Confused

Ela3perk

Hatching
Aug 2, 2016
2
0
7
So, I woke up this morning to a huge hole in my coop door! But much to my surprise the rooster, 6 hens and 2 baby chicks are accounted for. Any idea what would have caused this much damage but not get the chickens?
 
How terrific that nobody died! Your predator might have been scared off by something, but will be back. Time to seriously reinforce everything, and set those live traps. Good luck! Mary
 
Here are some pics
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That's my thought, too. A coyote or coon can chew through that kind of wood, but they only make a hole as big as they need to gain entry. And they work at it in bits and pieces. A bear could easily hook a paw under the bottom of the door and pull the corner off, accounting for only one big chunk.
 
My coop walls are at least two layers; that particle board is too easy to rip or chew. The doors here are much sturdier too. Bears could do it here, but not much else. If bears are a problem, add electric. Mary
 
A big dog could break osb board like that, especially if it's old and wet.
My clean out and chicken door was originally osb board but I swapped them out for 3/4" plywood.
I was able to get my fingers under the door and pry it 2" without much resistance.

Around here, osb is about 1/4 the price of plywood so if you're determined to still use osb, add another latch.
In your image, you have one central latch. Add another latch 1-2' off the ground. Might help to stop the bottom of the door from being opened so easily.

Another thing you could try is to trim out the door with some 2x4 (2x3 would work too), on the sides and top, leaving 1/4" clearance for the door.
I do this personally, not for prying fingers, but to stop the rain from running down behind the door. If an animal can't get behind the door, they can't pry it.
 

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