tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post8420230032801871182..comments2024-01-22T20:47:55.482-08:00Comments on SherWords: Rac AttackSherwood Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09575868746160608731noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-76444940229420799372007-12-15T22:34:00.000-08:002007-12-15T22:34:00.000-08:00I'm sorry about your chicken. One time leaves blo...I'm sorry about your chicken. One time leaves blocked the waterfall in my garden pond, and about half the pond water drained off before we found it. In the night, a raccoon took advantage of the low water level to eat more than half the goldfish (we had nearly 100 at the time), including a big old fish I'd had for almost ten years, all the way back to when he lived in a three-gallon plastic aquarium on my desk in college. His name was Kant. It took me a long time to get over that.<BR/><BR/>The population never recovered. They quit breeding after that, and for some reason, never resumed. I'm down to about twenty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-30670167715101977072007-12-10T11:16:00.000-08:002007-12-10T11:16:00.000-08:00Poor Pepper. And I hope the Have a Heart trap work...Poor Pepper. And I hope the Have a Heart trap works for the raccoon, who is, of course, also just being itself.<BR/><BR/>Never kept animals considered food to the wild ones - except cats, one of which I did lose to a coyote pack in one place I lived. My current cat never had a problem with the resident coyotes or great horned owl, because there was a huge rabbit warren keeping everyone fat and happy.<BR/><BR/>Trash cans, on the other hand, were a battle I never figured out how to win.<BR/><BR/>I think the raccoons had bolt cutters.Theriomorphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04968544085442387475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-19071977124798796752007-12-04T17:37:00.000-08:002007-12-04T17:37:00.000-08:00...dickens."I'm confident that's what Ruth was goi......dickens."<BR/><BR/>I'm confident that's what Ruth was going to say - "dickens".<BR/><BR/>I think it's really cool how the discussion in this comments thread resulted in her <A HREF="http://nostalgicforthepleistocene.blogspot.com/2007/12/how-to-trap-raccoon.html" REL="nofollow">really interesting post</A> on her blog about how to set a trap. Theres a really neat ... dynamic to how a small group of bloggers ricochet off each other's blogs and ideas, no? Not manageable with hugely popular blogs with hundreds of commenters, but a very nice dynamic for a half-dozen or so reading and reacting to each other.ronniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14044863062652781155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-14800326134401411962007-12-03T13:00:00.000-08:002007-12-03T13:00:00.000-08:00Good idea - i've got a blog entry up on it now - v...Good idea - i've got a blog entry up on it now - very 101, but i thought i'd write to any general readership that might happen by as well.<BR/><BR/>Hope you get the little...Nostalgic for the Pleistocenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04369449719832190810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-74823040440796919602007-12-02T21:39:00.000-08:002007-12-02T21:39:00.000-08:00Oh, I want any pointers I can get, Ruth! Post 'em...Oh, I want any pointers I can get, Ruth! Post 'em here, or, better, post them as an entry on your blog, and you bet I'll read them!Sherwood Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575868746160608731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-62389887352019988512007-12-02T18:15:00.000-08:002007-12-02T18:15:00.000-08:00They are VERY good at outsmarting the trap, but ou...They are VERY good at outsmarting the trap, but outsmarting the varmint can be done. If you want any of our pointers, let me know, but you can probably anticipate their tricks pretty well on your own!Nostalgic for the Pleistocenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04369449719832190810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-90863936509008910352007-12-02T14:23:00.000-08:002007-12-02T14:23:00.000-08:00Yeah, Mike, you're right. He came back again last...Yeah, Mike, you're right. He came back again last night, so he's not going to forget about the place.<BR/><BR/>I'm going to try Ruth's Have-a-Heart live trap technique first, but less friendly things later if that doesn't help. Meanwhile, hardening the chicken run and introducing secure overnight boxes within the run continues, but I'm not optimistic that I can permanently outsmart the critter. Outliving him is something I <I>can</I> do, if necessary, though.<BR/><BR/>And, Ruth, getting the chickens in at night is no problem -- they do it all by themselves once dusk starts to gather, and they're pretty easy to re-program. After just one night of relocation to the garden house (and closing-off of their roosting locations in the run), most of them went back there by themselves and after two nights they all did. Chickens coming home to roost, you know.Sherwood Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575868746160608731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-68855824942877774862007-12-02T05:51:00.000-08:002007-12-02T05:51:00.000-08:00Bad scene -- once an animal identifies a food sour...Bad scene -- once an animal identifies a food source, it's hard to discourage him from returning. I think trap-and-transport might be a solution here, since it's only one raccoon and not a family of them. Of course, there's the solution a for-real farmer would take, but I suspect it's not one you'd favor, even if the good folks in your neighborhood didn't mind gunplay at 2 a.m.<BR/><BR/>Good luck.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16807727819590358834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519804707579466907.post-19773842958574828192007-12-01T17:19:00.000-08:002007-12-01T17:19:00.000-08:00The state park across the marsh provides a steady ...The state park across the marsh provides a steady stream of raccoons that invade our neighborhood over here. We all keep trapping them - 8 released at the church so far - and more come, for the blasted pet food. <BR/><BR/>Gathering in all 10 chickens every night must be a job!Nostalgic for the Pleistocenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04369449719832190810noreply@blogger.com