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Gratuitous chicken blogging: Whoa, that’s a big raccoon edition
By Gina Spadafori
August 10, 2008
A couple times a month, the hens get worked up over something and raise quite the ruckus, usually at dawn. I’ve discovered if I get out of bed, go to the chicken run, take a thorough look around and then tell them everything is OK, they settle down and that’s the end of it.
It’s sort of the chicken variation of a mom looking under the bed for monsters, I figure.
Usually I can’t figure out what they’re so upset about. Only one time before this morning did there seem to be an actual threat, a stray dog who was trying to claw her way into the run from the open-space side of the fence. (In case you don’t remember the incident, I went outside the gate to get the dog, but she had no collar and was skittish as all get out and took off. She apparently got off the creek easement space the way she got in, and I never saw her again.)
Today’s dawn ruckus had a definite cause: A big raccoon was sitting on my back fence.
Not only the chickens but every magpie in the neighborhood was worked up and sounding the alarm. I walked towards the raccoon to shoo him away and was surprised at how close he let me get. I could practically reach out and touch him by the time he decided to drop to the far side of my back fence and amble slowly to towards the creek.
I’m guessing he’s going to be back. And I’m further guessing I’m going to be having a problem with him.
In the meantime, I had to make changes yesterday to deal with some smaller pests. Field mice got into the supply shed next to the chicken run, which I really should have anticipated. So yesterday I got airtight containers to put the feed and corn into, and I’m guessing the mice will go elsewhere when they figure out the buffet is closed. (Pictured: Hester, one of the two Barred Plymouth Rocks, with McKenzie in the background. Hester’s in the “day yard,” not the enclosed chicken run where they are at night.)
New chicken update: I didn’t pick up the new hens yesterday because I got involved with some house-keeping and yardwork (including all the work to mice-proof the chicken area). I’m getting the new girls tomorrow instead. I’m leaning towards Gladys (after busybody Gladys Kravits, thanks C.L.H.) for the name of the third hen, but I have to admit Nadine’s story of Francelia the 101-year-old children’s librarian is compelling.
Check out where the chickens are coming from. Looks like a neat group! Here’s their chicken project page, and I’ve used a picture from their chicken set-up to the right.
So many great name suggestions that I may have to get more hens!
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I hate raccoons. Almost as much as ticks.
Horrid things. They’ve destroyed EVERY bird feeder I had this year, even the heavy metal ones (odd that the 20 foot fall to the ground from the elevated deck ruins the feeder but doesn’t seem to hurt the coon…) They’ve chewed on my deck and ripped eye bolts off the ceiling joists.
The first night I found a little invader I went out - and the little ba***rd just stood there and hissed at me. I WILL NOT be insulted on my own deck - so I took the hose conveniently located by my side (thank you tomatoes!) and gave him a high pressure jet. It only worked temporarily. He was back the next three nights as well - so, living in a rural area, I got a gun and ammo.
Apparently I have psychic raccoons. in the 4 weeks since a loaded 22 has set on the mantle next to my door - I have not seen them.
Comment by Janeen — August 10, 2008 @ 10:48 am
I have a shotgun, but the local constables definitely frown on gunfire in the suburbs. Wonder if my raccoon will realize the law is on his side?
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 10, 2008 @ 10:52 am
Be careful. We had a big ol’boy attack and seriously injure on of our GSDs when I was growing up. A few days later I came around a corner and found him. He made it very clear I was going to be the one doing the leaving! A family friend came over the next evening with his favorite hound and a kelpie/hound mix both of whom he used to keep boar off his ranch. They ran him off and he stayed off. We were in a very rural area and I suspect that he probably ran into a fatal obstacle where he next tried to set up shop.
However I am sure that you could hear the baying, barking and screeching for miles so that probably would not work for you either!
