My dreams of a little (very little) farm

For the past two years I have wanted chickens. Last year, we almost got some little chicks in the spring when Duke, our lovable Lab mix, showed up with a baby coyote and a couple of weeks later I found him playing with a baby fox. We were able to save the baby fox, which I took to a wildlife rehab. Shortly after this, he found a nest of baby raccoons. He means them no harm, really, he just wants to play with them. We decided to hold off a year on the chickens.

This year, I wanted to get chicks, but thought better of it. Now, Jamie's little dog, Sosha, is added to the mix and we just feel that both dogs would think a bunch of baby chicks would be a great deal of fun to play with. So, no chicks this year either.

For the past two nights, Duke has decided to bark and urgently beg to go out after 10pm. Usually, he's zonked out by then. Last night, I was playing facebook games working in my office when I started hearing a strange noise coming from the woods (through the closed window). I opened the window only to hear the strangest, eeriest noise. Weird and kind of spooky. Definitely what was prompting Duke to get a little whacky about going out. I called Jim to the window, him being a country boy and all, to figure out what it was and even he was stumped. All we can figure is that it was a litter of baby raccooons, maybe fighting, playing or perhaps in distress?

I used to love raccoons, even raised an orphaned one back when I was a teen. Then, we had ducks and I found that raccoons are pretty vicious. I have seen the destruction they have caused when they got into our shop and then into one of our trucks that had leftovers in it from my husband's lunch. And, I am an animal lover, but I'm sorry, what happened to my ducks changed my mind about raccoons and, sometimes, when we are just overtaken by them I told my husband not to tell me what happens out back if he has to take action...

Does anyone know of ways to keep predators out of the chicken/duck pen? We tried everything: buried fencing (to keep them from digging under it), electric fence, roofing the fence, barbed wire, etc. Those raccoons were able to get through them all! Next year, I really want chickens, just a few. The dogs will be older, wiser and lazier and I'm sure they'll leave them alone, but how to keep the vicious predators out?

Have a clucky day! :)