Help me kill whatever is digging these holes around my pen...... :)

[JoeOxfordCT]

Quote:
Yes, two layers of wire....chicken wire lapped onto the ground and then up the fence posts. The the 2x3 x 5' high green wire fencing on top.....
Heavy duty deer netting over the top of it all....not pretty but so far effective....

 

[bluebirdfarm]

good job,with the wire.

i bet it may be a rat , the norway rats make a big tunnell , i have seen them tunell under a hay floor of a barn and eat baby rabbitsa out of their nest , yuk!
happy hunting!

 

[silkiechicken]

Looks like rats to me. I've had hungry coons tear the 1 inch chicken wire here to get the birds at the dead of winter... then learn to unlatch the door.

 

[the1much]

skunks dig same kind of hole,,, i probably can get a pic of 1 i missed from last nights visitor,,,,, oh ya,, i caught him too

 

[JoeOxfordCT]

Quote:
Yup....all my chicken sized doors latch from the inside just because of that !

 

[justpete]

Looks like rats to me also.

 

[77horses]

I'm guessing rats maybe. Or maybe a fox??? At first I thought weasel, but one could easily just fit through the fence.

So I'm guessing rat or fox(or maybe skunk).
Yes, set up a trap and see what it is. I would set up a LIVE trap, rather than try to kill it right away. It might just be something like a squirrel. If not, and you know that it could/will harm your chickens, then you can get rid of it. But make sure first i would say!

Good luck!

 

[justhatchin]

It lookes like the ones I get. I'ld say skunk hunting grubs. My holes are all over the place not just along the chicken fence. They like to go where the dirt is soft, dampish and composted- along the hay feeders, goat fence, the garden fence, around where we put the round bale of hay we are feeding from.. I thought for a while it was my ducks cuz they like to stay outside cuddling with the old hay. Then I thought a coon but I am down to skunk or possum now! It only happens at night.

Catch it and let us know. As it hasn't hurt anything we will not try to trap it- to many cats!

 

[PitterPaws]

Probably should bury some heavy wire mesh down into the ground by the fencing so the animals can't dig under the fence and into the enclosure. I would say probably about a foot or two down, just so they don't dig down further and still get in.
Good Luck!

 

[ole-crone]

Looks rat-like to me too. I recently found one in our coop. Then I went out late to shut the door and this huge rat was in there. He wasn't even afraid - just looked at me with a "Do you mind" look and s l o w l y walked out of the coop and into the pasture.