Is this coop MINK PROOF?

[clucksnducklins]

I've lost 4 ducks and 3 chickens to a mink.. 2 separate nights/attacks. 6 of my 8 jumbo Pekin ducks have a horrible gash on the side of their heads but are still alive.... it's been a complete nightmare every night. I need some input, I just put this apron around my coop .. I can't bury it bc the ground is frozen so this is all I could do.. and it's an oddly built coop so the corners were very difficult to cover with the hardware cloth.. I couldn't put the hardware cloth around the front yet but have a wider gapped fence underneath the bricks.. I'm also unsure about these 2 gaps, one is above the door and the other is at the bottom, both are about 1/2 inch and I've read that a mink can get through an inch wide gap.... Any input on my coop, does it look like it could keep a mink out? Please any help is appreciated I've had so much anxiety and fear every night of another attack..!!!

 

[mowin]

IMO, no. I can see gaps about a inch wide. For now use steel wool or expending foam to fill those gaps

 

[saysfaa]

Aprons work because predators dig down at the edges of walls. They practically never back away from a wall to start digging. Putting the pavers at the edge of the apron makes a "wall", (an edge) for them to start at. So, usually, people use landscape staples at the outer edge.

If the ground is too frozen for the landscape staples, I would at least try the pavers against the wall and see if that will get the hardware cloth unrolled enough.

Actually, I would use metal lath instead of hardware cloth. It lays flat, has small enough openings, and the openings are sharp. Until two years ago, it cost less than hardware cloth but may not anymore.

 

[clucksnducklins]

I have something like landscape staples but I can't put them in the ground because it's still too Frozen.. how far away from a coop will minks really try to dig to get inside..? Now that is my main concern..

 

[mowin]

I have something like landscape staples but I can't put them in the ground because it's still too Frozen.. how far away from a coop will minks really try to dig to get inside..? Now that is my main concern..

Most aprons are at least 12". Mine are 18". Minks are fantastic diggers, but for the most part, they will look for a easier way in.

 

[clucksnducklins]

My apron was 2 ft but now it's a little less since I put it up a few inches around the base of the chicken coop.. the ground is rock hard so I'm just hoping that they won't dig through.. the only other thing I can think of is spacing the bricks apart more so it doesn't look like a wall? I'm out of ideas at this point...

 

[mowin]

My apron was 2 ft but now it's a little less since I put it up a few inches around the base of the chicken coop.. the ground is rock hard so I'm just hoping that they won't dig through.. the only other thing I can think of is spacing the bricks apart more so it doesn't look like a wall? I'm out of ideas at this point...

Your doing what you can at this time of yr with what you have. I don't burry my aprons because I would need a excavator to dig down 12-18". Eventually, grass grew up through mine and I was able to run the mower over it.

 

[McChooky]

Never lost a bird to predators using hardware cloth and aprons.I don't dig trenches .I secure the hardware cloth to the coop or run before covering it with dirt, gravel,rocks,bricks and cinder blocks (whatever I've got)If the grounds too frozen to pound landscape staples in the ground hopefully you can when it thaws.

 

[McChooky]

My apron was 2 ft but now it's a little less since I put it up a few inches around the base of the chicken coop.. the ground is rock hard so I'm just hoping that they won't dig through.. the only other thing I can think of is spacing the bricks apart more so it doesn't look like a wall? I'm out of ideas at this point...

..Never seen a predator attempt to tunnel under the wire.Only the side of the coop itself.

 

[McChooky]

I agree! They want to fill those holes and gaps! Especially where the metal roofing is too short.