UPDATE 2 PG2!...THE WAR HAS ENDED...My raccoon story. Thank you to those that offered advice.

A few weeks ago I posted about raccoons that had gotten into my chicken coop. I was bewildered that they entered but did not attack the chickens. As many people pointed out, this confusion I had was quickly rectified the following week when that same raccoon killed one of my chickens. This is when I decided that I would go full John Wick on the raccoons.

I bought another live trap, researched best baits and my plan was set into motion. I discovered that raccoons live in family groups that are made up of between 4-10 animals. Over the next few weeks I set my traps. Every other night I would catch one raccoon in a trap (one good night I caught 2). I would go out with my .25 pellet gun and dispatch of the animal.

These raccoons were small. I'd say a few 'teens' and a few "babies" (small enough to follow mama but not big enough to be a threat to my chickens yet). The kind of raccoons that people on Tik-Tok say are cute and cuddly.

After 2 weeks I had cleared 6 raccoons. I was pleased and thought I had gotten them all. That is until the next morning when I checked the chickens at 2am (that's my normal wake up time). I saw 1 raccoon baby in the coop eating the feed. Needless to say the rage grew yet again.

I reset the traps and was determined to end them all. A few days passed and I had gotten another "pretty" small raccoon but I saw two in the distance. One of which I thought was the mother. It was pretty big and looked exactly like the one that killed my chicken (as much as I can tell from an animal where they all look the same).

Doing the math I was at 7 now. I set the traps at the bottom of the yard and after a few days a got a good size raccoon. I was excited now. I figured this was the big mama I was looking for. She was smaller than I had expected but I chalked that up to distance, lighting and the way they scrunch when they walk.

Well, I decided to set two last traps last night. I wanted to cover all the bases and catch any straggler babies that may be out there. I figured I'd do this for a week and if nothing bit then I was done. I baited them with a broken egg from the coop and a hand full of marshmallows.

This morning I walk out there with my flash light, pellet gun and my 9mm (just in case). I round the corner to the back of the coop and catch a quick glimpse of fur. I'm thinking "okay I got a little one, nice". Nope, this was the mama. A raccoon that took up the entire 2ft long live trap. She was so big she couldn't turn around.

I audibly said "holy shit". Then I smiled as I realized I had finally gotten the raccoon that killed my chicken. I lowered the pellet gun and ensured the shot went right down the middle of her head. It goes without saying that I am finally satisfied that my chickens are safe (for now).

So, to summarize, 1 raccoon killed 1 chicken. I then eliminated their entire bloodline. Their entire lineage. Every adult, teen and baby met it's maker. 9 raccoons in total.

Last Edited by BananaFighter on 07/21/2025 05:40 AM