Great Story...

I'm glad they were ok! They sound adorable! You should get a picture of them to remember them by when they leave! :)

I think there is an oral rabies vaccine, so if you ever had to put out food again for wild critters who were going hang around, maybe your vet could get you some of that.

Glad the mama came home.

thats an awesome idea:) Lol, at least we dont have to ponder whether this story is true or not....

There are not too many chicken owners, Victoria, who would rescue three orphaned raccoons. I'm glad the story had a happy ending.

Before we had chickens there was a raccoon who used to visit every evening. It started on a horrible winter night with wind and snow. I heard a sound at the window and here was a raccoon, scooping sunflower seeds out of the bird feeder. He was not very nervous of me and we were nose to nose through the glass for several minutes. After that he started visiting regularly. I would toss his treat out the kitchen window to him (conscious of the rabies threat) and he would sit up and eat it so daintily. His favourite treat was fig newtons. He would beg for those.

People have a lot of bad things to say about raccoons and I think where they are overpopulated - in city parks and ravines for instance - they can be a real problem. And they can be very hard on poultry and domestic rabbits too. I must say though that in the six months that "Raffles" visited us, he never did any damage. He came, drank from the birdbath, ate his treat, chatted a bit and ambled on his way. I was sad when he disappeared. We found a dead raccoon much later in the back of one of the sheds where he sometimes slept. I suppose it was Raffles. We think he had been hit by a car. Brian buried him in the woods.

Thats the 20th time thats happened ? Why not fatting them things and piggy out ?

Yes, many have told me that because I have chickens, I should not rescue raccoons or anything else that may attack them. Personally, I feel the reason they are ever a threat is our fault, and that WE have invaded their space. I adore all animals, and will not hold the fact that my pets are their food against them. I think there can be a happy balance some way. Other neighbors of ours trap them, and tie a rope to the trap and send it to the bottom of the pond for 20 minutes or so:( I flatout refuse, no matter the cost. Besides, they much prefer our trash than our chickens. BUT, not to worry....there is an even happier ending for everyone.....last night our neighbor happened top trap momma AND all three babies....and relocated them about 40 miles north in a wooded area. Now THATS happy!

No, it's not Happy.
Wildlife biologists the world around are opposed to this sort of trapping & relocation. It's detrimental, both to the relocated animal, as well as the population into which you relocated it.

Relocation is usually ineffective. A new animal will usually quickly replace the one which was relocated.
Relocation is often inhumane. Many animals do not survive relocation. Animals that are relocated have to fight for new territories, food sources, etc., and are often injured or killed in the process. Relocation of a mother and young is almost always futile, since she must not only fight for territory, but also find food, shelter, and a safe place to raise her young. Juveniles are most likely abandoned or killed under these circumstances.
Relocation is biologically unsound. Relocation of wildlife to new territories can disrupt the wildlife that is already living there. It also is a quick way to introduce and spread disease among wildlife populations.

I see your point. But around here...I'd give them a month before they become roadkill. Everything does. Wildlife rehabilitators relocate almost everything they rescue...at least here they do..what happens then? They seem to manage somehow. Without relocation, they would either be drowned by the neighbors next door for getting into their trash, hit by cars on the main road, poisoned by antifreeze like a lot are, or worse. I dont see how our neighbor catching them in a livetrap and relocating them to an area big enough where they would have a chance is as inhumane as any of these things. He also checked on the disease thing with the dnr (another association?).It was that, or we'd for sure see the little guys on the roadside by summer's end. I dont think animals should have to pay the price of their lives for humans encroaching on their space, its just not fair...but humanity is not going to change its destructive ways, so we have to deal with it the best we know how.

We have raccoons in our barn. It is a barn that has been there for 117 years. We have owned it for 25 years and there were no raccoons in the area for 23 of those years. These raccoons are a lot younger than that. So who is enroaching on whose territory?

