There is no exact answer to the question, how many babies do raccoons produce at a time. However, one thing is clear: the female raccoons are family-oriented and do not involve the male in the parenting process. The young raccoons stay with their mother for up to a year before they leave to start a new raccoon family. While young raccoons usually stay within five miles of the mother’s nest, some have been known to travel as far as 25 miles away.
The mother raccoon will do everything she can to protect her babies. She will most likely bite or scratch you if you come near her nest or kits. Raccoons will do a great deal of damage to your home. They will chew up your walls, floors, and wires, and they may even defecate on your home! Once they are old enough, the raccoons will move out of your house.
Raccoon babies start out with a light-colored pelt and will get markings later. When the baby raccoon is about two and a half months old, it will develop a mask. At first, this mask is light, but will eventually become darker. Raccoons also do not have opposable thumbs, so they must use both hands to grasp objects.
The mother raccoon gives birth to two to five kits. Each baby is born blind and deaf, and weighs around one ounce. During the first week, the babies will be in the mother’s den and will nurse until they are fully mobile. The mother raccoon will wait until all of her kits have been born before deciding to go out to forage.
Adult raccoons are known to breed between January and June. Male raccoons will not breed during this time because of competition with females. Female raccoons produce three to four kits in the spring and may even have more than one litter per year. Kits are born with closed eyes and will not wean until seven to ten weeks old. Raccoon babies are dependent on their mothers for survival, so they need a protective and warm environment for them to develop.
Young raccoons are born in a nest near the mother. They become independent at around ten months. Mother raccoons usually build their den close to her den, and the young raccoons search for a suitable location nearby. These areas can be chimneys, attics, or walls. A typical raccoon den will look like a sheltered and warm environment, and it’s likely that young raccoons will stay with their mother during the entire breeding season.
Raccoons typically have three to four babies at a time, but sometimes can have up to seven. Most baby raccoons are born in the spring, usually between March and May. After their first year of life, raccoons become sexually mature and leave their nests. This process will repeat itself for about a year, but there are cases where raccoons have as many as seven babies.
