Happy holidays!

The raccoon with black stripe is a young male and it's mating season soon.

I don't want the raccoons to become habituated to human foods so they remain wild and forage in the nearby forests.

The mother is the daughter of the raccoon with chewed ears.

😍 Wonderful ​@@huwon9

I used to feed neighbourhood cats that visited. I fed the cats Meow Mix Dry Cat Food and Walmart Economy Cat Food but the raccoons stole the cat food. After the cats moved away, the raccoons finished the supply of cat food then I switched to dog food because it doesn’t have taurine. I use small dog size dry dog food. In no particular order, the brands I use are: Pedigree Tender Bites Small Breed Chicken & Steak Flavour Pedigree Small Dog+ Chicken & Vegetable High Protein Pedigree Vitality+ Adult Dry Dog Food Hearty Beef & Vegetable Flavour Some new brands I’ll try: Beneful IncrediBites for Small Dogs with Real Chicken Purina Dog Chow Complete Dry Dog Food Chicken Raccoons are omnivores but they seem to relish chicken wieners over the winter. The unsalted blanched peanuts are for the Steller's Jays but they are migrating now. For treats I give the raccoons Pedigree Beef Flavour Marrobone, grapes and more grapes. Most often I scatter the pellets on the ground so the raccoons will forage as they do naturally. They'll find the rest of their diet in the woods up and down the creek. The raccoon with chewed ears is old so I place her food in a bowl to make her life easier. I wet her food as someone suggested.

​@huwon9 I kept on checking for a reply and couldn't see any until I pressed ​* newest *, and then I saw this, Thank you so much for this information 💓 🎉 I feed my raccoons and I was also giving them dry cat food, until recently I found out it was bad for them, so I'm trying to find dog food that they will enjoy, thank you for all the suggestions ❤

​@@huwon9ohh and I'm the one that suggested to get the raccoon with chewed ear the wet food 😁😍 for her teeth seems tender, since she is getting older ❤

Pedigree Tender Bites Small Breed Chicken & Steak Flavour seems to be the favourite amongst all the raccoons. Purina Dog Chow Complete Dry Dog Food Chicken is a larger pellet.

I have no names for the raccoons. I only recognise them for their distinct physical features or behaviour.

some information on raccoon diet www.thesprucepets.com/raccoon-diet-1239361 There are vessels filled with water around the patio and the raccoons emerge from the creek. There's lot of water available but they prefer to drink after they've eaten and before they return to the forests.

This pair is mother and child so they always get along until the child departs the family unit. The mother doesn't seem to encourage her kits return to the unit. There were confrontations last night amongst the three family units when paths crossed in the creek. I separated the combatants with a Super Soaker.

I go outside with a camera. I use a Sony RX10 and a DJI Pocket 2. I taught them to ring a bell to let me know when they're outside so I can dish out food.

@huwon9 Cute!

I think this raccoon is a year old male. It visits infrequently and alone.

preoccupied with ISP and Ethernet issues

This particular sow is a very dainty eater and eats with her hands. That trait has continued through generations to her latest grandchild.

I do watch over her. Her grandchild is the young mother’s kit. The kit is unafraid to approach just like its grandmother. It wants to touch hands but its claws are sharp.

​@@huwon9I didn't saw your comment 🫠 you are so kind 😍

I think that's grapes 🍇

red grapes this week; green grapes next week

They certainly are ❤❤

Steller's Jay www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Stellers_Jay/id www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Stellers_Jay/sounds

I taught the raccoon missing two toes to ring a bell last year to let me know she was outside and wanted food. It was simple association: ring bell, food served. It only took 3 attempts and she learned. She taught all her kits to ring the bell. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIXYlnhrg9KtnJY kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnecpJKYeLx6opY Once in a while when she eats alone, she’ll ring after she’s eaten, I’ll open the door to dish out more food but she just want to make eye contact then retreat. The raccoon with chewed ears took longer to learn because she was accustomed to tapping my foot for attention. Now they all know the trick and have passed it along to their kits.

Omg that is wonderful 😍​@@huwon9

The raccoons are not pets; they are wild, remain instinctively wary and never turn their back. They follow the creek between upper and lower forests and the patio is a secure waypoint where they can safely emerge. There are three families that visit the patio: the raccoon with chewed ears and her kit; the young mother (the daughter of the raccoon with chewed ears) and her kit; the raccoon missing tow toes and her two kits. Once they’ve eaten, they retreat to wherever they’re going. They don’t gorge on food. They’ll eat enough, retreat then return for more food.

The kit had eaten enough and decided to climb the laurel tree to explore while its mother continued to eat. You can see a Steller's Jay land in the tree by the kit for curiosity. When I looked again 10 minutes later, both mother and kit were gone. The mother is relaxed and laying down because her kit is not making any noises from stress. The kit will climb the arbour when stressed because it can escape onto the backyard which is level with the top of the arbour. From there it can find its way home. Last year, climbing the laurel tree was the last survival skill for kits to acquire before they became independent of the family unit. The raccoons that visit the patio tend to be solitary and not form social groups.