Today Tashi went nuts when we went out to the Moop. She was nosing around the engine compartment, which is accessible from inside the truck, not outside like most vehicles. I squeezed into the cab and lifted the lid. There was a beautiful and well fed raccoon. I managed to scare him out, and Tashi got him. She is fierce! She has killed groundhogs far bigger than this raccoon, but after a fierce battle, he got away. He was pretty bloody and beat up. I can only hope the damage was fatal. I found a chicken in the engine compartment - a big Buckeye, probably weighed seven or eight pounds. I have been finding feathers, but no chicken remains. I guess I will have to count tonight for the depressing news.
I took the shotgun out there, but there was no way that I could get off a shot, so the predator is still there. I don't know what to do now. My poor chickens - they are never safe.
Sometimes a raccoon will move on although most of them have a set territory. His territory might cover a number of square miles, so the 'beat up' incident might give him the motivation to find easier foods out in the forest. Still, free roaming chickens are a great temptation. Are they disappearing at night?
ReplyDeleteI have a raccoon mom and three babies living here in our neighborhood(and in my garden at times) and they have not bothered our chickens. She's broken in twice to get the eggs, but left the chickens alone. She catches tons of roaches and eats earthworms along with any dog food left out by neighbors.
I'm so sorry to here about your loss. Yes, chickens seem to be on everyone's list of predator treats!
David/ Houston, TX
I have been brushing Tashi lately, and she has long hair, so I have a whole bag of her hair. I am going to stuff that into the engine cover, and hopefully that will do the trick. I counted chickens last night; I think I only lost the one. Kind of hard to count black chickens at dusk, but there were 63, counted 62 last night if I didn't double count any of them.
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