# Racoons



## 25.06 (Feb 18, 2015)

Will coons kill chickens? I had 3 in the chicken pen eating the chickens food last night. I also think they are eating the eggs at night. I was blaming the chickens for eating the eggs, but I noticed it was only if the eggs stayed over night that they were busted. So put trail camera out and found out coons were going in the pen at night.


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## Scrapy (Feb 18, 2015)

I think you are right. I have had foxes and hawks and weasel or minks, maybe even possum kill chickens but don't think I have had coons doing it.  I have to Kill every coon I tree where I coon hunt or don't come back. It is a quail plantation. Coons are famous as nest/egg predators though.


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## The Longhunter (Feb 19, 2015)

Coons generally won't eat chickens, but as you have shown, they will eat everything else that can't run away from them.g

Coons are basically scavengers.


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## blood on the ground (Feb 19, 2015)

don't be fooled ... a coon will kill a chicken as quick as anything will!


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## GA DAWG (Feb 19, 2015)

A coon will kill the crap out of a chicken. They will kill them more than anything else will. You best fix that pen or yours will die.


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## GAGE (Feb 19, 2015)

GA DAWG said:


> A coon will kill the crap out of a chicken. They will kill them more than anything else will. You best fix that pen or yours will die.



I agree, coons can be tough on chickens.


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## 25.06 (Feb 19, 2015)

GA DAWG said:


> A coon will kill the crap out of a chicken. They will kill them more than anything else will. You best fix that pen or yours will die.



They are climbing the fence or a tree near the fence to get in the pen. The bad thing about it is I caught one in a trap I set out for coyotes and let it go. About 2 weeks ago


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## jeffrey (Feb 20, 2015)

They will kill chickens.  My wife has never shot at anything except  a coon killing her chickens.  He couldn't get in the pen but would chase them until they stuck their heads out and kill them.


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## Scrapy (Feb 20, 2015)

Musta not been layers. Coons are smart enough not to kill the chicken what lays the golden eggs.


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## Scrapy (Feb 20, 2015)

jeffrey said:


> They will kill chickens.  My wife has never shot at anything except  a coon killing her chickens.  He couldn't get in the pen but would chase them until they stuck their heads out and kill them.


 Had a chicken yard next to a dog pen.

Moral of the story is, don't stick it out lest it might get snapped off.


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## NCHillbilly (Feb 21, 2015)

Yes, coons will definitely kill chickens.


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## 25.06 (Feb 24, 2015)

They have been in the pen every night since I put out trail camera. Put a new trap out and caught one the first night and it got out of trap. so now I have worked on trap some and put a trail camera on new trap to see how it got out. Think they are getting smarter.


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## 25.06 (Feb 24, 2015)

Scrapy said:


> I think you are right. I have had foxes and hawks and weasel or minks, maybe even possum kill chickens but don't think I have had coons doing it.  I have to Kill every coon I tree where I coon hunt or don't come back. It is a quail plantation. Coons are famous as nest/egg predators though.



I have a big problem with hawks. When I let the chickens out of the pen I have to basically stand guard over them. I've had hawks fly up and land in tree in the back yard while I'm out there with the chickens.


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## Darien1 (Apr 1, 2015)

I had a problem with coons,  I have a security light in the back of the house so I put a piece of pine log out there and smeared it with Peanut butter and scattered some deer corn around.  Every few mins after dark I would take a look out there.  In a few mins I had 3 lined up at that log eating.  Got my .22 and bang bang bang, no more problem.  I watched that log for a few more nights and got two more.


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## brownhounds (Apr 2, 2015)

My experience is that coons will kill the small chicks.  I had one last year kill aboout 20 of my chicks before I finally shot him.


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## LT6767 (Apr 19, 2015)

Coons will kill a chicken in a heartbeat. So will possums..

I don't keep chickens, but a neighbor a few houses down does. I can't begin to tell ya how many possums my Bluetick has pulled off of the fence line while on their way to the neighbors chickens....


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## ox rider (Jun 22, 2015)

Almost everything likes chicken.  Even cats.


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## dtala (Jun 26, 2015)

dang, there is some bad advise on here......

A coon WILL kill every dang chicken it can get to or reach thru the fence to get a paw on. Big/small/yellow/red/white chickens...a coon don't care. It will kill every chicken in the coop in one night.


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## southerndraw (Jul 3, 2015)

Coons killed every chicken in my brother in laws pen in 2 nights.


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## Bkeepr (Jul 19, 2015)

I had 2 big male coons killing mine last winter.  The last winter I had chickens.  :-(


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