# racoon attack



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

A raccoon killed 4 of my chickens. I think the only way he could have gotten in was thru a space where the roof wire meets the wall wire there was an unattached area. I just don't know how he could squeeze in an opening like that.

They were all killed and left. Why do they do that? Can't they just take one and go?

I have one here who's wrapped in a towel dying.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

I'm so so sorry, I hate raccoons for that very reason, they are killers, plain and simple. We lost an entire flock to an attack and it has taken years for us to try again. My condolences to you.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Zamora, Your whole flock? 
I've had chickens 8years without a problem. I guess I'll be spending the afternoon going over everything . It's so humid right now that standing outside gets you soaked.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

Yes, the entire flock, we had 22 chickens and one roo. They kill simply for the joy of killing. Any other predator that I know of will kill and eat, not a 
****, they just enjoy killing. I get furious every time I think about it. Those poor birds didn't stand a chance.

If I were you, I'd do everything in my power to reinforce the coop, it WILL come back. It's a game to them.


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

I'm so sorry... How's the one in the towel?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

How awful for you and the birds. 

I agree with Zamora, it will come back. Probably tonight. I had it happen years ago in my Guinea coop. I found the spot and fixed it and just because I had it I wrapped a second layer of poultry netting all around their coop. When I checked the next morning I found one of the layers of wire actually broken but it gave up at that point and moved to the Silkie coop. It actually scaled the outside pen and tried to go in where the roof met the wall but that space was too small. The next night it gained access in to the outside pen, scaled the pen and wall ( I found the paw prints) where it tried to get in through the soffits.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

There are lots of nasty predators out there.

Up here owls will come into the coop and eat a bunch of chicken heads... But nothing else, just the heads.

Little weasels will make a coop look like a chainsaw massacre. 

Horrid... Predators are just horrid. So very sorry for your loss.


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

I read somewhere that a **** can squeeze thru a 4" x 4" opening. Have no idea how true it is, but thought I should mention it.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

cas, just did a quick search and what you read is true. The article I just read said if they can fit their heads in the hole then the body will fit. Hard to believe, really. My husband killed one that was hanging from my dog's neck, the thing was way heavier than I thought it would.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

I'm so sorry seminolewind. Set traps and keep a watchful eye out throughout the night if your able to do so. Raccoon knows where to get a free meal so it will be back. I hope you catch it. How's the one you have wrapped in the towel doing?


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

The one in the towel, my Laverne, was dying so my hubby helped her along. He buried them all. 
Of course the raccoon took my two most cuddly chickens. 

I spent this afternoon in the rain making sure that other pen is all sealed. I will be out there checking because I assume that thing will be back. 

That's where this one got in, where the roof met the wall of the pen. 
I guess I may have to trap it. It will stick around, right? Or do they go away?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

They only go away when they find they can't get in. After the attack in my Guinea coop it came back three more nights trying to break in to one of the coops.

I closed my soffits up with boards shoved up against the roof and in between the rafters. I had to pound them in to place since I cut them tight, then screwed them down so that they couldn't be pulled out.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

chickenmommy said:


> I'm so sorry seminolewind. Set traps and keep a watchful eye out throughout the night if your able to do so. Raccoon knows where to get a free meal so it will be back. I hope you catch it. How's the one you have wrapped in the towel doing?


Chickenmommy, I hear you had a raccoon take a chick.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

Yes my prettiest lavender pullet. Then came in the middle of the day and tried to take another. Since we disrupted his meal he came back in the same night and we were waiting. He didn't have a happy ending lol


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

I hope you catch it and don't have any more loss.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Well it's 1246 and I hear screaming outside ( did I tell you how fast I can jump out of bed , race thru the house out the door into my shoes and run?) Yes my big jersey roo screams like a girl. I think he decided to sleep on top of a little dog house against the fence and his tail got grabbed and he starts screaming and 2 polish fall of the roost and are hiding . No one injured thank God.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Oh good grief! 

So sorry... No chance of you sleeping well for the next week!!


