When we built the chicken and ducks run last year we were more concerned with protecting the top with the net to prevent the hawks and other wild animals from getting in but never thought that the small gap at the bottom of the fence would be a place that it got in.
Bo borrowed a Wildgame camera from our neighbor last week and it was a raccoon that has been coming in every night. He set the camera out on Thursday night, and it came in around 2:07 am and finished eating by 2:46 am. These are the photos from the wildgame camera.
The raccoons are extremely smart, especially this one that has been coming almost every night. I saw a trail of how it got out and secure that area with left over deck wood. I worked on it on July 4th, and the next morning another one got killed. This made me sick. It was a brooding hen that was sitting in the hen house, so sad to know that the raccoon went into the hen house and dragged it outside and ate it. All the eggs were gone also. I worked some more on securing the fence to make sure that it can’t get in yesterday evening, and closed the chicken coop last night. This morning another duck got killed, I saw a place where he pulled the fence and got out. It seems like I’m chasing my tail, I secured the area again this evening and pray that all will survive the night.
The previous home owner used to feed a raccoon and she called him Rocky. I’m almost positive that it’s the same one. This is a photo that she took of him before we moved in and apparently he never moved out. This picture was taken on her deck, which is now our deck. I set out a trap with cat food and a marshmallows trail leading to the trap, I feel like he is too smart to fall for it. The hens and roosters will be okay tonight since they are sleeping in the chicken coop but the ducks are outside and sadly they are sitting ducks.
Nye Noona 