Raccoon Protection For Your Chickens In Okanagan
If you raise hens in the Okanagan, you are surely aware of the need of keeping them in a safe environment. Predators hunting for an easy meal will find confined poultry to be an alluring temptation.
Raccoons are one of the most common perpetrators of suburban avian abductions, despite the fact that they are far from the sole predators of domestic animals in the area. Prior to contacting wildlife control in Okanagan, consider the following tips to keep your birds as secure as possible:
BE AWARE OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A RACCOON Invasion
A firsthand glimpse of a raccoon is the most clear indication of its existence. Despite the fact that sightings may occur at any time of year, the most usual periods are during the late summer or autumn, when the young have been weaned completely.
Winter and early spring are a period of time when adults spend most of their time stockpiling fat reserves and adopting a languid condition of semi-hibernation in a secluded lair.
In addition to making a characteristic chattering noise, raccoons produce other sounds that might help you recognize a nearby family. They also leave traces in the ground or snow that resemble the impressions of small human hands.
Assuming you are familiar with the appearance of fox scat, you may also distinguish your disguised robbers by their smaller, less smelling feces as described above. Because foxes are known to feed on chickens, discovering a scat on your property might be a solid indicator that you need to contact a humane wildlife removal company.
STORE YOUR FOOD OUTDOORS
By placing vast amounts of food within reach of hardworking urban predators, many suburban and rural homeowners accidentally encourage animals to their properties.
Putting out bird feeders, cat trays, and other apparently benign gifts may soon lead to the establishment of a permanent colony of invaders in your yard. Even eggs left out in the open might attract predators, so you should bring them inside on a daily basis.
Raccoons, and worse worse, rats, find chicken feed to be highly appetizing, despite the fact that it is not appealing to all other critters. The most effective method of protecting your property is to keep any possible animal food inside in a well sealed container.
If you don’t want to let rats into your home, just store your belongings in a garage or shed instead of your house.
BUILD A WIRE MESH FENCING TO PROTECT YOUR COOP
If you have a weak spot in your chicken coop’s fence, it’s likely that a predator will locate it and take advantage of it. The majority of chicken coops are absolutely safe when they are properly maintained, but rusty fastenings and worn bases might break and expose your birds to danger. By checking your fence, you may identify any weak spots and fix them before predators discover them.
Raccoons’ hands are among the few in the animal kingdom that are capable of opening locks and narrow entryways, despite the fact that they lack the dexterity that humans possess.
If your entrance latch is located low to the ground and easily opened, it is at risk of being compromised. Simply searching online for animal-proof latches will enough to rectify the situation.
Both raccoons and foxes have a reputation for being tenacious when it comes to breaking inside cages. Either species has the ability to dig under the foundation of a coop in order to get access to your birds and their eggs.
You may solve this issue by stretching your mesh along the ground and burying it behind a thin layer of soil. Spraying garlic, onion, or pepper repellant along the same region will serve as an additional deterrent if you want to go the extra mile.
Making such a mixture is as simple as boiling the material of your choosing in water until the water has a distinct odor that can be detected.
REMOVAL OF RACCOONS
It is often the case that defending your hens is only achievable if the predators aren’t locals. Unless you are certain that you do not have an established raccoon colony on your land, do not try to eliminate it on your own.
A humane wildlife removal specialist understands how to properly remove animals from their natural habitats without jeopardizing the animals or their offspring.
Raccoon Protection For Your Chickens In Okanagan
If you maintain hens in your backyard, you are well aware of the need of predator-proofing your coop. Defending your flock from raccoons, on the other hand, is a little more difficult than protecting them from other predators since raccoons are quite intelligent.
Raccoons are more than just cunning. They’re also quite capable of climbing and digging, and they utilize their front paws in a manner similar to how we humans use our hands, which is both frightening and adorable.
In part because raccoons are aware that it is a source of relatively simple prey, a chicken coop is a popular target for them. Your hens are just no match for raccoons if you do not step in to support them.
Raccoons and their Hunting Techniques
If a raccoon manages to sneak into a chicken coop, it will almost always kill a number of chickens if it can get to them. The corpses of the victims are frequently left where they were slain rather than being transported.
Instead of devouring the whole bird or even the majority of it, raccoons prefer to consume the bird’s innards and, on sometimes, a portion of the bird’s chest.