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

***** are probably the most persistent predators around here. They are very smart animals that rival the IQ's of the CROW. 
A **** won't just kill a bird or two,as has been stated already, they will kill every bird they can get to and leave the bloody carnage behind eating very little of anything..
If you have 1 ****...you probably have a family of them and that makes it tuff to eliminate.
Go around your coop and look for any hole that a young bird could possibly get out thru....a **** can get in there. They can take a weak spot and work on it making it bigger,..they are strong little animals.
When you find the small holes or cracks in the coop close that area off with some good "cage wire" or you can board it up with plywood if thats what you got.
***** can also climb very good, make sure there is no access on the top anywhere.
If you still have the ***** coming back, try running two strands of hot wire around the coop,..keep the firsat strand down low,...say 8 to 10 inch's off the ground and run the 2nd one about 1 foot above that....
When the **** tries to climb he will hit either or both strands and get the shocking results.
Now I have had ***** try to come back even after all that. The last "tool" I used was a little devious but works. Hang some short strips of aluminum foil from the hot wire,..smear peanut butter on the strips. ***** love peanut butter and they go for it......thats usually the last time you will see that family,...they wont come back.

The peanut butter strips also work to keep Deer out of your garden too.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Wow. Thanks. I ordered a trap. I spent all day sealing up what ever I found. Let's see if he gets in tonight.
I'm trying to find those cattle panels, well actually goat panels that are 16 feet long and sturdy . I need the ones with the smaller openings. I guess I'll end up going to feed stores one by one.

The wire across the top of the pen was not fastened to the next piece, just overlapped. From never having a problem for 8 years, I just let it go and it was under a tarp. I spent all day making sure they were all shut and fastened to eachother. I think I have to re do the whole pen with hardware cloth. 

Alaskan, I may get some sleep, I'm usually up till 3 am anyway and you know how you get tuned into certain noises? I still want to get some kind of motion alarm. Does anyone think a baby monitor would be good?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Baby monitors vary widely.. Especially as to their range.

I am sure that there is one out there that will fit your needs.

Another option would be game cameras, or motion activated lights.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I was thinking of what to get . Motion lights I may not see lying in bed. Alarms require perfect setup, and prevention of false alarms. I'm still unsure of which one to get. Then there's my favorite, the driveway alarm.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

I have double head motion sensor spot lights set up on mine now since the dog attack we had earlier in the year......they do help some but not how you think........A determined **** or other predator will ignore the lights as we have found out,..but it will be brightly lit up in the case you need to shoot the dayum thing. So yeah they do help some.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Oh I have also tried the "Live Trap" critter traps......used a can of tuna or dog food as the bait....caught several ***** like that. But then again after you have caught 'em you need to dispose of them somehow........Thanx Winchester.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

bait those scoundrels with corn for a week and fatten them up. then set a bunch of traps using whatever for bait. when you trap them, get the grease hot. there is nothing more primal than eating your opposition 

sorry for your loss though. been there. got a few shirts. the thing about nature is, well, you have to contend with it at times. don't let it keep you down- get stronger!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Thanks Roscoe. Nature sometimes really sucks. 

I ordered a baby monitor. If it is not doing what I need, I'll send it back. I got the idea from a member on another forum. The monitor says it has a range of 2000 feet. I only need 100 feet, and from my bedroom it's a straight shot. I'll have to see how big the range is that it will pick up noise. I will probably end up buying the 2 headed flood light as well. Yes light is nice. This raccoon , unfortunately, will be meeting my 38 special or Ruger 22 long nose. It will be SSS. I think the laws with wild life are pretty strict here. Normally I would have driven him to the woods. But he killed 2 of my obsessively loved Polish who were on the list to become house chickens after the dog departs. 

The first pic is Lola, the rest is of Laverne. She was a single from a hatch.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

I'm sorry seminolewind. Do you have any other chickens in mind that would make good house chickens?


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Yes. I have a Houdan that insists on being picked up and snuggled. Then she pecks me hard. She whines all the time she sees me. But hubby doesn't especially like her. She's my little psycho. I do have a silkie roo who likes me picking him up.
But Lola and Laverne were special in your face type birds. I still have Lola s mother Princessfluffybritches.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

I'm so sorry that you lost your favorite birds but hopefully you have thwarted any further attempts from the marauders. I have prayed that we don't have that problem but I know that eventually it will happen again even though we have taken all steps to prevent it.

On another note, found yet ANOTHER grey rat snake in the coop last night. Luckily we found him before he consumed too many eggs this time. He went on a LONG vacation!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Snakes? Eating eggs? 

I got my trap today. I got a baby monitor, I'll let you know how that goes. 

I've learned one sad very important lesson. I had no problems with predators for 8 years. So when I built these 2 pens, some things were not finished due to procrastination, like the top on the pens was not secured like it should have been, and a tarp was over fence wire that was not secure but overlapped. 

So when building always expect the worst will happen that night. The predators are just waiting for dark and they have all night to figure things out.


