kid came home a few times naked as a jay bird cuz there where playing with a city skunk and plenty of times we end up having a few coons get into the garage shed too which me and da father-in-law had to deal with , but now I’m living in the country it's just nature , I have to deal with Harks - Skunks- Coons - Wild dogs – Foxes - Coyotes- Possums and even Deer and wild Turkeys which run all around and though the my 3.5 areas of wood land Property, which is a lot different for the city or suburbs which is where it is not there natural habit so they have to do what they need to do to survive, in the woodland country this is where they live so any food source is game to them , be we have to do what is best for our pets and not the wild game , I like to catch and removal them first if not some times I catch them and raise them in a pen /cage , and at times WELL I just do what I need to do....



But you can’t compare the city to the country
In the city we drove the wild life out or corner them so they are just survivors or stone and brick and buildings
In the woodland country this is there nature habit and there again just trying to survive so food is food to them it up to us to make our pets and food sources safe for predators.



but I still say stew​

 

[possumpatrol]

a fairly good way to get rid of raccoons, if you live in a rural area at least, is to ask around for some one who has a coon dog. most of these guys would be more then happy to come run the coons and take care of them for you. any coon dog worth his salt should be able to track down a coon from the coop and tree it. it would not take long for the population to take a distinct down turn and the other coons tend to stay away. However, it is a never ending battle and coons will show back up sooner or later if there is something for them to eat. If you have someone with a good dog it will save you a lot of time sitting in the lawn chair with your rifle and the catch rate per night will be much higher then with a box trap.

 

[Mysto]

I had a racoon attack too - so sorry for your loss.

A couple suggestions that have worked well for me after my attack:
- blinking christmas lights strung around the coops that are on a timer. They start blinking at dusk/turn off at dawn. Supposedly the racoons don't like the light because they mess with their eyes/focus?
- powdered/crystalized coyote urine. I ordered online (don't remember the website and don't want to know how they collect it) but it comes in small plastic bags (so you don't have to touch the product). Hang the bags around the hen house/yard about 2 feet off the ground. Coyotes are a natural predator of racoons so they won't stick around when they smell it.

Otherwise, I'd say, get someone to shoot to kill