Raccoons have extraordinary manual dexterity, and they are capable of opening locks and closings, digging under fences and runs, and reaching their human-like paws through wire mesh that is too narrow for their bodies to pass through comfortably.
It is necessary to outwit those hairy, masked criminals in order to keep your flock safe while keeping them out of your chicken pen.
Maintaining the Security of Your Chicken Coop
In the United States, raccoons may be found almost everywhere, so don’t think you’re fortunate if you don’t have any of them in your neighborhood. Raccoons are nocturnal creatures, which means they spend the most of their time hunting at night when they are well concealed by their distinctive coats.
If you’re like the majority of people who have chickens, you probably put your flock back inside the coop at night for protection, which is just when those cunning and sly raccoons come out to play! Listed below are some precautions you may take to protect your chicken coop against raccoons.
Raccoons are attracted to certain types of vegetation in your yard.
Make your yard less appealing to raccoons so that they are less likely to locate your hens in the first place. This may be accomplished by ensuring that raccoons are unable to have access to any wild bird feeders you may have, as well as any seed on the ground.
It is not recommended to put pet food outdoors if you have other animals such as dogs or cats. The same is true for dishes of water, since raccoons are drawn to supplies of fresh drinking water. For the most part, don’t leave anything out that raccoons could be interested in.
Ensure that the wire mesh on your coop is secure.
Raccoons will attempt to bend or pry any wire mesh you have on your coop in order to get entrance. Make sure you secure any wire mesh you have on your coop.
Take note of any weak spots or regions where the wire mesh isn’t properly fastened. Consider the situation from the perspective of a predator and seek for any weak points that might be exploited.
As an alternative to using weak chicken wire that raccoons may easily through, consider using something more sturdy such as hardware cloth with a fine mesh that raccoons will not be able to penetrate. It is important to remember that chicken wire is intended to keep hens in the coop, not to keep predators out.
Make Use of a Latch That Is Difficult to Open
Raccoons are sophisticated creatures that are capable of opening basic locks without difficulty. They do not, on the other hand, spend much time attempting to figure out how to unlock a complicated latch. If possible, install a latch on your chicken coop that needs two or three steps to open.
The most common two-step solution consists of attaching a carabiner clip to the door latch and closing the door. By including a carabiner into the design, raccoons would be forced to open the carabiner while simultaneously detaching it from the latch in order to get access to the actual latch.
Fill the area around the coop with foul odors.
Ammonia, garlic, cayenne pepper, and onions are some of the smells that raccoons dislike. Put ammonia-soaked rags in your yard around the edge of your chicken coop to deter pests from entering.
A DIY raccoon repellent may also be applied on the outside of your chicken coop’s door. Simply bring a gallon of water to a boil and add several garlic cloves, a few onions, or a couple of chili peppers to taste.
Then, just pour the mixture into a spray bottle and saturate the area surrounding your chicken coop with the solution. Just make sure the repellant has a strong scent to ensure that raccoons will not be drawn in.
Install a Coop Apron on your coop.
If raccoons are unable to rip through chicken wire or break through the door lock, they may resort to excavating their way into your coop via the ground. It is for this reason that you should build a coop apron.
To do this, some PVC coated wire wrapped fencing will be installed at the foot of the coop and will wrap around its whole circumference. This is less difficult to do than burying fence material more than a foot deep in the ground, and it is also a less expensive undertaking to complete.
Install a Predator Deterrent Light on the outside of the coop.
Raccoons are extremely aware of their environment and are always on the alert for any threats to their well-being. That’s why it’s a good idea to put a predator deterrent light on your chicken coop to keep predators away.
This sort of light produces two intense red LED lights that seem to be the eyes of a predator, giving it the appearance of two eyes. Raccoons should be able to see the light since it should be positioned at their eye level, making it look as though it is a deadly predator.
If you take the methods outlined above to protect your coop, your hens should be safe from raccoon attacks. Whether you’re still having trouble with raccoons attempting to get into your coop, check to see if it’s permitted in your state to humanely catch and remove raccoons, which may be an option for you.
Place a humane live animal trap in your yard and set a couple of marshmallows in the rear to attract and relocate raccoons if humane catching and moving raccoons is permitted in your area.
In the event that you capture a raccoon, you should transport it to a forested region a few miles away from your home. For those who cannot do so legally, they should contact a wildlife rescue or animal control group in their region to learn about their alternatives.