Some of you guys sure do feed a lot! I think I'm gonna put 100 pounds of corn out this weekend on our other property and put a camera on it just to see what kinda deer winter there Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Good luck with that, it'll sure help the other wildlife in the area. Grant Woods calls coons "the grizzly of the Missouri woods" and I agree with that analogy. They are the most understated and underrated predators in the north american continent. From game bird nest and adult predation to deer fawn predation, they are a menace. During all the years raising game birds, coons were the most aggressive and diligent threat and problem I faced raiding pens and killing birds.
It gets really bad in a dry year, my pond never dries up so I get a lot. Few years back I had a guy take 36 raccoons off my property.
I've been trapping the little b*stards left and right but we have so much brush and water (prime habitat) that it's tantamount to peeing in the wind for a long time after starting and I just started trapping on the ranch this past winter. I have them trapped out to a more manageable population here at home and the quail started coming back this past year.
Operation cull begins tonight, I got the trap yesterday but figured I would wait because it is going to warm up today and it won't be below 0 tonight so I figure the raccoons will be more active.
Covey, not sure what kind of traps you use for coons down there but I have to run dog proofs up here, I live in a place where collateral losses would be an issue. I bought a duke dog proof raccoon trap have used them in the past. I had the layout all planned for the set up, the local grocery store was out of honey buns so I had to go with little Debbie strawberry shortcake rolls for bait, I added a little almond and vanilla extract for scent that won't freeze. All was good until I had to make a hole in the ground for the rod to hold the trap in place. I grabbed a piece of 3/8" rebar and a 2# hammer beat it down to the desired depth to hold the trap. We have about 24" of frost in the ground and rebar driven into frozen soil does not come back out without a struggle, some cursing and a trip back to the garage for more tools and got the rebar back out of the ground. I got the trap set but the 20 minute project turned into an hour with cursing and a couple bloodied knuckles. Hope to get me some trophy raccoons this weekend.
I have about a dozen of the dog proof traps, they work okay. I use dry dog food in them and get by just fine without all the mess of liquid junk. Actually I prefer to just use wire mesh live traps baited with marshmallows or eggs. I have laying hens so I get a few cracked or pecked eggs that I have to dispose of anyway. Not all live traps are equal either. The ones with finer mesh work far better, the cheap crap ones have course mesh screen and flimsy components that a coon will bend all to heck and they can also reach through from the outside and steal the bait.
I am going out tommorrow to cut down some aspen trees for woody browse, I know its not corn but the deer sure love the buds. Scoot
Sota, I went out last year in the brutal winter we had in Wisconsin and hinged and cut a bunch of aspen down and you are right, it turned into a deer yard. I couldn't believe it. Scoot
I will be hinging some aspen late this winter, probably mid march. hopefully spark new growth in our aspens
Well that is a first they found the trap and took the bait but didn't reach beyond the trigger. Going to rinse it out and go with the dog food tonight.
I was out walking this morning and was checking things out. I had acres of hazel nut brush and willow in the swamp and I notice little to no browsing not even the red dogwood. Cold be that we have very little snow but found it strange figured they would still eat it. Last year they pruned stuff back to branches the size of my pinkey finger.
