A Raccoon Ate My Baby

I should consider myself fortunate that I haven't had problems with raccoons since owning chickens. But it's the fact that they haven't been around that has made me complacent about protecting my chickens. I moved the chicks outside a few weeks ago and they've been living in the chicken tractor, which has been working out well. Then I was mountain biking Tuesday morning and when I got back to car there was a text message from my neighbor telling me there was a raccoon trying to get the chicks. He sent that at 7:30am and I didn't get back to the house until 8:15am. Sure enough, the raccoon had reached through the chicken wire and snatched one. It couldn't pull the chick through but it was somehow able to eat the head off through the netting. The one time I'm not in the house at that time and a raccoon shows up. I'm surprised the raccoon was out during the day considering they're more of a nighttime creature.

I moved the chicken tractor into the chicken area and hoped for the best that night, which was a bit stupid since I knew the raccoon was around and that it knew there were chickens. Sure enough, right as I was getting into bed I heard the chicks making a commotion. I ran downstairs and found the raccoon trying to get at the chicks again. I ran into the carriage house to get a weapon but since it was dark I ended up grabbing the flat ended shovel. I had it cornered but then it escaped and I chased him across the yard. It scrambled up the fence but got a little stuck in the lemon tree so I tried to run it through with the shovel. Because it was the flat ended one, it didn't do anything. I needed the pointed shovel, which might have done some damage. I so wanted to kill it.

Turns out that I saved the other four chicks but the raccoon had already gone into the chicken house and taken one of the big girls. I found her dead in the carriage house, her head stripped of feathers. I am determined to protect my chickens but it's a constant battle. Now I'm putting them all into the chicken house at night and closing it up tight. I ordered a chicken door from AXT Electronic in Germany that will open and close automatically via a light sensor. That should keep them protected at night but if a raccoon is willing to still come in the morning when it's light out, I'm not sure what I can do.