What happens to those 'rehabbed' relocated animals? The same thing that happens to a trapped & relocated animal - only they may be even less able to 'fend for themselves', and meet their end even sooner. But, they're out of sight, and the rehabber gets that 'warm fuzzy' feeling, thinking they've they've helped.
I'm sure that most wildife rehabbers' hearts are in the right place - I've worked with several through the years - but in most cases, they're not really helping things in the long run. Most of these 'rehabbed' species are not endangered(raccoons, squirrels, whitetail deer, etc.) - and may actually be overpopulated; in most cases, it would have been kinder to have just humanely euthanized the orphaned/injured wild animal than to have 'raised' it and relocated it.

sharon_sd, I am not sure where you live, or why there are raccoons in your barn, but if you lived around here I am sure it would be for the same reasons they get in everyone's way here.
lucky_p, I am sure you mean well by what you are saying, but don't get me started on the euthanesia bit, because it may turn ugly...not a place I wish to go at the moment. NOONE can deny that humans are vastly overpopulating the planet and causing problem after problem; I tend to blame us, the high and mighty thinking we need to control everything, for most problems and not the animals.

Anyway, I thought most on this forum might enjoy hearing a story where some animals actually thrived instead of being killed. etc. Apparently not.

Victoria, I applaud you for taking action to help these animals when no one else would. Karma is a wonderful thing, and what goes around, truly does come around. But there isn't much you can do to change the minds of people with sour hearts.

I've picked up more baby birds than I can count, and yes, a lot of them didn't make it. I also realize that I am interfering (although in a microscopic way) with natural selection. However, I feel that as human beings at the top of the food chain, with the capacity for things like reason and compassion, it is our duty as stewards of this Earth to do what we can, when we can. I cannot, as a decent human being, simply walk away from a suffering or needy animal--and I hope I never become that kind of person.

I celebrate my successes in wildlife rehab, and mourn the losses. But when a loss happens, I feel that at least I gave the animal a safe place to die with dignity and it was not treated like roadkill trash. Sometimes that's all we can do.

You did the right thing, and your story is a heartwarming and amazing thing in these days of jaded indifference. GOOD JOB.

Velvet ~:>

I resent the sour heart comment, what those who do not believe in rehabbing overpopulated species are motivated by is not our hatered of those animals, but our love of the animals we don't have our eyes on at the moment. Nature is a balance, stepping in to help right what we have throwwn off kilter is being a good steward, stepping in to throw it further off kilter is not.

In areas were you find people you find higher densities of racoons because of the way we deal with our uneaten food, this higher raccoon population holds down the bird populations, because racoons eat birds (this is a natureal, in unnatural proportions), this in turn leads to fewer bird to spread the seeds of fruiting trees like cherries and mullberries, which slows down the progression of the fruiting trees in the forests, which hurts the rodents that eat the fallen fruit and the ants aswell, which hurts the birs that eat the ants which have already been hurt by the inflated racoon population, I can go on from that end of the equation, or I can go on on the other end, with the owllet that didn't get fed raccoon, Just because we choose to only act on the biggest picture we can see doesn't mean we are sour hearted, it means that we have enought stick-to-it-ivness to act only on the big picture, even though it hurts to do so. When I see a little squirel I want to help it I really do, I want to make it happy and healthy, but I know its not the right thing to do, so I don't, I'm not sure, but I'll bet that lucky P is in the same boat. Just because it feels good doesn't mean that its the right thing to do, You're heart may guid you in a different direction than mine, but that doesn't mean mine is poluted, I think that means that mine wants to help more than it wants too feel good, its out of my lack of greed that I am who I am.

I think I'll write up another post in responce to Victoria1's in the next few hours, so, please don't be mad if I double post, thanks.

Victoria,
I just want to add that I think it's wonderful that you helped out that momma raccoon and her babies. I would have done the same thing. I am a huge animal lover and if I see an animal that needs help I just have to help it. Even though other people might not agree with 'us' I can't help it.
I've brought in so many baby birds that had fallen out of a nest or gotten lost. Most of them died, but the ones that didn't got a second chance in life and were let free. I think it's better to give an animal a chance than to let it be if you know it will be killed somehow.

