How do I know my coop is safe!?

[sheeshshe]

OK, first night in the coop and I AM PARANOID!!!!!!!! like extremely paranoid. I can't find my padlock. I have two locks on it, one low and one high... I thought that raccoons could come and undo the bottom one and then climb up on my unfinished run and then undo the top one... DH thinks im a crazy lunatic for thinking that. he doesn't think a coon could even reach the top one. then I have some thick wire hardware cloth type stuff on the inside of where these large holes were from the previous owners. I have it stapled on the inside of the coop. I have a plywood hinged thing over those holes.. it is heavy. the crazy part of me feels like the coons could lift up the heavy plywood and push in the hardware cloth.

am I crazy!? my run isn't done so its open... there is the pop door thing that they could possibly get into, but I can't even open it myself from the outside... I've tried. its not possible. it slides up and down but the way it is, I can't get in there to push it up... could they with the claws?

Like I said, first night in the coop and Im making myself crazy! HELP!

 

[Mahonri]

Listen to DH.

They sound safe to me.

Good luck and God bless.

 

[Sillystunt]

you sound good to me! You'll be OK

 

[hearthnsoul]

I so feel for you. Tonights my first night too. We have the coop frame, walls windows and doors done,..still needs shingles on the roof and siding but we put the chicks and ducks out there tonight. I just came in,..I sat in there for the longest time first to see if the chicks and ducks would do a replay of west side story,..then to see what i could see as being a vulnerability to outside attack. Our run isn't done yet either. I sure hope racoons can't turn a door knob
I will pray for us both tonight.
Lisa

 

[Chirpy]

Your babies sound very safe from what you described. Good job and get a good night's sleep. Yah, I know, that's impossible... I went through the same thing when I moved my first chicks outside a couple of years ago.

hearthnsoul... actually, raccoons can open doorknobs - you might want to add a lock to that door.

edited for spelling

 

[sheeshshe]

well, I went out there anyways and pushed on the popdoor which actually pushed IN a bunch... so paranoid as I sound, I screwed the thing shut LOL! heck of a pop door if you can't open it right? LOL!!!!!! I'll fix that eventually, but for now I need to be able to sleep tonight

Now I'm like paranoid about the chicken wire for ventilation. since I read someone had a raccoon on their roof of their porch in another thread... now I'm thinking like they could climb my coop and get through the chicken wire in the ventilation.

and how strong are raccoons are anyways? that hardware cloth over the holes is just stapled on the inside... could they really push through it if they wanted to?

 

[twentynine]

Got this idea from another member of BYC.

Bait the coop, tractor, run before you put your chickens in it. That's right, before you put the chickens in it, but some raw chicken wings, necks, bread, marshmellows, porkchop bones, whatever in it then lock it up tight, simulating how you would lock up the chickens. If something gets in for the bait, well you know then that your chicken housing ain't safe.

I have had mine baited since Wednesday night, nothing yet!

 

[espressola]

I think you're right to be concerned- raccoons can easily get through chicken wire in your ventilation area, and the staples holding your hardware cloth can be pushed in... I would use hardware cloth on both areas and either screw it into the wood with washers, or use strips of wood over the edges and screw those in. That will hold it very securely. Also, you might see if you can get your popup door to recess into a slot in the floor that is deep enough the raccoons can't pry it up with their nails, and put some kind of lock on it as well. I have a doorknob on my security screen mandoor and haven't yet found the key (hubby used leftover things we had already) so I am closing up the solid door behind that one at night (it has a different locking mechanism and is up high as well). You'll sleep a lot better the safer you feel they are....
Patty N. ;-)

 

[sheeshshe]

Quote:
OK< thank you! this is what I was thinking... but wondered if I am really just paranoid or if it is just me thinking ahead... my DH thinks Im nuts as I've said before LOL! These are my pets and I want them safe.... BTW, all I dreamt of last night was chickens and raccoons! UGH!


so, I think I'll go ahead and screw the hardware cloth onto the wall. I don't have any hardware cloth here and I don't want to buy a roll, but I'm hoping to be able to use the wire from the run and use it for the ventilation as well and put it over the chicken wire.

 

[nnbreeder]

Every door should open to the outside for max security. That way the culprit is pushing against the entire door frame instead of just a lock.