Is vinyl soffit predator proof?

[tennesseeckn]

DH and I just finished the major part of the construction of our new coop. The eves are exposed right now and our first instinct was to cover it with vinyl soffit when we covered the rest of the coop with vinyl siding. Then we started thinking that it would be incredibly easy for a predator to rip it off. What does everyone else do? Hardware Cloth? Wood?

 

[Tala]

hardware cloth

 

[thebirdguy]

I'm trying to imagine the size of the predator that can reach the eaves to rip anything off.... if it's a grizzly, not going to make much difference... For your "normal" predators, cats, coons, hawks etc.. the vinyl soffit should be fine if there is no access for them to get to it.. You could always cover hardware cloth with the soffit then you would have double protection but still look nicer..

 

[elmo]

Raccoons could definitely get to the soffit area....those buggers are fantastic climbers. Whether they could get their teeth onto the edge of something to chew into it would be a different matter. Not sure about that one.

I'm a worry wart, and I even got worried about raccoons chewing into my little coop through the polycarbonate panels on the roof, so when I reroofed the coop and run this spring, I went ahead and covered the ceiling of the coop (under the polycarb roof) with hardware cloth...just in case. Our chickens are pets, and I figured better safe than sorry.

 

[33yardbirds]

Squirrels will chew it racoons will rip it off and could even rip off hardwire cloth. I have repaired numerous chimmney chases sided with 5/8' T-111 that coons chewed holes to gain access to attic areas. When it comes to coons there is no such thing as overkill.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Here's what I did with my vent openings. It will keep the rodents out as well.

The orange tabs are around a ring shanked nail, so it can't be pushed out. You just hammer them in. I got mine at Home Depot.