You might want to look at putting a stand of hot wire along the sides of your hens quarters. Make sure it’s mobile so you can adjust it as he figures it out. I have done this for raccoons and coyotes in the past. We turn it off during daylight hours
Comment by JenniferJ — August 10, 2008 @ 11:19 am
The hotwire is a really good idea!
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 10, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Janeen’s comment got me thinking about motion-activated sprinklers:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000071NUS
Don’t know if a raccoon would be smart enough to get habituated to it, though.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 10, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
Can you put Coyote Rollers on the top of your fence?
Comment by straybaby — August 10, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
I did not even know about Coyote Rollers:
http://www.coyoteroller.com/coyote_roller
Now, I do.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 10, 2008 @ 3:13 pm
According to my bff’s husband, who works as a wildlife rehabber for a living, it’s almost impossible to permanantly scare coons off human goodies once they’re habituated to us. He recommended that once the babies are able to live on their own (he says that here in SE MN, that would be early July) it’s best to live trap, then kill them. If you trap and relocate, you’re just sending your problem off to someone else.
These friends live in a very remote area - where problem bears are often relocated - so I think they’re especially sensitive to problem animals. They’ve nick-named their current 400-lb invader ‘Behemoth’.
Glad all I’ve got are psychic raccoons!
Comment by Janeen — August 10, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
Gina, I was thinking in shorthand and forgot to mention that there are home solutions/instructions to make your own online. Same deal as the cat fencing, which I’ll be using for the kitties when I get back there. There’s some very creative folks out there that are great for ideas to make these things affordable and visually appealing in your yard. Gotta love the internet! ;)
Apparently where I’m moving, they have squirrels that “throw” pine cones down from the tall pines. Going to have to consider what’s coming down from above along with bears and other critters, lol!~
Comment by straybaby — August 10, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
We called Fish and Game some years here in Humboldt County when we had a raccoon coming into the house, through two cats doors no less, to get at the cat food. We were told that we could legally live trap the animal, transport it 25 miles away and release it near water. As soon as we got Niki the collie puppy,though, the problem was solved and he or she never came in again, so it never came to that.
Killing isn’t an option because, frankly, they have as much right to live as we do and it’s our responsibility to secure our property and animals. As we are also in a rural area, we have the option of letting a raccoon go where there aren’t any people close by which avoids “moving the problem” onto someone else, which would hardly be fair to them or the raccoon.
We plan to get chickens next year. The fence will be countersunk 12” into the ground and we’ll add an electric wire if necessary. And we’ll keep the live trap handy. I’ve heard too many horror stories about what a raccoon can do to chickens, so the tips offered on this post are greatly appreciated!
Now, I would add that we haven’t had any scary confrontations either, like Janeen (!), but having a 75lb. dog leaving scent all over the yard (he’s in at night, though) probably helps keep a lid on things.
Comment by Susan Fox — August 10, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
I just went to the Coyote Roller site. Reason no.4 why you should have one is a laugher, besides being totally inaccurate. Like the government hasn’t been trying to kill coyotes off for, oh, over a hundred years? With the result that they’ve adapted themselves right into the middle of San Francisco and other cities. Anybody seen one at a Starbucks yet?
The company may, probably does, have a great product, but their scare tactics and misinformation are irritating.
Comment by Susan Fox — August 10, 2008 @ 4:02 pm
Get a hotwire for the chickens — raccons are just too nasty to mess with.
You know, Gina, this journalism thing is way overrated in the 21st century — becoming the California Egg Queen will probably be a much more dependable source of income! :-D
Comment by Dorene — August 10, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
I totally agree journalism is over-rated, which is why I still have my part-time “day job” at the local community owned utility. (GREAT place to work, by the way, far nicer than any newsroom ever. Although some of the meetings I staff for our elected board of directors are very long indeed!)
Not sure eggs could ever be a profit center, at the rate my pets eat them.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 10, 2008 @ 7:16 pm
Be sure you keep the dogs away from the coon. Depend on them for alerting if they hear it, but otherwise, don’t let them get near it. Not only are coons vectors for rabies and suseptible to canine distemper, but a raccoon bite can cause your dog to experience ‘polyradiculoneuritis’ aka coon hound disease. Not something you or your dogs want to experience.
