I'm looking for first hand experiences in keeping raccoons away.

Many ideas are found using google but which ones really work? Were they attracted to your rabbits or was there something else?

Some of my free range rabbits were killed. Some in cages were stressed by coons. However since my neighbors started having barking dogs I think coons may be coming around less.

You could try setting up live traps and see what you get. Maybe it's not just racoons? I would say re-enforce the cage they are in. Make it difficult to get into with taller smooth walls and put into the ground at least 6 inches so they hopefully won't dig under.

Remember that raccoons will reach through cage wire and grab rabbits, eating whatever part they can right through the wire. It takes two layers several inches apart to keep the rabbits safe if the cages are in the open. The rabbits may still suffer from stress, but less because of the buffer zone, and once the raccoons know they cannot get in, they will be less of a problem.

When I had my rabbits outdoors in cages, we built a chain-link enclosure and kept the cages inside that. We used chain-link right over the top and then put a tarp over to keep out the rain. We also laid wire along the ground around the perimeter and pegged it down so there were no gaps.

I think you could achieve the same thing by using a chain-link dog kennel with a secure top, but we were short on money and long on used materials that could be repurposed.

best defense against coons is two-fold depending on the area you live in.

Trap and remove (however you deem best) ... if choosing to remove alive... you have to take them a far distance, over a body of water (river etc) or they will come straight back.

and GOOD fencing/cage wire. they can get through 1 x 1 wire, and they are nasty critters with trapped small livestock. Having them up off the ground helps a TON.

Keeping feed locked up (I have metal bins with bungee cords) helps a bunch. keep those bins full and heavy so they can't knock them over.

Predators are amazingly persistent. You can't over-fortify your cages, you'll just have to go ahead and double-wire them and perhaps put up an electric fence perimeter. Your issue could also be cats---they are the #1 predator in this country. I've live-trapped cats and that seemed to help.

I have had raccoons stress hutch caged rabbits. I used a double floor, so that there was a cage wire floor and a second 2x4 inch woven fencing wire floor below that by about 6 inches, boxed in. It created a no-man's-land buffer while allowing poop to fall through. This was initally built to thwart roving packs of feral and "pet" dogs that were a problem in the community, but later also proved effective for raccoons. The hutches had 3 solid walls and a solid roof, so the rabbits could retreat beyond the reach of a raccoon in front of the hutch. This kept them safe from everything in our area.

That did not stop raccoons from trying once or twice however. As my bedroom was right next to the hutches I would wake to the buck alarm thumping and carrying on. I once ran out and chased one off the hutch wire where he jumped to the roof and then to a low hanging branch in a large cedar that shaded the hutches. The cheeky coon then sat there waiting for me to go back inside, confident that I couldn't reach him. Unfortunately for him, there was a 12 foot length of steel electrical conduit lying on the ground in front of the hutch. I was able to poke him in the belly, chasing him up the tree and out of the yard. He was fairly disgruntled.

We did not have problems after that, and our own dog arrived shortly after. I would frequently and randomly open the door and tell him "get it!" and he would rush out looking for the squirrel/cat/possum/raccoon that I spotted. He was too dopey to catch anything but it served as a great deterrant, and word apparently got around.

Chain link. Rat wire. Think about paws. They lure prey to fence. No idea how. See it with hens. Rabbit fence is 2x4 wire underneath. Chain link edged with 3’ from ground rat wire. Rabbits kept in dog cages at night. Inside 6’ chain link. Raccoons stop at nothing.

Caught a coon on top of our hutch one night (I have a security camera watching the hutch). The top of the hutch is about 7 feet high. The racoon must have thought the tarp I use for a wind block was a solid branch because he stepped off the hutch onto the tarp and fell straight to the ground. He hasn't been back since.

a7736100 said:

Many ideas are found using google but which ones really work? Were they attracted to your rabbits or was there something else?

Some of my free range rabbits were killed. Some in cages were stressed by coons. However since my neighbors started having barking dogs I think coons may be coming around less.

Click to expand...

They had the idea to nose around my rabbitry one night and I saw them, oooh BOY they were terrified. I had half full almond milk jugs I used to carry water to them, yeeted them at the coons, I yelled and threw shoes, banged my walking stick against the tree they ran up, imitated a dog's bark and growl. I stuck around and checked the tree for about 2 hours, I wouldn't let them come down. They stayed at the literal tippy top. After that I had no problems with coons! Haha!