How to secure: Weasel&Coon on the loose

[songbirdfarms]

Maybe you could put a flap of something over the latch - like a thick rubber scrap. something you will need to bend up out of the way to get to the latch. It will make it harder for the coon to get his hands on the latch and flip it up.
I vote for a 2x4 installed on the inside of the coop so the gate will sit tight against it. You want the door to swing out - once you get litter build-up against the inside of the gate you will not be able to swing the gate inward to open it. That also would let you partially bury a piece of wood along the door inside the coop to prevent digging in.

Thanks so much for your input everyone! It’s been a long, freezing day up here but rocky raccoon and Wiley weasel are outta luck now! Please feel free to point out any issues this set up might have; stainless steel zip ties on the way.

 

[roosterhavoc]

There’s nothing stopping a raccoon from digging under the pen. I had a raccoon digging under a pen and taking eggs. The birds were on the roost. I could barely fit my hand through the hole he was going through. I caught him the next day after I realized what was happening.

 

[songbirdfarms]

There’s nothing stopping a raccoon from digging under the pen. I had a raccoon digging under a pen and taking eggs. The birds were on the roost. I could barely fit my hand through the hole he was going through. I caught him the next day after I realized what was happening.

Thank you! We dug about four inches down the whole size (10x15’) of the run, layer hardware cloth 11x16’, wrapped it up and secured it to the frame around the entire parameter. Will that work is there something else I should do? I do a daily inspection for digging, except under the coop where I can’t see well...

 

[songbirdfarms]

There’s nothing stopping a raccoon from digging under the pen. I had a raccoon digging under a pen and taking eggs. The birds were on the roost. I could barely fit my hand through the hole he was going through. I caught him the next day after I realized what was happening.

Oh, the hardware cloth you see to the right is a third layer, sitting over the underground layer and the original up the run layer, which someone pointed out with the earlier set up could be pulled back at the door frame- so we screwed this layer on today to the new frame.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Only thing left to do now is trap the raccoon and weasel.

 

[songbirdfarms]

Only thing left to do now is trap the raccoon and weasel.

Ha, lucky for them we are live and let live over here - (not love and let eat though!) hoping the new set up sends a clear message!

 

[azygous]

Did you put a threshold under the gate so a weasel can't weasel under it? The new gate looks great!

 

[aart]

What's on the roof of the run?

 

[songbirdfarms]

Did you put a threshold under the gate so a weasel can't weasel under it? The new gate looks great!

Thank you! Before we set the run up we layed a hardware cloth “floor” extending a bit past the parameter of the run, dumped several inches of dirt over it, set the run up and attached the edges of the hardware cloth to the outside of the run. Under the door that hardware cloth is secured and now there is a wood frame inside the run that the door sits flush against- does that seem safe enough or is there something more I could do? I WILL win this war!

 

[songbirdfarms]

What's on the roof of the run?

1/4” hardware cloth, which has become problematic because instead of falling through, the rain and snow accumulate, freeze, and are causing sagging and breaches between the sheets of hardware cloth. We are in process of adding more support, and I did a thorough zip tie check and replace today. Suggestions? It’s drivin me mad!