This may sound gross to some of you, but once I found a little mouse in the laundry room that had got caught on a mouse trap. It's little leg was caught and it was still alive. Most people would have probably thrown it out and let it have died, but I couldn't stand to see it suffer so I helped it off the trap and went and let it go across the street in a field. Even though it's leg was hurt, it scurried away quickly.
Anyway, Good for you Victoria! I know that mother raccoon and her babies appreciate what you did :)

Alright, the long overdue reply to victoria1's last post.

No one will Deny that humans are vastly overpopulating the earth, if everyone on the earth were to live like Americans we would litterally need three earths, right now. Education is needed to slow population growth, the vast majority of population growth occurs because women are at home in most places and have no stake in society except through thier husbands and children, as it turns out, mother in laws are to blame. Mother in laws in the third world tend to put young brides in thier place, and then the chain of events continues, but thats not really a terribly relevent fact, just a tangent.

Humans are not invading much territory these days, we have taken the territory, we are not invasive, we got were we are on our own, no critter accidentally poluted the environment with us, we have just as much right to be here as the racoons do, it may surprise you to note that there was once a time when there were no racoons at all in North America, there was a time when there were no mamals at all in North America, with every species that has rissen others have fallen. We have rissen, and we need to be careful now about what species we are causeing to fall, because we need them, to live. Its not that we are so much differnet, its that we are so simmilar to the other animals.

And when it comes to controlling natureif that is a crime you are just as guilty as the rest of us, every time you plant a plant in the garden you are altering nature, by choosing what you eat you are cointrolling nature, by building a house and heating it you are controlling nature, but you know what, the racoons are doing it too.

I think it's highly irresponsible to feed wildlife. It attracts unusually high, and unsustainable concentrations of animals that in turn lead to the spread of disease to domesticated animals and in rare cases, humans. Instead I recommend getting a paintball marker. You can just picture the disbelief on their faces when you paint their little heinies! >:)

It's ironic that even after thousands of years of being civilized and achieving high level of intelligence humans, just like any other beast, is such a territorial animal. It must be the natural order of things to chase away or kill other beasts that encroach on the territory and use the resources we consider ours.

I would have helped the babies as well. After all, it was interference with the Momma that put them in that predicament. We have skunks, racoons (VERY few), foxes, hawks (more than one kind), people's dogs & cats, and others. The worst attack on our chickens was a dog. The racoon got in the chicken coop one night, but our Roo stood up to him, and called us: we had no casualties. The fox got hit on the nearby main road, and frankly I was saddened & relieved at the same time. I was sad for the loss of a beautiful creature, but I was relieved for our chickens. I have helped wild birds and animals. I have a decent success rate. I have taken in lost dogs and and cats/kittens, and either reunited them with their owners or found homes for all or them--without euthanasia being a part of it.

This story saddens me because all of the wildlife rehabs were unavailable in one way or another--even for just some information. I prefer Victoria's approach: action out of caring. I am sure she did not incite a population explosion in raccoons by helping here. I am sure many more than 4 will be run over this summer in her area by cars.

We cannot micromanage nature. We can only do what we believe is right based on the information (or lack of) that we have at the time. As far as the ants being effected, what if one of the raccoons doesn't make it, becomes extra food for ants, causes a population explosion in ants, which means extra food for birds, the owlets get fed along with starlings who carry disease to humans. I personally know 2 people were seriously ill because of this. I still have no problem with starlings coming in my yard.

What I am trying to say is that there is no way to know what happens. it is not quite the same as placing a fox in a hen house. At least the raccoons and their new surrounding s have a chance to seek what nature will deal them. As far as I can tell, nature prefers equilibrium.

I like animals and will help again in the future. I like that everyone can put their opinions down here. It is always good to consider ideas other than your own.

You go, Victoria.
Robin