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  • From: Joan Vibert <joan AT windwalker-farm.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] raccoon strategies
  • Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:14:57 -0500

We are at out wits end and wanting any and all ideas you all might have to
catch raccoons and/or keep them out of the chicken house. I suspect we have
a band or marauding young raccoons who are too strong for their own good.
Over the last week we have lost close to 20 chickens (most of whom have just
started laying this spring - all that good feed money down the drain!) and
another 10 over the last couple of months. Last night was the height of
slaughter - 13 dead in the chicken house and our head rooster will probably
die today.

We put the remains of a dead chicken in the live trap last week and both
ends of the trap were attacked and bent and the chicken was long gone. Last
night they bent a small opening in the hardware cloth that was to prevent
them getting onto the outside of the nesting boxes and crawled in through a
vent opening. The hole was no larger than 2 1/2" to 3". They killed
chickens and left - no evidence of trying to take them with them. A couple
of heads were removed and a small amount of chewing was in evidence but it
mostly appeared to be for sport. We have had possum problems in the last
month also but whatever got in last night jumped off of a 5 gallon bucket
onto the chicken house roof (or climbed the wall of the house).

We're going to try a punctured can of tuna tonight in the live trap but it
may be that we need more live traps, too. We're just looking for ideas -
anything you've found that might work we're willing to try. When you have
to get the tractor out to bury chickens its not a good thing.

Joan
Windwalker Farm
Ottawa, Kansas






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