Raccoon help! Please help settle an argument with my husband

[upstategal999]

New to chickens - our second summer with them - and new to country living. We have recently discovered a large raccoon hanging around the chicken coop every night. My husband thinks he is there to eat food that the chickens have kicked outside the run. I don't think it would stop there if it had a chance. Coop is pretty secure - hardware cloth all around, etc, but not in perfect shape, getting a little loose about the joints here and there.

I want to get rid of the raccoon. Husband does not want to. He sees trails, lots of raccoon poop, thinks this has been going on for awhile and that the chickens are safe. Thinks he can just keep checking the coop for any signs of chewing, damage, etc. I disagree, think that damage sufficient to get the raccoon into the coop could be done all in one night.

So what do you all think? Try for peaceful coexistence or get rid of the thing?

 

[The Phantom]

New to chickens - our second summer with them - and new to country living. We have recently discovered a large raccoon hanging around the chicken coop every night. My husband thinks he is there to eat food that the chickens have kicked outside the run. I don't think it would stop there if it had a chance. Coop is pretty secure - hardware cloth all around, etc, but not in perfect shape, getting a little loose about the joints here and there.

I want to get rid of the raccoon. Husband does not want to. He sees trails, lots of raccoon poop, thinks this has been going on for awhile and that the chickens are safe. Thinks he can just keep checking the coop for any signs of chewing, damage, etc. I disagree, think that damage sufficient to get the raccoon into the coop could be done all in one night.

So what do you all think? Try for peaceful coexistence or get rid of the thing?

You need to kill it! I had one the other day kill 2 birds that are worth $600. They ate one through the netting and the chewed through a seem in the netting. Last night he tried getting my broody.We shot him as soon as he was away from my birds. They carry every disease under the sun, murder your best chicken friends, and make a mess of your food.

 

[April’s Zoo]

Tell hubby a letting a raccoon hang around the hen house is like sending a fourteen year old on a date with a prostitute— something is gonna happen!

Seriously, raccoons don’t just hang around to eat the scratch that the hens missed. A squirrel might— but really, a raccoon?!
Has he lost his cotton-pickin’ mind?!
Let him know that it’s very likely that the first sign that it might have been trying to get in will be a dead chicken— and a gruesomely dead one at that.
I’m gonna try to find the thread that was here recently where someone was absolutely, totally sure their coop was Fort Knox— and a game cam caught a ‘coon sneaking in through a gap that no-one ever would’ve believed without it being caught on camera....

 

[The Phantom]

Tell hubby a letting a raccoon hang around the hen house is like sending a fourteen year old on a date with a prostitute— something is gonna happen!

Seriously, raccoons don’t just hang around to eat the scratch that the hens missed. A squirrel might— but really, a raccoon?!
Has he lost his cotton-pickin’ mind?!
Let him know that it’s very likely that the first sign that it might have been trying to get in will be a dead chicken— and a gruesomely dead one at that.
I’m gonna try to find the thread that was here recently where someone was absolutely, totally sure their coop was Fort Knox— and a game cam caught a ‘coon sneaking in through a gap that no-one ever would’ve believed without it being caught on camera....

 

[Justso]

I have lost to raccoons tragically. I would say, don't kill it but instead fortify your Coop. You will always have a raccoon coming to Snoop around and eat the food. Maybe this is the one who's not smart enough or brave enough to try to break in. You don't want to replace it with one that will break in. And you will never kill all the raccoons.

 

[Wil781]

Get rid of the raccoon!! They are very nimble and cunning, he is circling your coop for your birds not a morsel of crumbles. He will come back every night until he finds the perfect spot to enter. Tell hubby to get out there and rid the property of the coon!

 

[BrindleFinch]

Getting rid of one animal is just inviting another; teaching this one it can't get in, while letting it survive and having it keep others away is a good idea.

It's not the raccoon's fault that you have a tasty buffet sitting in your yard; and it's not the chicken's fault, either, or yours. Our paths cross and sometimes it's not in the best interest of any party. If it's possible, maybe he could be relocated instead of being killed. Or, even better, as I said above if you can look for weak points in your coop and fortify them, you'll have a pesky but learned neighbor who won't bother trying to get in rather than a string of new raccoons every time you get rid of one that'll test every inch of the fence.

If no other alternative can be found, anyone has the right to protect their livestock and pets/property - I just don't think trying it right off the bat, especially when it's clear the raccoon doesn't have an avenue in at this moment, will help anything in the long run.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! You do have options here, but you will have chickens torn apart while alive if this situation isn't fixed ASAP.
Electric fencing, properly set up, with a good strong charger, will keep many predators away.
Shoot this lurking menace! He won't wander off until either your flock is dead, or that fence zaps him.
Fix the coop, because this won't be your only visitor, and only very good security will save your birds.
Don't have any food or water outside the safe coop and run, to help keep visitors away.
Many of us have learned the hard way just how vulnerable chickens are, especially at night. There are so many sad and unnecessary stories here, try to keep your birds safe.
Mary

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Get rid of the raccoon!! They are very nimble and cunning, he is circling your coop for your birds not a morsel of crumbles. He will come back every night until he finds the perfect spot to enter. Tell hubby to get out there and rid the property of the coon!

Being a responsible chicken keeper requires you to actively protect your flock. If your husband won't step up, it becomes your responsibility "to get out here and rid the property of the coon"!

 

[Mr.Rogers]

New to chickens - our second summer with them - and new to country living. We have recently discovered a large raccoon hanging around the chicken coop every night. My husband thinks he is there to eat food that the chickens have kicked outside the run. I don't think it would stop there if it had a chance. Coop is pretty secure - hardware cloth all around, etc, but not in perfect shape, getting a little loose about the joints here and there.

I want to get rid of the raccoon. Husband does not want to. He sees trails, lots of raccoon poop, thinks this has been going on for awhile and that the chickens are safe. Thinks he can just keep checking the coop for any signs of chewing, damage, etc. I disagree, think that damage sufficient to get the raccoon into the coop could be done all in one night.

So what do you all think? Try for peaceful coexistence or get rid of the thing?

If it were me id stay on the safe side and shoot the coon