Raccoon-proofing a chicken coop

Of everything likely to visit a backyard coop at night, the raccoon is the most capable. It climbs, it is strong for its size, it works mechanisms with its forepaws, and it returns to a food source repeatedly once it has found one. It is also, encouragingly, the predator most reliably beaten by cheap hardware.

What it actually does

• Reaches through mesh. This is the behavior people do not anticipate. It does not need to get inside; it needs a forepaw through an aperture near a sleeping bird.
• Works latches. Hook-and-eye, turn buttons, spring clips and plain slide bolts are all within reach given a few nights.
• Climbs. A run wall is a ladder. An uncovered run is open from above.
• Tests repeatedly. A raccoon that finds food once will keep coming back, which means a weakness gets found eventually rather than immediately.
• Works panels loose. Where mesh is stapled every foot rather than every few inches, it pulls at the gaps.

Fix one: aperture

Half-inch hardware cloth on every panel a raccoon can reach, including the lower part of any run wall and every vent and window. This single change removes the reach-through attack completely, and it is the reason hardware cloth against chicken wire is the first page of this hub.

Fix it properly while you are there: staples every three to four inches into framing timber, overlapped seams, and washers or a batten on thin cladding. A raccoon works on the gaps between fixings, so the fixing interval is part of the specification.

Fix two: two-motion latches, everywhere

Every opening, not just the door. The nest-box lid is the classic loss: it is built to open one-handed from outside, and it usually keeps the plastic turn button it shipped with. A bolt plus a carabiner costs very little and turns a one-motion opening into a two-motion one. The latch page covers the mechanisms.

Fix three: cover the run

Raccoons climb, so a run open at the top is a run with a doorway. A solid roof also keeps the run drier, which helps with litter and mud, so this is one of the few security upgrades with a second benefit. Aviary netting is the cheap version and stops raccoons as well as hawks.

Do not feed them by accident

Spilled feed under a feeder, an open feed bin, and scraps left in the run all bring raccoons to the coop in the first place. Bring feed in at night, store it in a metal bin with a fastened lid, and clear anything spilled. Removing the attraction is not a substitute for the hardware, but it lowers how often the hardware is tested.

The two things to buy first

Top pick · A latch a raccoon cannot work

Alise 4in Slide Bolt Latch with Padlock Hole

A slide bolt with a padlock hole. The padlock hole is the whole point - raccoons defeat simple bolts.

What the numbers say

The manufacturer does not publish the dimensions this calculation needs, so we do not print a number.

Figures from Alise published specifications (Amazon listing)

Raccoons have functional thumbs and genuinely do open simple slide bolts, hook-and-eyes and turn buttons. This is the most commonly underestimated failure point on a coop.

The padlock hole is what upgrades this from a catch to a lock. A carabiner through it is enough; it does not need an actual padlock.

Fit two on a large door - top and bottom - so the door cannot be flexed open at a corner.

Good

• Padlock hole defeats the raccoon problem
• Works with a carabiner, no key needed
• Steel construction rather than cast zinc

Not so good

• Needs a second one for a tall door
• Requires accurate fitting to slide freely after weathering
• Black finish will need touching up where it is scratched

Skip this if: your coop door already takes a padlock or a two-step latch. Otherwise this is the cheapest meaningful security upgrade you can make.

Check price on Amazon

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Pick 2 · The single most important predator purchase

Amagabeli 1/2" Hardware Cloth, 48in x 100ft

Half-inch aperture, 19 gauge, hot-dipped galvanized after welding. This is the specification that actually keeps raccoons out.

What the numbers say

The manufacturer does not publish the dimensions this calculation needs, so we do not print a number.

Figures from Amagabeli published specifications (Amazon listing)

Half-inch aperture is the number that matters. A raccoon can reach through 1in mesh and a weasel walks through 1in chicken wire; half-inch stops both.

Galvanized AFTER welding, not before, is the second specification to check. Welding burns the coating off, so mesh galvanized beforehand rusts at every joint - which is exactly where it needs to hold.

19 gauge is the practical minimum for a coop perimeter. Thinner mesh sold as hardware cloth exists and bends open by hand.

Good

• Half-inch aperture excludes raccoons and weasels
• Hot-dipped galvanized after welding, so joints do not rust first
• 48in width covers most run walls in a single run

Not so good

• Cutting it is hard on the hands and on your snips
• 100ft is more than a small coop needs
• Edges are sharp and need capping or folding

Skip this if: only if you already have half-inch hardware cloth. Do not substitute chicken wire - it is a containment material, not a security one.

Check price on Amazon

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