Sunday
Linda
I stood by the window this morning and watched as five guineas made their way around the front of the porch and passed by the bird feeder. There should have been ten. It was a solemn march, their usual high pitched squeaks were hushed. Something was wrong.
My investigation took me outside. No sign of the other five. No loud honks between groups of bug grazing guineas in the meadow. I followed a trail of guinea feathers down the driveway, across the road and up into the creek bed.
My heart sunk knowing that at least one of my prized guineas was gone. I made my way back to the pole barn where they all like to roost at night. This had to be the sight of the murder, or was it a massacre.
There was no sign of animal prints, no claw marks on the support beams of the barn. The chickens like to lay eggs in an old dog food bin filled with straw. There smeared across the side was a red streak of blood. A small guinea head laid there beside it, its half closed eyes beseeching me to avenge its death.
It is a mournful time here at PHF. An event such as this is traumatic to say the least. One day my guineas are happily squawking, eating bugs in the tall grasses of the pastures and the next minute we are marauded by a wild animal. I suspect it is a raccoon or a family of raccoons. Either way we have to do something to stop it. We are not a drive through restaurant.
All chickens have been accounted for and I am still hoping that there may be another small group of guineas hiding out in the woods somewhere. This is war Mr. or Ms. Raccoon. Don’t mess with me and mine.
Off-Grid in West Virginia 
Yikes… sorry
best way to catch coon is put can of cheap cat food,fish flavor,with holes punched in can, not opened, so coon not get last meal
that way can/bait is reusable
i wire can in a live trap
i am super cheap
i set 3 traps together and only bait the middle 1
set traps with openings pointing in oppisite directions, side by side
along wall is good place
most likely you will catch more than 1 coon
my record so far is 19 in the summer of 97
they will be worse when summer comes and water on hills dry up
they travel to creeks for water, and close to homes
if you are kind hearted and decide to relocate the varmit, coons will travel over 5 miles back home for delicious dinner, so other methods of disposal are recomended
just dont tell us because other methods are illeagal except for during trapping season,
unless u get permit from dnr
am so sorry about loss of your guineas
i am planning on getting a few guineas when i retire
Thanks for the info Ron. We are gonna put a trap cage out. You live at least five miles or more away from us don’t you? Just ignore those people you see dropping off a masked ringtail “cat” lol
thanks
I am sorry about your babies! We lost three chickens last week to a red tail hawk. Similar crime scene, but the culprit hit in the middle of the yard at 2:00 in the afternoon. We wouldn’t have guessed a hawk but we saw it leaving with the last of its victims. Good luck with the raccoon war!