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## WhitecatFarm (Oct 10, 2014)

I had a **** wipe out a whole flock of Old English Bantams. Then she found a way into the main coop and left a mess for me , I caught her in the nest boxes , and the shotgun took care of her. Another Large female replaced her and again she was shot in the coop. I finally go the coop tight, although it took several tries. I would fix one hole and she would find another.


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## jn4 (Jun 21, 2012)

Yes....they are most persistent


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

There has been no security breech for the last few days. I'll be working on the pen, putting up hardware cloth, etc because they're silkies. 10 will have a nice big run 16x16 . 

It seems that every time I do any hanging of wire fencing, I bash my scalp into some prongs. 2 days ago , I did it and it bled more than my usual times. Hubby put antibiotic cream on it . But boy that hurt all night! Hopefully with new wire on top of the pens, It will eliminate those spots.

Then I have an A frame coop I constantly bang my head on because the eaves are so low. I'm ready to burn it down. I just can't deal with the $^&*$## anymore! Hopefully at some point, it can be a hospital cage and not have permanent residents.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

WhitecatFarm said:


> I had a **** wipe out a whole flock of Old English Bantams. Then she found a way into the main coop and left a mess for me , I caught her in the nest boxes , and the shotgun took care of her. Another Large female replaced her and again she was shot in the coop. I finally go the coop tight, although it took several tries. I would fix one hole and she would find another.


Hi. I don't know you yet, so hopefully I will!
I completely see what you mean. Patch one hole and they find another. Like rats.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> There has been no security breech for the last few days. I'll be working on the pen, putting up hardware cloth, etc because they're silkies. 10 will have a nice big run 16x16 .
> 
> It seems that every time I do any hanging of wire fencing, I bash my scalp into some prongs. 2 days ago , I did it and it bled more than my usual times. Hubby put antibiotic cream on it . But boy that hurt all night! Hopefully with new wire on top of the pens, It will eliminate those spots.
> 
> Then I have an A frame coop I constantly bang my head on because the eaves are so low. I'm ready to burn it down. I just can't deal with the $^&*$## anymore! Hopefully at some point, it can be a hospital cage and not have permanent residents.


I wear a ball cap outside all the time and bang my head on things I don't see. Maybe we both need one of these:


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

That is a very good idea. We are going to remove the saggy wire, and replace it with sturdy horse fencing, and that may raise things up a bit. If not, I do need one of those helmets. I know it's worse with baseball caps.

Now, if I could just stop losing my balance and landing on my tush


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Landing on your tush is significantly better than landing on your head.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

seeing as how wooden pallets are essentially free and readily available in most cases, i wonder if one could construct a coop out of them? it would be one ugly monstrosity but probably bomb proof


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Yea, you could call it the slum coop. I've seen all types that people are proud of. But if someone who builds a coop and isn't hammer nail and saw savvy, they have every reason to be proud of what they build.

I knew this man once who built a coop like a gingerbread house and had a brick sidewalk and landscaping, and wondered if he would really keep chickens in it. Even had a copula .


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

zamora said:


> I wear a ball cap outside all the time and bang my head on things I don't see. Maybe we both need one of these:


AND I found another wire gash on my scalp last night.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Shhesh! Either start walking hunched over... Or buy a hard hat.

Protect those brains!!!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Believe it or not, I do walk in there hunched down. It's when I forget.................
Most of the danger will be coming down and being replaced taller.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 20, 2012)

seminolewind said:


> AND I found another wire gash on my scalp last night.


When was your last Tetanus shot?


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Oooh, good point, down south has lots of Tetanus... Nasty disease.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

We have been disposing of ***** for several years now. We had 2 pear trees in our back yard and they love them. I know gramps has killed 7 or 8. When he discovered we had a bod cat and had a live trap set up we caught another **** before we caught the cat. We've releive a skunk of his "duties" on earth and a possum. The next thing our camera "saw" was a wild hog and the fox who visits frequently. Our coop is completely covered with chicken wire is buried under the ground on top of a rock footing. We put rabbit wire around the bottom half as reinforcement. So far, we've had mice in the coop but nothing else. We've lost a few to hawks when they are out of the coop. It's getting close to pecan harvest and we're hearing lotsa crows. I don't know how dangerous they are for my flock.
P.s. a tetanus shot is a great idea! I'm going to see if I'm up to date next time I see the doctor.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I like the crows. They chase the Hawks away. They steal eggs. It's worth having them.
You sound like you need prison fencing to keep the animals out. That's a lot. 