Your chicken estate is covered, yes? That’s likely your best defense. A hot wire is not a bad addendum to the set up, though.
As for the mice, try spraying the area with a mixture of peppermint and spearmint oils. If nothing else, that will smell nice. Supposedly those oils are mice deterrents. Of course they need renewing every so often.
Comment by Anne T. — August 10, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
Hmmm … my objection to the coyote roller site (though Susan Fox’s is entirely valid) is that apparently, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. “Start your order here, and then we’ll call you and give you the hard sell at a price you can only conjecture.”
There are many home formulae for coyote rollers that I am sure are less spendy than the don’t-ask-don’t-tell models. They are great for people who have fence-scaling dogs.
However, I’d go with electro net or several hot wires, as it will also deter raccoons from reaching through the wire to behead a chook, digging under, ripping the fence at a corner.
The plastic containers may work, or you may find rodents chewing through. I’ve got my crumbles and scratch and kitten food in plastic snap-lid buckets now — but stored inside an old (non-operational) chest freezer out in the barn. The previous owners of this place kept their horse feed in it. A metal trash can is more practical if you have less space.
I got barn kittens to patrol for rodents in the barn. So far, no rodents in the barn. Plenty spiders! Toads and snakes invading the mudroom at the house. But I trapped a mouse under the sink today (when I opened the live trap on the porch, one of the kittens picked the doing-poorly rodent out of the trap and ran into the brush with it, so he’s clearly got the idea), and I found sign of mice in the attic. I’ll have to move the tin cat up there when the sink area seems depopulated. Somehow I don’t think Gollum & Smeagol would appreciate being sent to the attic at night.
Gina, you are missing half the fun by getting grown hens. Brooding our own peeps has been a blast. It’s been cool to see their personalities emerge, and especially interesting to see how consistent the temperaments are within the breeds for chicks raised identically and hatched the same day (Delawares, buff Orpingtons, and New Hampshires are friendly and nebby, even “cuddly”; the easter-eggers and Wyandottes standoffish) The girls (and Henery Hawk the presumptive cockerel) are the size of very large pigeons now, almost fully feathered, and moved out to their “coop” (a converted stall in the barn) about two weeks ago. Before I could get the brooder (converted x-pen in the mudroom) torn down, eight guinea keets just sorta moved in. They are out there scrumming and making little computer beeps and convincing one another that I plan to eat them the very next time I open the brooder; they will move in with the chooks in two weeks or so. Their primary job will be tick patrol, secondary job will be alerting the canine security team to uninvited visitors of all species.
Comment by H. Houlahan — August 10, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
What can I say? I rarely raise puppies, either. All my dogs except McKenzie came here as adults.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 10, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
Basic law of the farm: The raccoon is why you have dogs.
The mice are why you have cats.
You do have cats, right?
Preferably the non-de-clawed type
Let these natural biological controls work for you! :-)
Comment by Bernard J. (Bernie) Starzewski — August 14, 2008 @ 11:27 am
My cats don’t have free access to the outdoors, because I am not at all interested in seeing either of them end up as road pizza.
So … their claws are used on their cat trees, and potentially on any mice foolish enough to test the waters indoors.
In the meantime, the airtight plastic tub seems to be working.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 14, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Have a lab mix thats scaling the fences. The coyote roller would work…but way to spendy for me..Is hot wire dangerous to dogs. I have an pulsating unit thats .5 joules..not sure how hot that will be..any ideas?
Comment by DJ — October 16, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
The garbage is encouraging animals and I just got the garbage bins not accessible for them [unless they are well trained by somebody, ;)] This project will not take much of your time, and I have no problems since I made that. I have pictures to illustrate.
Comment by Digart — November 11, 2009 @ 2:39 pm