Raccoons and Chickens
Warning - there is a graphic photo later on that shows a dead chicken. You might want to browse away now if that sort of thing bothers you.
A few days ago I let the chickens out in the morning. I checked their food and water like I always do, and counted them like I usually do. One was missing. I'd counted them the night before when I tucked them in, and all had been present and accounted for.
Well, that happens sometimes. A bird will be in the fenced in run, or hanging out in a nest box, or standing and contemplating her toes.
So, I did a search and couldn't find her. I *did* find a big pile of feathers. Their water dish had been overturned, too. Not a good sign at all. The next morning one of the roosters was dead in the coop, with his head mostly torn off. That usually means raccoons.
Our chicken house is a slapped together affair. It has lots of holes and access points. We patched it up as best we could, and set a couple of live traps.
That very night, we caught a huge raccoon. The next night, we caught the smaller raccon shown in the photos. And although no raccoons got into the chicken house, we lost yet another hen, as you can see below. She was killed by a raccoon reaching through the fencing.
Apparently the chicken was *very* curious about the raccoon in the cage. So much so that she wandered close to the fence and was nabbed by another raccoon.
Last night as I was walking to the chicken house to tuck them in (and set the traps - we set them after the chickens are locked up so we don't inadvertently trap a chicken - been there, done that), a hen came screaming out of the chicken house with a raccoon hot on her heels. I screamed at the raccoon (and cussed) and he ran up a tree. We caught the hen and placed her back into the house.
This morning both traps were sprung but there was no raccoon inside either one of them. Raccoons are clever enough to reach in through the walls of the trap and get the bait. We're going to put hardware cloth on the back portion (the bait end) of the trap so they can still see and smell the peanut butter but not poke their little paws in through the sides to get to it.
While I absolutely positively hate losing hens (and a roo) to a raccoon, you do have to wonder how utterly stupid a hen has to be to walk right over to the fence where a raccoon is positioned. Imagine the following scenario. Give the raccoon a New York stage whisper and the hen a voice like Aunt Bea.
Raccoon: Psst! Hey. Hey, you.
Hen: ooooohhhh? (hens mumble a lot)
R: Yeah, you. C'mere.
H: -mutters uncertainly-
R: C'mere. I got something to show ya.
H: oooohhhhhh!
R: Ya gotta come real close, see? 'Cause my arms are real short, see?
H: SQUAWK!!!
Labels: chickens
posted by Leslie @ 1:08 PM
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13 Comments:
sooo sorry to hear about your roo and hens...I've lost a few to coon in the coop...not a pretty sight..
..but have to tell you, I admit to laughing out loud whilst reading the end of your post! (and you are right, my hens mumble like Aunt B all the time!)
...glad you nabbed the culprits...
Sorry. I lost half a dozen ducks one year to two enterprising raccoons (over the course of three nights while we desperately tried to patch the holes). What made me mad is that they didn't even bother eating their quarry, just bit their heads off.
I like your approach (including humor) instead.
Leslie,
Those raccoons are pretty ingenious devils! They have done a number on several things around our place!
My mother-in-law has been having the same issue the past several weeks. Early on we caught one raccoon in the live trap, but they seemed to wisen up and started either getting the bait without setting the trap off or just avoiding the trap all together. My MIL isn't convinced the most recent victims are from a raccoon though.
Even so, my husband just fixed her up with your can and peanut butter trick (we even used a Diet Rite can) and they are out placing it in the live trap as I type. I appreciate the tip - wish us happy baiting!
By the way, we enjoyed the commentary at the end of your post alot.
Cyndy, we are *still* losing hens and catching raccoons. We're down to two hens and a single roo. A lot of losses and a lot of learning.
Simpleton, I know the feeling. We've decided to abandon patching and to design and build a new coop. The more we suffer losses, the more we realize how very vulnerable our chooks are in that coop.
June, I hope the peanut butter can thing works for you. We had the bait stolen out of both traps last night but neither was sprung. That was disappointing. We're up to a total of six caught, though. I never dreamed there were so many around here! Good luck with your own efforts.
Our dogs do a wonderful job with coons,,,but they have also done a job on our chickens..lol
Hi Everyone,
I don't have chickens, I have tortoises, which raccoons unfortunately regard as a form of sushi. What kind of fencing do you use? I have a tortoise pen with 14 gauge welded wire fencing with 2 inch by four inch holes. I am beginning to worry that it is not adequate protection. Any hints? Thanks! Jim P.
Hi Jim, thanks for your comment. My chickens' run is 2x4 welded wire and that is good for keeping raccoons out IF they can't go over or dig under. Also you might want to put a small "inner fence" inside the larger fence, to keep the tortoises from going all the way to the welded wire fence. Raccoons will reach in through the fence, kill their prey, and pull what bits they can out through the fencing.
Your comment probably won't get a lot of visibility and replies here. A great place to ask questions like yours is the bulletin board forums at Homesteading Today: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com
That's real interesting about raccoons eating tortoises. What do you raise tortoises for?
Hi Leslie,
I have turtles and tortoises as pets. I have acquired other peoples unwanted pets and now I have 15. Raccoons ravage turtle collections and serious keeper have electric fences, which isn't practical for me. I searched the internet for guidance on predator fencing and the best source I found was this group. I have a two-foot tall wooden fence around the base of my tortoise pen to prevent grabbing incidents.
Best Regards,
Jim
I hate coons with a purple passion so we exist in a permanent state of war. Hadn't had a problem with them in a while then they killed my Barred Rock rooster last week and it not even an hour after dark before I got home to close up.
Bait the life trap with something that has a good odor. I used a can of tuna in oil that I poked a few holes in. Wire the can inside the trap then slide the whole thing inside of a trash can or barrel so that they can only get at the bait by walking into the trap. Wire the can in place so they can't roll it around.
.....Alan.
Alan, we used peanut butter in the bottom of a soda can (flip the can over, cut off the bottom, and put the peanut butter on that "scooped out" indentation on the exterior of the bottom of the can). That worked great to attract them. We wired them in place thanks to the advice of a friend, and I'm glad we did. We had a cage knocked about a bit so put bricks on it but your idea of the barrel or trash can is even better. We'll do that next time. Thanks for the suggestions!
Hi, we raise bob whites and have had our dealings with these unruly critters for years. It's a learning experience to say the least. They use to roost in the attic...we finally got them out of there...anyway, they have just absolutely masacured our birds on several occassions. We have bumped up the type of meshing around the pens. Our next idea is to screw down a container of the smelliest cat food with just holes punched into the can in the trap...we've trapped 4 coons, but now they are wise. we'll see how this works tonight.
They sure can do a lot of damage, can't they? You had raccoons in the attic?? Or bob whites?
I've heard they can tear through chicken wire like it's tissue paper.
found this site while looking for good raccoon bait. did NOT realize what a problem they are for chickens. we live out in country, shenandoah valley of virginia. we have foxes. but I've been very lucky that they don't come as close to the house as my hens - usually. have lost about 2 we think to foxes. then I had the big fluff of feathers out just past my backyard. It was my big rhode island red rooster. searched for his body. found the next day. husband said it must have been coon. then, the day after that, I am walking out to the barn, at noon, and look, there is a huge raccoon sitting in that same area. then he starts walking like he's real drunk. so I know immediately he's rabid. noon, being first clue, and falling over as he walked. so, we shot him. but now I've got more hens disappearing. so am going to set our have a heart trap, but do not want to catch our skunks - which are fairly friendly, and eat the cat food right next to the barn cats.
I was the animal control officer for my county for nearly a decade, and around here, raccoons are the number one rabies vector. so everybody BE CAREFUL!
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