We haven't had any problems with raccoons since we got our chickens a year and a half ago. But a couple nights ago, a raccoon went after them in the coop.
We had actually gotten pretty lax, and forgot to latch the door to the nest boxes. I heard the dog in the yard behind us barking pretty loudly, and then some really loud squawking. Luckily, we were around and in earshot. I turned on our backyard light and ran out on the deck, scaring it enough that it retreated to our side fence, where I saw it. (Ann was nursing Madeleine through all of this.)
I went back inside to grab a flashlight, and it had moved to the tree just next to the coop. I stared it down for a while, and then decided to spray it with water from a hose (I got it pretty good).
I later found a pawful of feathers just outside the coop (see the photo). Looks like they came from one of our chicken's necks...yikes! Otherwise, the chickens seem to be just fine. Needless to say, we'll be more vigilant now about keeping the coop locked every night...
We had actually gotten pretty lax, and forgot to latch the door to the nest boxes. I heard the dog in the yard behind us barking pretty loudly, and then some really loud squawking. Luckily, we were around and in earshot. I turned on our backyard light and ran out on the deck, scaring it enough that it retreated to our side fence, where I saw it. (Ann was nursing Madeleine through all of this.)
I went back inside to grab a flashlight, and it had moved to the tree just next to the coop. I stared it down for a while, and then decided to spray it with water from a hose (I got it pretty good).
I later found a pawful of feathers just outside the coop (see the photo). Looks like they came from one of our chicken's necks...yikes! Otherwise, the chickens seem to be just fine. Needless to say, we'll be more vigilant now about keeping the coop locked every night...
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