Duke foot trap?

[sargent spurs]

I bought a duke coil-spring trap to help catch predators if thy start eating my chickens, but I was wondering if it is humane to the animal of if a live trap is best. It is a large size.

 

[Keltara]

Well....a spring trap is something that will cause injury to the trapped animal for sure. If you plan to kill and bury the predator then it'll be fine. One of the issues with the spring trap, is that you have to hope that the animal hits the exact spot where the trap is set. With a live trap, you can put bait inside (with raccoons you need to put your bait inside a can or a jar that is zip tied securely to the bottom of the trap) and if they come to the bait, they'll be caught. They are pretty crafty and will just slip their hands through the cage to retrieve the food. When you catch a problem predator in a live trap, you can either release and shoot them, or relocate them to some state land far away. It's really all a matter of preference. My guess is that you have more success with a live trap. It's what I use.

 

[brandon170]

If you got the right sized trap there will be no injury to the coon as long as you check the trap in a timely manner and don't let it set in the trap a long time.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If you got the right sized trap there will be no injury to the coon as long as you check the trap in a timely manner and don't let it set in the trap a long time.

The above is the truth even when using old fashion foot hold traps. However the most humane as well as most effective raccoon trap is the Duke Trap Companies Dog Proof or DP trap. It almost eliminates by-catch. Using so called humane live traps is how predatory raccoons learn to eat your chickens through the wire while avoiding live traps. Live traps are a PhD program for coons on how to avoid live traps, steal the bait, and eat chickens through the wire while they are still alive.

In my long experience a live trap is the cruelest trap there is. It often requires you to drown or gas the trapped animal causing it to go into panic mode. But then again those who advocate for educating raccoons don't usually have the best interest of the trapped animal at heart just some fuzzy logic PC goal in mind when they make such recommendations.

Besides relocating wild animals is well above their pay grade for most chicken people. I don't understand why such people don't advise you to carry your chickens off and turn them loose in unfamiliar wild territory to root hog, fight, kill or die in a desperate attempt to carve out or establish a new home territory? This is what relocating a wild animal basically is. The only difference is that you are home asleep in your own bed where you are not required to witness the pain and suffering your god like actions inflicted on multiple wild animals by shuffling their home territory like a deck of playing cards.

 

[ivan3]

chickengeorgeto wrote: In my long experience a live trap is the cruelest trap there is. It often requires you to drown or gas the trapped animal causing it to go into panic mode. But then again those who advocate for educating raccoons don't usually have the best interest of the trapped animal at heart just some fuzzy logic PC goal in mind when they make such recommendations.

DP's have their uses, but live traps allow for the removal and retirement of a wider range of chicken eating vermin. .22 to the base of the skull and off to the Turkey Vulture Feeding Station.

Live trap tips: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/232969/modifications-for-standard-havaharts-save-time

 

[cosmo1104]

I like Dukes DP traps the best, but THEY ARE DEF NOT HUMANE, every coon I get has a compound fracture that they start chewing on, and I check the trap frequently. But they work a ton better for me, my suburban coons are way too smart to go in a live trap, they just beat the crap out of the cage till they dislodge the food.

And I'm 100% against rehoming coons, you're just giving your problem to another person. I'd be ticked off and not a nice person to someone releasing them near my property.

 

[whatnext]

3 rd post, can't pass this one up. Controversy,,, alright. Keltara, catch them, release them and then shoot them, sporting?? chickengeorgeto, if you have the right size trap??? Bear, Bigfoot, etc... chickengeorgeto, sorry, I agree with 99%, and have the most problems with raccoons. I had to look up this dog safe trap, it's similar to what we would do for a trap wise coon years ago. Make or find a small log with a small cavity, put spikes pointed inward with bait inside, coon reaches in, can't pull fist out. Also agre, let's relocate, dump, make it someones else's problem, HUMAINLY relocate to the country!!! WRONG!!! KILL IT!!! I live on a dead end road just out of town, constantly have dogs, cats, etc... Humanly released. How would you feel when you pass a puppy days in a row that is faithfully waiting for their owner to come back and pick them up, no food, no water etc.. Don't relocate your problem, I have enough possums, raccoons etc.. Bury them yourself!!! Ivan3, we're on the same track.
I have used live traps to catch anything from rats, to big pigs, and on occasion deer. Very useful, you can target your victims by size of trap and kind of bait. Corn, veggies, peanutbutter, for possum, raccoon,---meat, chicken, fish, etc for dogs, cats, raccoons, etc... live quail or chickens for bobcats etc... The good thing is, if it isn't your intended target, you can let them loose (your chicken, neighbors cat, my peafowl, etc.).
Doesn't always work. When I was young///er, ( yea, get ready for the I had to walk up hill through the snow to AND from school with no shoes story) I would trap, mostly raccoon. Learned to love/hate their ability. Catch them if you can, kill them, and be glad their gone.

 

[brandon170]

compound fracture on a coon from the duke dog proofs?? I trap 100-300 coon every trapping season and never had much damage from the dog proof traps. Not saying you didn't but that's what the swivels are for on the chain. You can also set them where they can't get tangled up in anything if they are getting damaged feet. I have let many small coon loose out of these traps and they were fine. I'm not gonna comment on the spike in the log. I don't think it's place to tell any one else what to do. I have been a trapper for a long time and I respect the animals I trap. I don't want to see any animal suffer even if I am gonna dispatch it when I get to it. This is all just my opinion so take it what it is

 

[blucoondawg]

If you are worried about being "humane" to the animal then I would stick with the live trap as it does not "hurt" the animal it just catches it and holds it in the cage, any leg trap or dog proof trap is going to cause pain/discomfort to whatever is caught in it, that is just the nature of the beast, steel jaws clamping down on your finger or foot cannot feel good. Not that I am against using whatever sort of trap you like, many of my friends have been trappers for years of many sorts of fur bearing animal, but if your question relates to which would be more comfortable for the animal, I would say the live trap.

I have caught many coon in live trap and never once did I drown or gas them to death. I shot them with a 22. And yes a coon can get smart and not go in a trap, you may have to experiment with it, fasten it down so the coon can't knock the trap around and I have had luck with camoflauging the trap with pine bows or whatever brush is in the area, they seem to like to go in the brush pile covered trap more than just going in a cage sitting in the open.

Also if using a live trap I recommend using one with the door or doors held closed with a spring mechanism, I have never lost a coon from this trap, I have used the ones where the doors simply fall closed and there is a wire bar that falls down and holds them shut, the coons have figured out how to open these type and escape in the past.

 

[chickortreat]

In my opinion, a coon is not concerned with being "humane" when it kills a chicken(s), so I'm not wasting a moment of my time worrying about being humane in dealing with the coon. I will STOP him at all costs from harming my birds.