Help! Security breech in the chicken run the last 4 nights in a row!

[HD Chick]

There's been a security breech in the chicken run but we can't figure out what kind of varmit it is because we don't see tracks or scat in the sand. We had taken extra precautions when building the coop, like burying construction wire underneath and the sides of the coops and putting an outside perimeter fence around the coop to keep dogs out, but somehow a critter has found a weak spot. We lock the girls in their coop every evening, and we don't leave food or water in the run. I have attached a photo for you to see the size of the hole. No matter how much we cover it up, block off the entrance from the outside with large rocks, or lay stick traps or rat traps along the edges of the coop and inside the run at night, the critter continues to burrow in every night for the past four nights. We crept out in the wee hours and scared whatever it was out of the burrow and it knocked over a trap but wasn't caught. Rat? Weasel? I'm about to open up a big can of whoop arse! Any advice is appreciated!

 

[DaddyBird]

It could be anything- rat weasel, mink- they all love chicken. Got any friends with game cameras? You also might leave the hole unblocked from last night and try funneling it into a live trap on the inside of the coop with a can of cat food in it. I've had success doing that (substitute roasted in the shell peanuts for the cat food) with problem squirrels but never gone after a rat or weasel.

 

[NCBantam22]

Hide out in your shed/garage with a .22 rifle and a flashlight when you hear movement flick on the light and shoot the predator.

 

[blucoondawg]

If it is a weasel go buy a chunk of beef liver and use it to bait some rat traps, even better if you have some boxes made up to put the traps in, keep the chickens out of them and weasels like going in small holes to get the food.

 

[centrarchid]

If you have small number of birds, then move them to a completely different location until predator captured / dispatched. I did similar with recent weasel problem. The half dozen at risk birds were moved to another location while I dealt with weasel. After predator removed, birds where replaced into coop.

 

[HD Chick]

Thank you for your responses! I appreciate your help and will let you know what happens!

 

[themadchicken]

Try one of these.

 

[HD Chick]

Try one of these.

 

[HD Chick]

Five nights in a row! The alleged weasel burrowed into the chicken run again last night and managed to avoid even more baited traps. Relieved we haven't lost any chickens yet but we realize it's only a matter of time. We're going to temporarily relocate our six chickens to a large dog crate in the garage overnight until we eliminate the problem once and for all. We're installing a game cam and reinforcing the perimeter with even more buried construction wire. I've been leaving my two dogs to guard the coop from outside the perimeter fence during the day, so we've had no problems then. I'm afraid to leave them out at night though. Maybe I should call Chuck Norris.

 

[centrarchid]

Since no birds lost to this point, rat seems likely interloper. Try rebaiting for such.