Any ideas on what could be doing This??

those are actually soft aluminum so they are easier to bend and use. you might want to take a look at the teeth marks and see if they are kind of flat looking. If they are I would be thinking rodent. If it is then it's nothing to worry about. Get yourself a live trap and some raw bone in chicken from the store and if it's a coon or possum you will catch him.
 
Yeah, those look like rodent teeth marks to me... and if it were a coon or larger, I'd be inclined to say they'd have tore though the netting and have gotten in by now. What ever is chewing, seems like just like the fasteners. Perhaps they are made of zinc or aluminum and the animal chewing has a metal (or brain) deficiency? If they are plastic, I know my hamsters go for plastic wiring if they get out. Darn things have itchy teeth and will nibble anything rubber/plastic.
 
We're thinking it's chewing going on after lights out and Mowglie is inside. We did have some digging after we moved them the first time, but electric fence stopped that. We figured the digger was Mowglie.

I do think we'll set a trap and see what happens. They're some type of metal clip, definitely not plastic. And, the chewing is quite new. Some parts are just totally gone.
 
I vote for the rodent, or something like that, not something that is trying to get INTO the run. Please tell me that you are not depending on plastic chicken wire to keep an animal away from your chickens all the time. Hopefully it is only on the top of the run? They need to be locked up securely in a coop at night, with hardware cloth (minimum) on all vents, and secure latches.
 
I'm guessing squirrel or rat or some other type of small rodent. It doesn't look like anything larger to me.

I think it's just a coincidence that they are chewing the ties, I don't think it's an eleborate attempt to eat the clips that hold the chainlink on the poles.

Aluminum is a soft metal, so squirrels or rats or any other rodent that needs to chew just to keep their teeth down would be attracted to it.
 
Certainly looks like teeth marks. Any chance what is now the top bars used to be on the bottom? Seems odd that all of them have been chewed on like this.
 
I am guessing squirrel or rabbit... they chew on metal to file their front teeth down... I am a lineman and see this everyday on our brackets and mounts up on telephone poles... and the rabbits will chew on the metal brackets that hold pedestals in the ground... just my opinion!!!

ETA: ok I just went back and re read your post... I guess we can eliminate the rabbits I suggested if they are getting to the top also... it's gotta be a squirrel... maybe next time I should read everything instead of just looking a the pictures!!! LOL
 
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Some of the panels may have been flipped, but the chewing is since we put the pen together. Those are very new. It used to be under a stand of trees for the shade, but we moved it over to a grassy area with more sun for the girls. Prior to us moving it, the teeth marks/chewing was not present.

So it's very possible it's squirrels - we certainly have a lot of those. Being under the trees before its currenty location would have made it VERY easy to drop onto, munch on for a while and fly off to the trees when the Mowglie dog came trotting by.
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I can not tell you how useful a deercam is!!! Worth every penny! Anytime you want to know what is going on, just place one close to the action and you will have your answer of what "exactly" is causing the problem.
 

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