22 replies to this topic

[ducky]

Dollsnstuff2, sorry to hear about your quail. When I was a kid the same thing happened to one of our ducks. It had slashed her neck. We could tell it was a raccoon by the footprints left by the pond. We locked the ducks up every night after that.

[Darth Lefty]

The note about stealing birds reminds me. I've seen two foxes in the last month after never seeing any for years. One in a Cameron Park backyard and one on the AR bike trail. Definitely foxes, not coyotes.

[The Average Joe]

Another bird attack to report... was sitting at my desk when I heard a loud bang, saw something zip by the window and then heard our security screen slam. Turned out it was a dove running for it's life from some kind of raptor. I know hawks like doves, but this attacker was much smaller and thinner than most hawks I've seen...perhaps it was a falcon. Dove ended up behind the open screen door fairly well protected. The raptor eyed it for a while from around 15 feet away, and finally left when I raised the blinds to get a picture.

[Lindke]

I have dealt with raccoons when I moved in to my home. The house had a cat door which the smaller raccoons would come in after dark to eat the cat food. Did not think much of the problem until a larger one arrived. I remember saying to myself, "No Way"! Immediately went to Home Depot and purchased a sheet metal panel and closed off the cat door. The raccoons ate all my fish in my outdoor pond. I thought at the time it was a Giant Blue Heron which ate the fish.

Things to remember:


The raccoons will leave and not come back if the cat food is not left out.

Don't trap them. They are too clever and have razor sharp claws and will defend themselves.

We have them at my work. We had some cats which were being fed by the workers and the raccoons would show up. I had a chance to watch their behavior over the years. I have observed the raccoons and the cats eating together. They like to live and travel through storm drains. All the cats were recently adopted and relocated and the raccoons did not come back.

[Dollsnstuff2]

Unfortunately, it's not MY cat food that is keeping/inviting the coon into the neighborhood... other neighbors have.
I tried to trap and he did not come back into the yard...which might have something to do with the fact that I pegged him with a rock and knocked him off the fence. Since I go out several times a night now, I keep an eye out for him (and we have a motion detector and light at the top of the hill). I would just hate to see someone else lose a pet or something to one of them. They can be really viscious.

[Dollsnstuff2]

Well--that coon came back a couple nights ago. And decided to take on a muskovey duck (male--size of a Canadian Goose). Sounded like a cat fight up the hill. By the time I got there, the raccoon was headed across the yard to the fence and the duck was in pursuit. Duck-1. Raccoon-0. Duck is unscathed and very proud of himself . Haven't seen the coon again. Maybe I don't need to get that dog after all....
And Lindke--if I did trap it--it would be a hat. I have no intention of getting close enough to get touched by one. Been wanting to test out my rusty skinning skills....

[supermom]

My personal observation is that this year the squirrels have been more destructive than the raccoon They actually chewed through the cable line. They jumped on the motion detector lights ( which need to be readjusted now), and they keep throwing black berries at my car. All the raccoons do is dig up the dead squirrels someone has been burying in the back yard