I got a tetanus shot a year ago. I went to the walk in clinic and they said they can't give me one because I'm not injured. So I showed them all my scratches and they gave me one. I would have ripped a scab off to get it, LOL.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> I would have ripped a scab off to get it, LOL.


You are hilarious and sound like me!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

And they billed the insurance company $265!!!!

Now I was forced to have a primary doctor for the first time in my life. He takes care of everything and the staff sets up the appointments for anyone I need to see outside his scope.


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## solidwoods (Apr 5, 2015)

My suggestion is to use a live trap. Cut a hole in the bottom wall of the coop and fasten the trap to the hole (on the inside of the coop). The predator sees the hole and thinks they have found a way into the coop.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Solidwoods, first of Hi! That sounds like a very good idea. And I'll bet that raccoon falls for that bigtime. I haven't had time to set up the trap yet, hopefully this week. Gotta find a nice place for a hole.


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## solidwoods (Apr 5, 2015)

Howdy
I have no idea what your coop design is like but I'd suggest locating the trap in an area where you don't have to step over it since the outside predator doesn't care where they find a way in to the coop.
And securing the trap to the wall is important because if it comes loose the varmint may be able to go around the trap.
Good luck 
jim


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Thanks. It's not a coop , it's a 16 x 16 foot pen with a roost pole and a dog house for laying eggs. So I can tie it to wire.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I worked all day on that thing again. I think I am not going to have it done by Saturday. Then I'm gone for a week.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

So today I find out that hubby has had this maching for 3 years! You load fencing staples in it (really big thick staples), pull a knob and hammer on the knob until the staple is in. I never knew that this existed, I would have bought one years ago!

So I got 2 5x16 foot panels nailed down and wired together. I will take pics when it's done. I am so injured all over. My arms are scratched up and bruised, my hands hurt, and my finger was bleeding, I forget what caused that.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Dang! 

Those staple guns are great, but the ones I have are hard to use and make my arthritis act up. I usually get my boys to use it for me.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Yea I have carpal tunnel real bad and I've used screws instead of nails due to the hammering. But these need to be nailed like fencing. 

So I go to lock the chickens up, it`s dark with a floodlight. I find wayward hen on my ladder, put her in pen. Then I am missing a Sussex and I find her and grab her and she`s flapping away. Then I go lock up my first pen and find some wire not stapled down. Crap. I figure bailing twin will have to do. So I'm feeding bailing twine thru hardware cloth in the dark and I can't see the twine. It's to dark to see what I'm doing. Finally done. I walk back to the house, and I realize my glasses are gone. I did find them with a flashlight. Took me 20 minutes before I realized they were gone.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I am SUPER impressed that you found your glasses!

Rock on!!


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

Your life sounds like mine. LOL, glad you found the glasses though!


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## solidwoods (Apr 5, 2015)

Hang in there. My wife and I are in N. central Tn. and we have a flock of Foxes coming through. They are brave enough to come out about 3:00pm. I have free range my chickens ducks but they are locked into the chicken yard now till the heat dies down (its about 80'x80' with a children's pool so they are still having fun + I throw in greens to eat). But I have a 20ga ready and close by to fix the situation (don't worry I wont hurt the Fox,, I'll just Tan his hide)


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Hey Solidwoods, I don't like hurting foxes either, but anything that comes after my chickens is fair game. 

I had no attacks or murders for 7 years. Kind of puts one in Lala land. 

Your 80x80 pen- is it covered? That is very big.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

As I was browsing thru tools last night on Amazon, I came across an "impact driver" and wondered what it was.

Well, I went ahead and bought one. Seems that for years now, I've been stripping screw heads, I'm sure the neighbors cringe when they hear me with my drill with all the stripping noise. Thing is, I don't have the strength to push hard enough into the screw. Turns out an impact driver works like this: impact-screw-impact- screw like pulsating and turning. This would have saved me years of anguish. 

Everything I've built is with screws. I can't hammer without pain later on. Drilling is my #1 tool. This impact driver may be a good thing for me. The drill will still be used for drilling holes. 

Does anyone have a "recharge station"? (self made)? I think I need one for my outside batteries and my indoor stuff. It's a good thing that these rechargeable items like a cell phone and tablet and my electronic cigarette have all agreed to have a universal plug.


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## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Hahahaha

We have cord tangles in various places... Nothing that looks nice.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

You could braid them : )


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