Coon or what?

[mckee farms]

I used dog fence for my chicken cage. Something ripped a whole in it. Can a coon do that? Or something else?

 

[carlf]

Hard to say.
What kind of wire?
How big of a hole?
Did it get in?
Do any damage/kill any birds?

Pics help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You’re not that far from me but in totally different terrain. It looks rural, fairly flat, with a big lake and a wooded creek bottom close by. You could have a lot of different critters there.

Dog fence doesn’t tell me a lot but it eliminates a lot of smaller predators. Knowing more about that dog fence and how the cage was put together could maybe help. Did the critter tear the wire or did it rip the connections? How it is attached is as important as the material used. Knowing if the critter could tear the wire or if it ripped a connection loose could make how it was connected helpful. Photos are always good.

Not knowing what wire that dog fence was made of hurts in guessing. Was it welded together, woven, or twisted? Do you know what gauge it was? How did you build that cage? Did you use hog rings, J-clips, or did it have a frame?

My first thought is a bear. We are not supposed to have bear around here but we do. My brother-in-law caught one on a security camera. Is a bear a possibility? It’s really hard to build something strong enough to stop a determined bear, you usually have to use electricity.

Some other critters that may be big enough to rip some wire or rip off connections are big dogs, coyotes, or large raccoons. With all that water around a mink might be a possibility. I can’t think of anything else in your area that might be big enough unless it was really flimsy wire or bad connections. I’d really like to see a photo of that hole.

 

[carlf]

If it was 2x4 welded wire, Bear was my first thought as well. But wasn't sure if y'all had them in the area.