Are there predators who will/can chew through fairly thin (3/8") plywood walls?

[spotter]

My hen house is a 4'x4'x4' box mounted on the wall inside an old barn (a barn that is anything but predator-proof). The hen house is two feet off the floor and there are no holes a predator could get through to get inside (it has an open door to an outdoor, predator-proof run). I made it out of some sheets of 3/8" plywood I had left over from another project and now I am wondering if it's too thin. The frame is made of 2"x2"s and these are on the outside (so the inside is mostly smooth walls with no joists) which means a predator would have to scratch away at the smooth plywood walls/floor/ceiling to make a place to chew through. I suspect it's safe, but I'm feeling paranoid about it.

As for predators around here who could get into the barn (I live in Nova Scotia, Canada): weasels, racoons, skunks, rats, minks maybe... probably some others too.

Has anyone else safely used 3/8" plywood... or had bad experiences with it?

Thanks!

Susan

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My hen house is a 4'x4'x4' box mounted on the wall inside an old barn (a barn that is anything but predator-proof). The hen house is two feet off the floor and there are no holes a predator could get through to get inside (it has an open door to an outdoor, predator-proof run). I made it out of some sheets of 3/8" plywood I had left over from another project and now I am wondering if it's too thin. The frame is made of 2"x2"s and these are on the outside (so the inside is mostly smooth walls with no joists) which means a predator would have to scratch away at the smooth plywood walls/floor/ceiling to make a place to chew through. I suspect it's safe, but I'm feeling paranoid about it.

As for predators around here who could get into the barn (I live in Nova Scotia, Canada): weasels, racoons, skunks, rats, minks maybe... probably some others too.

Has anyone else safely used 3/8" plywood... or had bad experiences with it?

Thanks!

Susan

Can, and likely to are two different things - generally speaking, that is not something most predators are going to do to get to your birds. However, my concern from your description is ventilation and light - if the walls are all solid plywood where are your birds going to get those?

 

[bobthebunny]

Not many things have a hope in fact I cant think of anything in north America that has a prayer of getting in there besides bears but there are a lot of things out there easier to get to so I think your babies are pretty safe.

 

[Folly's place]

A very motivated dog could do it, and no doubt any bear. mary

 

[bobthebunny]

It would have to be a really big dog that hasn't had anything to eat in a while or something else that is pretty big to motivate it.

 

[spotter]

Can, and likely to are two different things - generally speaking, that is not something most predators are going to do to get to your birds.  However, my concern from your description is ventilation and light - if the walls are all solid plywood where are your birds going to get those?

Oh no worries, they have lots of ventilation (a 4-inch x 44-inch vent along the top of each of two sides covered in hardware cloth, a 20" x 20" square opening to the outdoor run on another side, and there will be another opening to a run inside the barn on the 4th side once I get that built - for the winter)... I can stand in the barn and feel the breeze blowing through the coop on a windy day so I think the ventilation will be fine.

Edited to add that there are windows in the barn and light from outside comes in the big opening to the outdoor run as well so light isn't really an issue... and so far, they only choose to be in the henhouse at night anyway. During the day they are either free-ranging (when I'm home) or in their outdoor, partially covered, run (when I'm out or when it's raining).

Really glad to hear people think it will be safe (bears and large dogs won't be able to get into the barn so I'm not too worried about those).

Thanks for the input... I feel better

Susan

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If it can chew through a chicken it can surly chew through 3/8 plywood. But it sounds to me like any predator would have to first go through your run before it got to the coop. That's a layered defense and is usually adequate for anything smaller than a large dog.

 

[Valoradia]

It would have to be a really big dog that hasn't had anything to eat in a while or something else that is pretty big to motivate it.

Not true at all. A dog chewed through the plywood and most of a 2x4 on my cooo. Caught in the act . So I know he did it. And not a large dog. Medium sized boxer mix. And my dog, a Pitt bull is scared to death of thunderstorms. She is medium sized dog. Well I was sick one night and was laying in my bedroom I fell sleep After taking some Benedryl. Which always knockS me out. Well started to storm, and my dog chewed through the door facing on the outside door and the entire corner if the bottom of my door which is solid wood. trying to get in because she was scared. So it doesn’t take a big dog to chew through wood. Coyotes will also. They can also chew through chicken wire and sometime hardware cloth .

 

[Compost King]

Mermaids, Snipes, Big Foot, and Jacalopes can but I can't seem to find any of them so you're safe.

 

[Fishychix]

Mermaids, Snipes, Big Foot, and Jacalopes can but I can't seem to find any of them so you're safe.

Did you know snipes are actually real?
That means theres hope for bigfoot