Neighbor told me to lock up my hens at 7 PM sharp every night

Old guy down the street lectured me for 20 minutes about raccoon schedules after my bird got out. He was right though - I lost a hen at 8:15 PM last August because I left the coop door cracked. Anyone else deal with pushy neighbor advice that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinwalker20d ago

Read a homesteading blog that said raccoons clock in like they're punching a time card. Sun goes down, they start their rounds. Some people call that overkill but nature doesn't care about your schedule. I had a buddy who lost half his flock because he thought 6:30 was close enough to 7. Raccoons don't work on close enough time. Your neighbor probably learned that lesson the hard way too, that's why he's so fired up about it. Locking up at 7 sharp is just cheaper than buying more hens.

allen.ruby20d ago

Read some old timer's advice online once that said raccoons have a stricter internal clock than most people. Dead on, if the sun is officially down, they are out there casing your coop. @robinwalker totally gets it because that "close enough" mentality is how people end up with missing chickens. My neighbor used to brag about locking up "around dusk" until he found a raccoon taking a nap in the hay loft one morning. Night shift predators don't care if you had a long day, they clock in on time every time.