Are Raccoons diggers?

[OCChicken]

Raccoons are my only big concern at this time with for my chickens, are they diggers? Is it worth the effort to dig a trench around my pen and pour cement, or would burrying a foot or two of chicken wire be sufficient to keep the 'coons from digging underneath.

Thanks a bunch!

OCC

 

[OverEZ]

OCC, coons will be a problem for me as well. Yes they are diggers. So are skunks and possum and of course dogs. From what I have seen on BYC sounds like everyone buries hardware fabric around 8" + then 8"+ in a 90¼, cover that portion with larger sized rocks then soil and then try to get grass to grow. Opinion sounds like the diggers stop when they encounter big rocks or the hardware fabric. Don't use chicken wire as the poultry will stick their heads out making them vulnerable to attack. Good luck. Rain is keeping me from forward progress on my Coop/Run project.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
If you have raccoons, you most likely have skunks and possums too. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

[mmtillman]

Are raccoons diggers??? UH....does a bear poop in the woods.....

This wire was buried 8 or so inches deep ...we thought no way a COON could dig under that ...not after all that hard work?? HA

 

[Cetawin]

Oh yeah they will dig to china and back. So will fox, possum, dogs etc etc. Also, chicken wire alone is not good with coons around. They will reach through and grab a chicken...nothing worse than seeing a full grown chicken pulled through the wire, if you can imagine. ICK!

Bury it, concrete it in and then run hardwire cloth on the inside.

 

[OCChicken]

Thanks for the tips everyone, I have about 3 weeks until they move outside, so I guess I have a little retro fitting to do along with the rest of the coop portion.

 

[ryann77]

I am new to BYCs and have a flock of 5. My 5 week old chicks were out in their tractor today as I was in the garage building their new coop. Low and behold I looked out and saw a predator next to the tractor--Mind you this is 1:00 in the afternoon--I was about 75ft away so couldn't make out exactly what is was. It was too big for a cat, and bushy like a coon but no stripes. I grabbed a shovel an ran to the aid of my chicks, and as I approached I realized it was a groundhog. A groundhog, of all the predators I have read about never a groundhog. And the point of this post--they can dig. You should have seen the hole this critter escaped to. There was no evidence of the hog trying to dig into the tractor, but I have no idea of how long it had been there.